Is MBA in the Oil&Gas or Energy-Thermal Processing Sector worth? 5

[VSEnergy]

Hi All, I am a fairly new grad currently working with a well reputed EPC (Engineering Procurement & Construction) company in the Oil&Gas sector in Calgary, Canada as a Mechanical EIT (Engineer in Training). I wanted to know the collective wisdom of the following career paths, from the experts who have done this before.

1. Is an MBA worth the time, money, and effort to eventually move up the ladder in the Energy and Processing industries? It seems that Engineers with field operations experience rather than an MBA are the ones who climb to the exec level of decision making roles in the EPC and Client side. Is Masters in Project Management even worth considering?

2. Is a general mechanical engineering Masters in Engineering (M.Eng, not M.Sc) worth considering in these sectors, to move up in ones career? It seems that most M.Eng degrees may be just degree mills which force you to take course which many not have much practical relevance to the particular industry, because of the intensive focus on theory. It seems that unless you are working with an OEM (Original equipment Manufactured), an engineer may not require the same level of detailed technical knowledge if you are working of EPC and Client side. Plus, I am not interested in R&D type career advancement.

3. My ultimate goal is to start a business in the energy or process industry, or to be in an exec position to make significant change/impact in the industry and to implement the latest R&D at a systems level. I feel that for this I will need the finance and marketing background an MBA provides, and the operational experience working on site provides. However, the need for M.Eng is not clear.

Please impart some wisdom, on which experience path I should take to accomplish my goals. Should I first get some site experience, and then get M.Eng, followed by a MBA? In the short term should I try to be a specialist in static or rotating equipment, or try to move into PE (Project Engineering/Management) or Project Controls route? I understand there will be/is a shortage of qualified technical people in North America soon; I would like to be prepared for this as well.


Awaiting all your thoughts. Thank you.

 

[zdas04]

I'm not really confident about how many hiring-managers have a clue what goes into a theses, they all seem to feel they know what goes into a senior project. The perception I get from people is that it is common to think of a theses project in the context of "as we advance in knowledge we learn more and more about less and less until finally we know everything there is to know about nothing at all". People seem to think that there is no way that a theses can be germane to everyday work outside of a lab. They are often wrong, but being wrong doesn't have much impact on people's opinions.

David

 

[owg]

A good summary from David 4 Mar 12 1:31. In addition, I have noticed that some, perhaps many, MBAs in senior management were pre-selected by the company as management material and sent out for the MBA or other "charm school" course. Therefore the presence of MBAs among management can be a misleading indicator.

HAZOP at

http://www.curryhydrocarbons.ca

 

[ScottyUK]

I can think of a couple of places where the MBAs have gotten in where they are so convinced of their own self-worth and self-importance that they will actively block anyone who doesn't have that particular MBA badge from becoming a manager. Probably one of the characteristics developed on the MBA course - delusions of superiority, or in some cases delusions of adequacy.

Help me, I think I am turning in to Snorgy.


----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[zdas04]

"Delusions of adequacy" should really be "Unjustified delusions of adequacy".

David

 

[FreddyNurk]

Is there such thing as a justified delusion of adequacy?

 

[zdas04]

Dang, that is deep.

David

 

[SNORGY]

Sounds like a problem to turn some MBAs loose on.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[FeX32]

Thanks David for your thoughts on thesis vs. senior project. I didn't know the general perceptions.


Fe (IronX32)

 

[MJCronin]

Snorgy Rocks !!!!

Kudos to you !!~!

 

[Maui]

From VSEnergy's post above,

MBA is obviously just a tool.

I wholeheartedly agree - the vast majority of MBAs are tools. And that's saying it rather nicely.

Maui

http://www.EngineeringMetallurgy.com

 

[lacajun]

I typically steer away from office politics

I am sure I don't have to say this but...that is not a good sign for management or climbing the corporate ladder. Most I know in management are politically savvy and enjoy politicking as sport. Even in the bottom ranks of life, you'll run headlong into politics. You'll have some tough decisions to make, with no clear cut lines of right and wrong thus no clear cut answers will be readily available.

Working with operators and mechanics will help you determine your ability to handle management and politics. Those folks can make you and they can break you.

Nothing will work for you like experience. Get the experience then decide what you want to pursue. The experience you get in an EPC will be vastly different than the experience with an owner/operator. I know some engineers in EPC's that do not have a good feel for the field and what works, equipment-wise and people-wise. The ones who have a good feel for the field have quite a bit of field experience.

Ultimately, you get paid because of your decision-making abilities. You cannot make good decisions from a position of ignorance of what goes on at the base of your business.

I volunteered for the worst jobs to get the experience and learn. You'll run into those who refuse to take projects deemed to be career enders. I succeeded through a lot of hard work and sticking with it. However, that did nothing more than irritate a lot of people because their ignorance of the processes, equipment, project management, people, and economics was obvious. My experience made them jealous. They had no qualms about stabbing me in the back to move ahead of me. Tough lessons will be learned, if you are serious about learning and doing your best. Be prepared.

From my experience, people who are going to move ahead are chosen fairly early and the selection criteria have nothing to do with qualifications, credentials, or merit.

Snorgy, zdas04, and others have made very good points for you, too. Ultimately, you have to assess the experienced responses and do some soul searching about what gets you up in the morning.

Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC