Master's degree advice

I am going to start getting my Master's degree sometime soon but I am not sure what I want to do. My company will pay for my master's (up to $10k a year I think). So here is my dilemma. I live in Huntsville and I went to the University of Alabama Huntsville for my major (M.E.). But a lot of the good teachers in engineering have left in the past couple years and been replaced by not very good teachers and I have heard it doesn't look good to go back to the school you got your undergraduate degree from. From what I have heard the MBA program at UAH is decent. So I was wondering how much would an MBA help me? Two would it look bad if I went back to the school I got my undergrad from to get my master's if it was a different subject? I have friends who are getting their degrees online from places like UC Boulder or Michigan but I don't think I can do an online degree.

Been thinking similar things myself, but don't have the option of going back to my undergrad (they offer pretty much nothing in grad studies)

If it was a decent school, I have never really thought about the same school thing as a detriment. Is it a bad school for some reason?

After taking a few online classes, I personally would consider an online degree worthless.

I personally don't think that getting your grad degree from the same school is a bad thing.

If you are going to get an MBA, try first to do it at a top tier school (Harvard, IU, Northwestern, Michigan, Stanford, etc.), but if your company will only pay for it from one school, then the choice is easy. I'm currently trying to decide what I want to do--I could commute and do a weekend MBA from numerous "top tier" schools, or I could stay where I am and get an MBA from a school that is extremely well respected in the area, and the MBA itself is probably as good as or better than most others, but outside of 4 cities wouldn't be worth squat.

I know at least 3 engineers who have careers that have skyrocketed since they added the MBA. Do you want to be in charge of other engineers, or do you want to be the top engineer?

In reply to Apexcarver:

I have just been told by a couple people going back to the same school aas you got your undergrad (in general not UAH in particular) for a grad degree looks bad for some reason. No idea if that is true or not.

mtn wrote: If you are going to get an MBA, try first to do it at a top tier school (Harvard, IU, Northwestern, Michigan, Stanford, etc.), but if your company will only pay for it from one school, then the choice is easy. I'm currently trying to decide what I want to do--I could commute and do a weekend MBA from numerous "top tier" schools, or I could stay where I am and get an MBA from a school that is extremely well respected in the area, and the MBA itself is probably as good as or better than most others, but outside of 4 cities wouldn't be worth squat. I know at least 3 engineers who have careers that have skyrocketed since they added the MBA. Do you want to be in charge of other engineers, or do you want to be the top engineer?

I could reach Vandy fairly easily to do a weekend MBA but I would be out of state so that would send the cost up. My fiance will be going thru grad school at the same time so any extra cost would hurt. I am not really sure about your last question but I figure it gives me the choice. I mean I have been team leads of things for a lot of my life (senior patrol leader and trail leader at philmont in scouts, team lead in Formula SAE, lead suspension designer in Baja SAE and assistant team lead in Formula SAE).

I would love my master's in Engineering but the time and the lack of decent programs in driving distance is putting a cramp on that (minus Vandy).

Long run, I'd say that the MBA would help you out a lot more than the MS in Engineering. I'm looking at a somewhat similar situation--Mathematics was my undergrad. My options for grad school would be Actuarial Science (no thanks, too much work/studying/I'm not putting myself through that again) or an MBA.

Luckily I have about a year to consider it as my company won't pay for it until I've been here a year, and at that point I'll have to wait another 4 months for a new semester.

mtn wrote: Long run, I'd say that the MBA would help you out a lot more than the MS in Engineering. I'm looking at a somewhat similar situation--Mathematics was my undergrad. My options for grad school would be Actuarial Science (no thanks, too much work/studying/I'm not putting myself through that again) or an MBA.

I am kinda thinking the same thing about Engineering after seeing what my friends that are in grad school and working are going thru (too much work/ studying). Not saying that an MBA will be a cake walk though.

Top 20 b-school>state U>online (some state Us offering online now and it's not like it will ever show up on a resume as online). An ivy league/top tier mba is worth several multiples of a state-u mba. The bus degree has more value out in the world than a discipline-specific degree unless you keep going and take it to the doctoral level. Same school doesn't really matter.

Most engineers I know (and work with), become managers, so an MBA could be a help.

Getting a BS and MS from the same school are not a problem. What you cannot do is also get a PhD from the same school.

There are schools that have off campus engineering programs geared toward working professionals. We have engineers here who have gone through such a program at the University of South Carolina. Its not a mail order degree, but don't know if your employeer would pay for that route.

BTW, I love that area of Alabama. If I had moved there instead of Montgomery I would still be in AL.

spitfirebill wrote: There are schools that have off campus engineering programs geared toward working professionals. We have engineers here who have gone through such a program at the University of South Carolina. Its not a mail order degree, but don't know if your employeer would pay for that route.

