Eng-Tips is the largest engineering community on the Internet

Intelligent Work Forums for Engineering Professionals

Register Log in

Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue? 2

Status
Not open for further replies.
jnam82

jnam82

Mechanical
Jun 12, 2008
24
0
0
US
A little about myself... I am a fairly recent graduate (summer 06') with BSME. I worked in the HVAC/controls industry for a short while before I decided to give patent law a try and went to USPTO and experienced first hand patent law is not for me (pretty boring stuff). So now I'm thinking about going to grad school but don't know which area to specialize in. I'm thinking either HVAC, Fire protection, or Structural

Seems University of Maryland and WPI are the only two schools that offer master's in fire protection. Job outlook is good from what I hear because of new regulation and laws. Can anyone chime in about salary, job satisfaction and advancements? Is this a respectable engineering field?

Also, should I pursue the thesis or the technical mater's program? I'm thinking thesis would be useless unless I decide to do PhD.

What are some good schools for HVAC or structural programs?

Thanks for all the help
 
Replies continue below

Recommended for you

Sort by date Sort by votes
My advice, for HVAC and Fire Protection get experience and your PE rather than a Master's degree. I do not see how going deeper into working with the Darcy Weisbach equation will give you experience in design.

My 2 cents,

MPE engineer, JPR
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I am not in HVAC or building systems, but from what I have seen I would agree with the previous posters. Take a look at the job postings and see if any of them have "Masters degree a plus." I'm guessing you won't find many. Additionally, I know some people I graduated with that went into HVAC and didn't seem to have any trouble with only a BSME. If nothing else, you should be able to get your foot in the door with the bachelors and then see what the company/industry thinks about a Masters. Perhaps the company, if they value a Masters, will even help pay for it or allow you to work part time and you can get experience and a masters.

-- MechEng2005
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
If you can stand the strain, go for a dual eng'g degree. My boss had EE/ME, and he was top notch. A lot of the prelim stuff applies to both degrees. A type of engr will be a little blind-sided about other eng'g specialties.

Any objections about bio-med eng'g? If I had it to do over, that's where I would go. I don't think the medical side has much ups and downs.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I agree with the others. For HVAC I would forget the Master's for now and worry about getting your PE. A friend in school was working for an HVAC company. Their engineers all had BSME's and were PE's (making quite a lot of money btw).

I might get started working to get my PE and then have my employer pay for the Masters if you really want one.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Take a general "building systems" course load if you can find one, with HVAC as a major, and then, see how you can supplement that with some building science/building physics courses (to learn where and how building heating and cooling loads come, from and how they act), and maybe some building energy modelling if available. I can tell you that in my field (Building systems consulting) we can't find enough talented energy simulators with any knowledge of building science.

Look at the price of energy and how much energy buildings use, and see that your career will be much in demand with this type of background.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
So the consensus seems to be that PE is more valuable than a master's. I guess it's because experience is more valuable than school education?? But wouldn't master's help you gain new skills and obtaining your PE?

What is the average salary of someone w/PE license?

GMcD, do you know any institutions that offer the courses that you mention. what are some companies/firms that are involved w/building systems consulting?

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Currently a master's degree will let you take the PE exam a year early (in some states, anyway). Other than that, it doesn't do anything for licensure. It might get you into a more interesting job while you prepare for licensure, but it is experience rather than knowledge that is considered for the PE.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
There is so much controversy and opposition to the Masters requirement for PE, that it will likely be several years if ever that it gets passed. Especially when one considers that they would have to further develop clauses regarding who gets grandfathered in, current applicants, etc.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I strongly object to requiring the masters for the PE exam. When I took the PE, an associate with MME flunked the PE exam. Didn't speak highly for the masters.

In the Ohio PE when I took the exam, a majority of the candidates passed, but the fail rate was not negligible; something like 15-20%. I doubt that the masters made a difference. What made a difference for me was the refresher course given by the plant facility engrs. It was a life changing experience. Everybody had their short cuts and helped each other. Working a complicated looking HVAC problem on the psych chart was easy.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You are about 5 years too late to object. This has been under discussion for a decade, and the details were largely worked out 3-5 years ago and the Model Law was adopted at the 2006 National Confernece. If you spend some time browsing through you'll see years of discusion by people who are active in NCEES

The current NCEES Model Law language contains the requirement for 30 hours post BS (they're calling it "masters or equivalent"), and more than a few states have said that they would incorporate that part of the language in their statues.

At the 2008 National Convention they decided to delay implementation until 2020. There were so many issues raised that they've created a couple of task forces to address the major issues. See for a discussion.

David
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Generally salarie for mechanical engineers go high to low in the following industries:-
petrochem, oil & gas, mining, food, pharmaceutical, rail, water & wastewater, manufacturing, HVAC.

So if you see it as a vacation go for it but dont expect to get rich anytime soon.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Old saying about qualifications:-

B.Sc Bullsh*t
M Sc More sh*t
PHD Piled higher and deeper
MBA make bullsh*t an Art form

Work a couple of years in design. Then get some practical experience under your belt on a construction site or in an operating company, then go back into design. Plenty of top flight engineers without additional qualifications. Some with qualifications need a taxi to get them to work as they are not practical enough to catch the bus.

If you are good enough, someone like Esso or Shell may take you. If not work on one of their projects for the constructor. Keep your ears and eyes open. Dont be bashful about asking the tradesmen on how things work.

Dont ask a question and be dumb forever. Ask a stupid question and appear dumb for a few nano seconds, but you will never have to ask again.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Manpreet Singh
  • Locked
  • Question
Trying to transition from Mechanical Program Manager to hand-on
Replies
2
Views
15
CWB1
CWB1
nisli-a
  • Locked
  • Question
Jr. Mech. Engineer Career Advice - Stay in it or Transition to Computer Eng/Science? 9
Replies
13
Views
26
CWB1
CWB1
rQuestionEngineering
  • Locked
  • Question
How to gain experience as a Turbine mechanic in Surat Basin ?
Replies
1
Views
22
IRstuff
IRstuff
rQuestionEngineering
  • Locked
  • Question
Is it worth to pay GBP 50,000 to study Msc in Cranfield ?
Replies
7
Views
10
LittleInch
LittleInch
bootlegin
  • Locked
  • Question
Looking to extend my electro-mechanical engineering knowledge 2
2
Replies
38
Views
39
bootlegin
bootlegin
Back
Top