What to pursue in Grad School? 1

[jenn454]

I am about to return to school in the Fall to obtain a Master's in Engineering. I am undecided on my major and am looking for some insight from engineers in the fields. While in school studing for my B.S in Civil Engineering, I greatly enjoyed my enviromental courses in Waste Water and Hydrology. My orginial plan was to return to school to obtain a Master's in Enviromental Engineering. I am now out of school and working with a company where there is little oppurtunity to do enviromental work. We do have an enviromental department, but they only need a small handful of engineers. I enjoy the company I am working for , though the work is not my first choice, and do not want to leave. I am now considering changing my major to a Master's in Engineering Mangement. I have heard that this degree will open more oppurtunities for advancment in any company. Our company has many different departments which provides oppurtunity to move.

I am looking for some advice or insight from experienced engineers. If I want to practice Enviromental Engineeirng I will proabably have to leave this company. I will still continue to work here while pursuing my master's. The compnay pays for school in full, and there is no obligation to remain with the company after graduation.

 

[bltseattle]

Here is my two cents. I earned a technical MSCE (stormwater focus) 12 yrs ago and have been working for private consultants since.

For many engineers, upward career (read: salary) growth is correlated to either being a project manager or having some unique technical expertise. Without either of these skills, you may max out your advancement potential within about 10 years.

Management is not for everyone, but project managers get paid more than design engineers and often have bonus incentives. If you think directing others/coordinating/scheduling/accounting/client interaction will be fulfilling, go for it. Many engineers end up as a manager and do not have relevant training, so having the MS in management would give you an advantage for this career path.

But, if you enjoy solving engineering/design/construction problems, designing, and going out to project sites, you might not like management as much as a technical focus like water resources.

 

[cvg]

Rather than stay where you are and continue working in a field you don't particulary enjoy, you might want to get your feet wet in environmental engineering by finding another job in that field first. Wastewater and hydrology are quite different fields, you should focus on one or the other. Then pursue the advanced degree.

 

[francesca]

While the advice about Project Managing is sound, remember that you'll first need a PE and if you want the full support of the team you're managing, you'll need experience too.

A company that will pay your school is worth its weight in gold. The fact that you'll have no break in your work experience while you're at college is an added bonus. However, you already have experience in a field of civil engineering that you do not particularly enjoy. You will be adding two more years of experience in this unenjoyable field while you're studying. Once you graduate, you'll have a solid base of experience in a field you either don't enjoy, or don't wish to pursue. You'll have to start again on the bottom rung if you wish to switch to environmental engineering once you've got your masters.

You may be better off, as cvg said, finding a company that'll let you work in the environmental engineering realm, even if it means paying for college with loans. Remember that you can often get assistantships and work-study programs to help pay for grad school.

I am in a similar boat, with over 5 years' international experience; three and a half in traffic/transportation and one and two in subdivisions (mostly hydraulics, both open channel and pressure). With my foreign degree and foreign experience, nobody is interested in hiring me. I'm faced with moving away from the job I lucked into and I'm considering grad school to obviate the need to go begging for work. (At least if I end up waitressing at Waffle House, I'll have the excuse that I'm in grad school!)

I'm hoping that the combination of a PE and a MSc from a "respectable" US university will elevate my career prospects to somewhere near where they need to be. So now, do I study traffic/transportation or water resources (hydrology)? I'm going where the assistantship money is.

 

[gbam]

OK,
I am hydrology BS grad that works in the civil engineering field & co. I have found that most grads from ce do not like or want to pursue a career in drainage/hydrology. Why, I am not sure but I enjoy the benefits of not many in my feild, some sort of job security. If you can design drainage facilities or enjoy it then I would recommend that you pursue that field. I am not sure if a masters or above is that necessary.

Just my 2-cents

 

[cvg]

I agree that a masters or above is not necessary or required, Jenn454 might as well get that masters, since already has a bachelors degree. In fact, you may not even need another degree. I graduated with a bachelors in civil, with only an emphasis and desire to work in water resources. I have done potable water systems planning, design and construction; sewer system planning, design and construction as well as hydrology and hydraulic analysis, design and construction. Most of my expertise has been through mentoring, special training (seminars and short courses), experience and a willingness to learn. You may find that if you are young and willing that a company may hire you and put you to work learning the ropes, regardless of your previous experience and emphasis.

 

[francesca]

gbam -- where do you work? Because in TN, wanting to work in hydrology and having experience in hydrology is not getting me anywhere but near to going to grad school out of frustration.

 

[LHA]

I have worked in H&H/Stormwater/E&S/Environmental for over 5 years, have been an engineer for 9.

In my experience, an advanced degree will not lead directly to a higher wage or a promotion for either a designer or a manager. Only a PE license will do that. Maybe other disciplines are different, but in Civil Engineering, there are two basic "ranks" of engineers...licensed and non-licensed.