This is more what my friends are doing instead of an online degree like university of Phoenix or any of that E36 M3.

MBA vs MSME

Do you want manage or create?

Managers do get paid more, but is it really worth it? Money isn't everything.

Think about it before jumping.

One other thing, some companies have a technical path for promotions, too. Where PhDs and MSs are valued as well.

Good luck.

(And you remind me that I'm happy I got the ms directly out of the bs degree)

Most engineers I know (including myself) don't want to become managers...if you do, an MBA may be worthwhile.

One thing that drives me absolutely nuts is dealing with the people who go straight into an MBA program from their undergrad without first obtaining industry experience. "Yay I want to be a manager but I have no idea what any of these technical things mean" types.

Edit - I should send a positive message as well, instead of ranting. I personally did a distance learning (AKA "online") M.Eng program with the same school I did my undergrad with. I worked during the day and did school at night. It was extremely difficult. My degree doesn't say "online" or "distance ed", and neither does my transcript. The course work was the same, though I didn't take any courses with labs. Projects were done with other people via email or occasional face to face meetings if another distance student happened to be nearby.

In reply to mikeatrpi:

I don't want to go straight into management. Hell I don't even know if I want to go into management but if I have a MBA I can either use it or not. I figure it can't hurt if I have it and it is getting paid for. Also now makes sense kinda before I have a family and all that stuff that gets in the way.

The whole graduate degree from the same school as your undergraduate only really matters if you are going for a PhD and want to teach. It is basically about professors being exposed to different lines of thought to expand what they bring to the classroom and research.

My experience is that graduate degrees in engineering generally only bring opportunities for specific types of jobs. I'm having a difficult time putting it into words, but some areas within a specific field may require additional education to break into. Once you have a job in the area you want to work in, experience generally makes a bigger difference than education.

Conversely, an MBA is only useful if you want to get into management. Of course, management requires people skills which is exactly why many people become enginerds to begin with. For a number crunching designer, it is completely irrelevant unless you plan to put out a shingle.

I started an MBA program at a local college, Clemson, recently. I've pretty much decided to keep going to school until I run out of GI Bill benefits.

I don't think the MBA program is easier; it's just different. I enjoy the different thought processes it requires, and I think that it compliments my technical background. There are more opportunities for advancement, and you'll probably make more money in the long run with an MBA. It also lets you make connections with people that can actually hire you. I've met a lot of HR managers for major companies that are local to my area. My understanding is that it's also easier to get funding for your own business if you have an MBA.

There is also a lot of free booze involved. They literally hand the stuff out if you bother showing up to the meet and greets.

It might just be because I grew tired of spending all my time in a lab or factory, but I'm enjoying it. I'm thinking about trying to study organizational behavior after this; people problems are interesting.

You should definitely get some type of advanced degree. It will be very difficult to get any real advancement without one. Oh, and don't waste your time with an online degree.

93-Civic -

I didn't intend to give you a hard time about it. Besides, you've indicated that you have an employer, so it sounds like you've got experience anyway . You're definitely doing the right research now, so thumbs up on that too.

Are you certain that your employer will cover tuition for an MBA? I know with mine, they covered my tuition because I was an engineer working towards a relevant technical degree. Its harder for an engineer to get funded for an MBA than a manager at many places.

mikeatrpi wrote: Are you certain that your employer will cover tuition for an MBA? I know with mine, they covered my tuition because I was an engineer working towards a relevant technical degree. Its harder for an engineer to get funded for an MBA than a manager at many places.

Important point there. The school system I was teaching in paid for my M.Ed. but a fellow teacher wanted to get an MBA and they would not pay.

Same school for Bachelors and Masters is not that important. If the school is well known for the quality of their programs in the field it may even be an advantage

oldtin wrote: Top 20 b-school>state U>online

I agree with this post, but would add free school > all others.

ME here too, 10 years out with BSME. I'm a project manager/design lead, and prefer not to go into the program / business side so I haven't done the MBA thing. In my line the MSME wouldn't do anything for me.

MBA plus job-hopping will do wonders for your bottom line, if that's what you're looking for. At least for now I'm happy staying on the tech side and at a smaller company.

Take a look at Carnegie-Mellon. A few friends went through their MBA program and it was structured for engineering managers taking it remotely.

mikeatrpi wrote: Are you certain that your employer will cover tuition for an MBA? I know with mine, they covered my tuition because I was an engineer working towards a relevant technical degree. Its harder for an engineer to get funded for an MBA than a manager at many places.

I am not sure on that. The tuition reimbursement was not that clearly stated.