Masters Thesis versus Nonthesis 4

[mechengtex]

I graduated with my BS in mechanical engineering in 2004 but I haven't done any engineering work since I did an internship for an environmental engineering firm assisting with SPCC plans.

I have been a middle school math and science teacher since I graduated from my undergraduate. I wanted to go into engineering when I graduated from college but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to coach football for a few years. I have accomplished what I wanted to in that field and I am looking to getting back to the engineering field.

I have been tossing a few ideas around and wanted some advice from people that are already in the field.

I am planning on pursuing my MS in mechanical engineering next year to help "brush" up some of my skills before I enter the workforce as an ME. I have done a search and I still don't know which option would be better a non-thesis option or a thesis masters option and whether or not a Masters is the best way to market myself as an ME.

I am interested in advice on the.
1)Thesis versus Non-thesis option
2)Masters (help with the lack of experience?) would I still be considered entry level? I am guessing yes.
3)Any other things I should be aware of with this career change.

 

[tgrimley]

1) Thesis will provide you with a demonstrated long term engineering project with technical documentation, etc etc etc. It basically cannot hurt you, but you might be able to finish faster with a non-thesis masters.

2) Yes, probably entry level except for a few places which value education (usually very large or very small companies in my job searching experience) which will start you at a slight pay/experience bump over entry level candidates. My impression is you'll have an easier time catching up with a masters.

3) Make sure you like delving into details more. If you haven't taken any graduate level courses as an undergrad, you'll need to be prepared for considerably more responsibility (like actually doing readings on your own) and more depth for subjects.

 

[COEngineeer]

Sometimes when you do a thesis you will be working closely with engineering professionals. Once you graduate, you will have a job lined up with them. Happened to a lot of my classmates.

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

 

[xnuke]

1) Unless you are interested in a job in R&D, learning how to do research, or getting your PhD eventually, skip the thesis. The companies that I have worked for as a non-R&D engineer don't care.

2) Yes, you will still be entry level, since you have no experience working as an engineer. As a matter of fact, expect that most of what you learn in a Master's program will help you very little on the job. Even much of your undergraduate education will be no help - most universities teach too much theory and not enough practical knowledge.

3) Don't learn equations, learn concepts. If you understand the concepts, you should be able to develop the mathematics. That way, you won't be limited by a static group of formulas. Understand how to derive the more specific equations from the very general equations. For example, don't learn [Δ]x = v[sub]0[/sub]t + 0.5at[sup]2[/sup]. Derive it from x = [∫][∫]adt. (Of course, this doesn't work too well with empirically-determined equations. Those you simply have to learn.) I like to think of my knowledge as a toolbox - I have a bunch of tools in it to tackle known problems, but I'm a better engineer if I know how to make new tools using my existing tools to help me tackle unknown problems. Learning how to derive the mathematics gives you that ability to expand your toolbox when necessary.

xnuke
"Live and act within the limit of your knowledge and keep expanding it to the limit of your life." Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged.
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[sundale]

A master's degree will serve you for the rest of your engineering career. A MS degree will also make you a more attractive job candidate when compared to the BS folks with equal experience. A MS degree will be required in the distant future (like 2020) in order to sit for the PE exam too. There are many good reasons to get that extra sheepskin.

From a practical perspective, there are probably no jobs for you now anyway in the worst "recession" since 1929. Go to grad school if your finances allow. The economy will likely have improved when you are finished and looking for a full time job.

At the time, I truly hated writing my MS thesis and would rather have had oral surgery or taken a beating with a 2x4. Taking two more classes and a comprehensive oral exam is definitely the path of least resistance: non-thesis option. That being said, I have found that my engineering letters and reports are typically better written than those produced by the majority of my peers. I directly attribute this skill set to suffering through a thesis; engineering schools do not teach technical writing.

 

[moltenmetal]

Wouldn't recommend a coursework only Masters.

You've got plenty of life experience from your non-eng job. What you probably need to look more attractive to employers is some experience with direct application of your engineering knowledge. A thesis Masters, based on some experimentation, is probably going to be more useful on your resume than a longer list of mostly inapplicable courses.

Remember though that post-grad work is becoming a popular holiday from the craptastic labour market at present. Expect to graduate with a glut of Masters grads if you go in now. That was my own situation a couple recessions ago, and it wasn't pretty. Best of luck to you.

 

[JamesBarlow]

I can't speak for your school but most I looked at didn't require you to declare the thesis/non-thesis track until you had taken a certain number of classes and most schools offered both.

As was already said the Thesis track is for people who may be looking for research work or will continue to a Ph.D.

I knew after my first Advance Diff Eq. Class that an MS was the end of the line for me.

 

[swivel63]

i had a technical writing class in undergrad.....

 

[FSS]

I have two engineering Masters degrees where one was thesis option and one was non-thesis. With both I still had to sit down for committee review, and the non-thesis option still required a project report of some sort (but not original research). At least for me there was little difference between the two work wise.

And I can't say that anyone who sees the degrees on my wall cares about whether either had a thesis. As long as school is ABET accredited, then I can't see how it matters in the real world.

 

[zdas04]

In ME, a MS is useful after 3-5 years relevant engineering experience with a BS. An MS with zero releveant engineering experience is pretty worthless and may actually make you "over qualified" in the minds of many company's HR departments. I would just suck it up and hit the job market with your BS. If you still want to get the MS in a few years, then go to night school at that time.

If you're working, a lot of companies will fund your thesis research which is way better than being a research slave for some prof. Many of my fellow students in grad school did the non-thesis option and all of them that I knew well regretted the choice. I never regretted doing the thesis option.

David

 

[EngineerDave]

Or see if they have a "minithesis". It is a project that a professor would like done as part of some of his research but not quite the same as a full thesis. The benefit of this is you don't have to defend it, but you still have a project you can talk about IF it comes up in interviews.

A few times the research came up in interviews. Probably came up less times than not. But both projects I did (I have two masters degrees) were very useful in honing some of my skills.

 

[zdas04]

Never heard of a "minithesis". In my experience, a thesis without a defense is ......... homework. Any work you do in grad school that is directed towards solving a real problem is useful, but when you say "thesis" it has certain expectations attached.

David

 

[mechengtex]

Thanks for all the advice. The input is helping me put together a final decision but I am leaning toward the thesis track.

 

[MTPipeliner]

I've got a coursework only MS, and in my limited experience very few people I've met really know or care about the difference between thesis and non-thesis. If you end up at a company that has a lot of employees with a MS it may matter which kind you have, but if you end up at an "average" company it probably won't matter.

It's probably more a question of self development. If a thesis appeals to you then go that route, but if you just want a MS to help you get a job, then the non-thesis is probably just as good.

 

[xnuke]

I'd like to add that the thesis option usually ends up taking you longer and costing you more money. I probably would have graduated six months earlier if I hadn't taken on a thesis, and I was in school full time without a job. I can only imagine what it would have been like trying to work a full-time job and simultaneously do the research and writing necessary for a thesis - I know it would've taken me a lot longer. I am glad I did it, but only for personal reasons. It didn't add anything to my job skills.

xnuke
"Live and act within the limit of your knowledge and keep expanding it to the limit of your life." Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged.
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.