Concentrate on getting your license, ask your employer to pay for a review course and/or give you some payed time off to study. That will be win:win for both of you; a review course is infinitely less expensive, takes about 6 months and can be done at night. And it will lead to a license, which is all you need for either design or management.

If you are set on management, I would opt for an MBA, rather than an Eng Management masters. That way, you will have the training for any type of management. And an MBA generally does lead directly to both higher pay and higher rank

Remember: The Chinese ideogram for “crisis” is comprised of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.”
-Steve

 

[francesca]

Steve,

Thanks for the advice. I get my EIT results this week and hope to sit the PE in October. Of course, with the foreign degree and the too much engineering and not enough humanities, I will be sitting it in KY, not TN, so it probably won't help me in the least.

I have to go to grad school so that companies will recognize my "American" degree. Besides, with a PhD, I can work in a college.

Francesca

 

[gbam]

francesca,
I am in Arizona. I graduated from the University of Arizona, GO CATS!. I work for a transportation firm which primarily designs roads. I started here after graduation almost 10 years ago and I have carved out a niche with my company.

 

[francesca]

I figured it had to be somewhere out west. I have quite extensive experience in traffic modeling, which I'm sure would be really useful out there too, but in TN it's about as useful as an ocean liner. Also, hydrology is a rather well populated field, it would seem.

 

[richtown]

Work your 40 hours a week, get your PE, then get an MBA.

Or become proficient in Mechanical engineering and then get a law degree = patent attorney

 

[francesca]

I'd rather stick pins in my eyes than become a patent attorney, but thanks for the suggestion (I have a friend who did Electrical Engineering, then got a Masters, then went to law school and is now a patent attorney. I think she likes it.)

 

[jenn454]

Thanks for the advice. I think I am going to pursue a Masters in Environmental Engineering and hope I get the opportunity to transfer to the environmental department with in my company. If that hasn't happened by the time I graduate I will look for other job openings. I want to pursue something i know I will enjoy, and I am not positive that management is what I want.

Getting a License is my ultimate goal, but you have to have at least four years experience as a EI before you can take the PE test. I have one year working experience so far and grad school will count as another two. So once I graduate with a Master's I will be ready to sit for my PE.

 

[francesca]

You do not need four years experience as an EI, you need four years experience after getting your undergrad. I took the EIT in April and if I passed, I'm taking the PE in October. I have heard that you used to be able to take both in one sitting, but not any longer.

I suggest that you apply for research assistantships while you're studying and maybe work only part time. That way, if you haven't transfered to the environmental section at work, you'll at least have some environmental experience on your resume. You'd look pretty silly with a PE and no experience in environmental, applying for environmental work. Your PE would effectively be useless, because ethical requirements preclude stamping drawings if you're not adequately skilled in preparing them.

Good luck, though.

 

[explortainment]

In PA you need 4 years of being an EIT before you can take the PE test.

 

[francesca]

In TN and KY, you need 4 years of post-graduate experience to take the PE, at least one in the USA, and you need to hold an EIT certificate.

 

[fndn]

Somethings in the course of your engineering career will inevitably take place. My two cents would be to concentrate on what you enjoy the most at work and postpone grad school for a year. Even if you have to change jobs, do it for your career. You'll soon become highly competent, then obtain your P.E. license and then you'll know which Masters to pursue.

It is better to be technically competent and later pick up the business/managerial skills. You can run an a/e firm with a P.E. and technical skills and then hire out the areas that you do not excel in or do not enjoy.

A Member of

http://www.civilvillage.com

 

[jdonville]

Jenn454 (and all),

Life is too short to work indefinitely at a job you don't enjoy and that won't take you in the direction you want to go professionally (the money will look after itself if you are good at it). There is reportedly a shortage of engineers in the USA. That means that someone out there is likely trying to fill the position you want to be in. Make the shortage work for you by asking for the assignments you want and need. Be prepared to go find someone else who will let you do the work you want to do.

Pick a field you love, get good at it, get licensed and then go for the advanced education (if you feel you still want it).

That's my $1.50, anyway.

Jeff

Jeffrey T. Donville, PE
TTL Associates, Inc.

http://www.ttlassoc.com

 

[henri2]

Francesca you write "You'd look pretty silly with a PE and no experience in environmental, applying for environmental work. Your PE would effectively be useless, because ethical requirements preclude stamping drawings if you're not adequately skilled in preparing them".

Don't quite know if that is always the case. Depending on the region of the country, some private companies and public agencies are desperate for PEs and may hire a PE with no experience in environmental and train the individual...and it is not only limited to that field. If the individual is young, smart, a team player, and willing to learn, there will not be too much of a problem making the transition.