Job Offer vs MS

[dohdoh]

hey guys..

I needed some advice at this juncture since am quite confused. I just graduated with a BS in IE last month here in Boston with a 3.7 GPA and need to decide between continuing with an MS in Engineering Management or IE at my current school here in Boston or just taking a job offer. My eventual long-term goal is to be move into management and more on the business side of things since engineering is not my passion.

The offer is for an international aviation company and entails working on the shop floor of an MRO and helping come up with better facility layouts, production planning methodology as well as some inventory analysis work down in Dallas, TX.

The pay is average and the job description itself doesn't excite me (since I was looking for core-supply chain/biz development/tech sales positions). My fear is that if its the kind of work that I don't like really like doing, I won't be able to do 100% justice to it and be outstanding at it..

I could potentially do the MS full-time and look for full time positions upon completing it early next year. Being an international student, the MS tends to open more doors from a visa sponsorship standpoint which I had issues with this recruiting season.

So do I take the job in the type of work that doesn't really excite me or do the MS full-time and look again next year with the hopes of a better economy and easier visa sponsorship due to the advanced degree? Would the MS count for something and help me advance in corporate america or is it not necessary for someone looking to get into management? I do plan to get an MBA 5-6 years down the lane

My family is willing to support me financially regardless so no financial constraints as such. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[JS80]

Pass on MS, find an employer that will sponsor MBA.

 

[Aharami]

take job, got for MBA or MS down the line. But make sure you start your graduate program within 3 yrs

 

[busydude]

Who is going to fund your MS?

 

[dohdoh]

Who is going to fund your MS?

Family is willing cover all expenses.

take job, got for MBA or MS down the line. But make sure you start your graduate program within 3 yrs

Since financial issues not constraint, you don't think I should get done with MS full-time in a year and leverage that to get another job instead of doing it part-time on a job that's not of interest?

 

[Imp]

Take job, screw the masters. Everyone who CAN NOT get a job has plans on or is going to school right now.

The best thing would be to find a part-time MS/MBA and work at the same time.

FYI: Most people "FML" at their job, but it pays the bills while they look for something new. Just take the damn money...

 

[the DRIZZLE]

Whatever do you don't get an MS in engineering if you don't like engineering. That makes absolutely no sense. In fact, an MS in engineering will steer you more toward the technical side of engineering which is exactly what you don't want.

You can't get into a real business school without work experience. If you want to go that route I suggest looking for a job that will look good on MBA applications.

 

[Imp]

Is OP Indian?

Nothing personal, but I had an Indian friend and she let me in on the "need an MBA to be successful/respected" culture in India.

 

[theeedude]

You don't need MS in engineering management to be an engineering manager. Extra year of engineering experience will get you closer to where you want to be. Engineer managers generally get promoted from within the ranks. Take on technical responsibilities where you coordinate work of different people to the job done. Demonstrate that you are good at gaining respect of your colleagues and leading a subgroup to get a task or project done. Good companies will take note of your ability to coordinate and lead people and when there is opening, make you a manager. It's the path of least resistance and least risk for them. You are already doing the work, they'll just make it official. Engineers respect someone who paid the dues and started from where they are now. They don't like when companies bring in an outsider to show them how it's done.
They may ask you to take some training on employment law so you follow all the regulations and don't get them sued. But ultimately all they want is someone who can lead a group and get stuff done.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Never, ever pay for a Masters degree. Find a company that will reimburse your tuition and go that route to get an MBA.

 

[drinkmorejava]

BS Engineers who say they want an MBA are a dime a dozen. It's not a bad career move, but the best MBA programs want 5 years of work experience. You will also hear a lot of statements about how a college degree is the new high school diploma. From a good school this is not the case, but from a lot of places you will need the MS to get the recognition you want. Your best bet is to find a company that will pay for your MS part time, work for several years to get the technical and leadership experience, then get your MBA. You're going to be around for a long time, don't try to take the shortcut. At any rate, you will need technical breadth and depth for your degree to be really useful in a management position, so you might as well get your MS during that time.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

BS Engineers who say they want an MBA are a dime a dozen. It's not a bad career move, but the best MBA programs want 5 years of work experience. You will also hear a lot of statements about how a college degree is the new high school diploma. From a good school this is not the case, but from a lot of places you will need the MS to get the recognition you want. Your best bet is to find a company that will pay for your MS part time, work for several years to get the technical and leadership experience, then get your MBA. You're going to be around for a long time, don't try to take the shortcut. At any rate, you will need technical breadth and depth for your degree to be really useful in a management position, so you might as well get your MS during that time.

Most of this is true but I still don't see the benefit of the MS for the OP. I don't think the extra technical skill will buy him anything. He would be better off spending the time doing something that will help him get into a good B school.

 

[drinkmorejava]

Most of this is true but I still don't see the benefit of the MS for the OP. I don't think the extra technical skill will buy him anything. He would be better off spending the time doing something that will help him get into a good B school.

If there's one thing I'm saying, it's that he could probably find an employer that will pay for his MS during that time that he would be working before is MBA anyway.

 

[unokitty]

Congratulation on graduating.

From my perspective, experience now will serve you better than continuing with your schooling. Though, you need to have confidence that you have the ability to work with people that you trust and that you can learn from...

There are lots and lots and lots of schools that offer graduate degrees. But when I was hiring, anyone without experience was, from my perspective, entry level.

You have the rest of your life to get your graduate degree. (Though, it would probably be prudent to set a goal in terms of time i.e. you will have your graduate degree within X years.)

Combining a few years of experience with a graduate degree will be worth more than either the experience or the degree alone...

Best of luck,
Uno

 

[dohdoh]

Thanks much for the responses guys! I appreciate it. Just to clarify, I definitely agree on the merits of getting real-world experience over staying in school.

The reason why I'm considering the MS is because the job isn't enticing since its not in the specific field of interest and by going the MS route, i'd hope to get past the visa sponsorship hoop, buy more time and add another qualification to my resume with possible hope of getting a job more aligned with my interests.. the company would pay about 5-6k in total towards the masters but thats about it..

It sounds like the general consensus is to just suck it up and take the job even though the primary responsibilities required of me are not something I see myself doing. Gonna have to do some self-reflectoin to convince myself *sigh*

 

[Leros]

One thing to think about. In some fields (not sure about yours), if you keep getting promotions, you can sort of plateau at a level where you can't get any higher without a masters.

You can get a masters now in 2 years as a full-time student. Or you can do it later when you're working a full time job, married, have kids, etc. It'll add about 10-20 hours of work to your week and take 5 years to finish (one class per semester).

It might make sense to do it now, while its easy.

 

[Bignate603]

In engineering many employers will pay for your tuition to work towards your degree. It will take longer but you will be better off for the following reasons:

1. Somebody else will have paid for your masters, you/your family don't have to pay for it.
2. Somebody with a masters and no experience is only marginally more useful than someone with a BS and no experience. Somebody with a few years experience and an MS is very useful and will get a noticeably higher salary.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

ome up with better facility layouts, production planning methodology as well as some inventory analysis work

I love how companies hire greenpeas who have no real world experience to do this type of work. I understand on paper it looks fine, but man does it suck for those of us who have to deal with the real world consequences. It's almost as bad as hiring process engineers right out of school who think they know, but when crunch time hits - the rest of us are left with the responsibility to make things actually work.
<-- Glad he's leaving the SI(Systems Integration/Industrial Automation) world and going to an OEM.

Good luck by the way - I have no real help for your OP dilema other than suggesting you try gaining some RWE before deciding to spend more money on education.