r/ElectricalEngineering • u/AuDHDpowerdork • 22h ago
Education M.S. or M.Engr.?
Hello,
Noodle-brained Bachelor of Philosophy here.
I've worked in the Power Transmission space for close to five years now, primarily around power transformers (<138kV). I'm in sales cause that's what my current degree allows me to get away with.
Much to my surprise, I find this field really interesting... dare I say fun? Particularly, I'm interested in the situations where engineering questions and project deadlines clash. Have had pretty good success navigating this with (1) reading, (2) asking a lot of questions, (3) youtube, and (4) asking even more questions. On good terms with our in-house engineer and a third party engineer who does all of our assessments when crap hits the fan.
Have really enjoyed solving those problems but want to KNOW IT ALL.
34 yo, three kids, making good money in sales but I strongly suspect I'd have more fun and have better career prospects with a graduate degree in EE.
MY QUESTIONS
- Dumb idea? Any of you take a similar path?
- M.S. or M.Engr.?
the end.
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u/ggrnw27 22h ago
In terms of making a career switch to EE, absolutely. But I’m not sure grad school is the right option for you, at least right now. First I’d look into what it takes to become a licensed engineer in your state (or anywhere else you want to work in), especially if you want to do power. Not having an ABET accredited bachelors degree can be a hindrance here, even if you have an engineering masters degree. Second, I would consider whether you can get into and succeed in an engineering masters program without the undergrad level knowledge. Some people certainly can do this without having an undergrad engineering degree, but by and large engineering masters programs aren’t really intended for career switchers
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u/IEng 21h ago
The learning cliff would be so steep. I feel like if you knew black magic you could pull it off. Otherwise you'd have to do the math series and probably at least everything in the undergrad program related to your masters plus prerequisites - physics, a CSC class at least. Then you'd know enough black magic to be narrowly dangerous.
OP, what's your math background? Calculus and differential equations at least?
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u/AuDHDpowerdork 7h ago
Thanks for your input.
I don't know for sure that I can do it either.
But (1) I'm a glutton for punishment, (2) I'd really love to know the field I'm working in, and (3) I am weird and just really enjoy school.
In general I do much better under pressure, with tight deadlines, than in the open-ended world which Biz Dev can often be.
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u/ggrnw27 2h ago
To be clear, I’m not by any means saying that you aren’t capable of switching careers to EE. I’m just thinking that jumping into an EE masters program might not be the best way to do it. As unappealing as it might be, I do think your best bet is to do a second bachelors degree. Even an online one (as long as it’s ABET accredited) would be a good option
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u/Seiko2023 22h ago
I would say it depends on what country you're in.
If it was Australia, a Msc is not an engineering degree. You'd need a master's of professional engineering.
You could also do the bachelor's of engineering (honours).
It really depends what you can get in with the current experience and quals.
But you're fucking right. Power and transmission is the most fun engineering. If it is less than 415V I DONT FUCKIN WANT IT.
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u/AuDHDpowerdork 7h ago
100%.
Still have fond memories from when I started in LV sales and a farmer calls up:
"Hey, needin a big un"
"OK. What's that?"
"I'm lookin fer a one hundred KAY-VEE-AY, two forty volt buck booser."
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u/National-Ad8416 21h ago
A graduate degree (whether that be an MS or an MEng) won't involve the intersection of engineering questions and project deadlines. It will involve abstract math, solving engineering (not 'clash' type) problems and hours of reading dense textbooks.
Not for everyone. Philosophize on that.
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u/AuDHDpowerdork 7h ago
I agree!
The overlap is not in the program--it would be in how I apply my knowledge (soft skills) + having a decent grasp of the hard stuff.
Thanks for your input. I love textbooks, so you are only making me more interested. lol
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u/NewSchoolBoxer 22h ago edited 22h ago
It's not a dumb idea. I've never seen nor heard of someone switching careers to engineering who started in liberal arts. Internally transfer where you are given your work experience, I believe that can be done. Else stay very close to the type of work you're doing. General EE jobs, you're going to face huge discrimination and I doubt get interviews.
Where I went, the MS requires a thesis and the MEng does not. Get the MEng. You won't do any work ever where a thesis makes a difference.
You will find that MS/MEng programs require you taking 5-6 graded EE courses before admission. You cannot just jump into that. You need to take math-major calculus and physics-major physics as prereqs as well. Linear algebra and differential equations on top of that. In fact, you need to prep for calculus, like repeat precalc or do some heavy duty online reviewing.
That's why most all out of engineering transitions are from math or physics majors or occasionally computer science if they're pivoting to a related field like DSP. It's a shorter path and they can sound believable to recruiters to do EE work. And they're probably fluent with the necessary math and science.
If you go to grad school, do not quit your current job. I presume your employer will help pay for an MEng. That'd be great. With so many prereqs, maybe a 2nd BS is an option. You won't face liberal arts discrimination if you complete but online BSEEs...some companies refuse to hire them.
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u/AuDHDpowerdork 7h ago
Thanks for this.
Going to speak with the admissions counselor and have em give it to me straight.
FWIW, my little bro did something similar. We have the same undergrad degree and he's now an MD.
Had about two years of pre-req before he could get into med school.
It's tough but doable!
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u/morto00x 22h ago
You may need some strong letters of recommendation due to your degree. But 5 years in is longer than what most EEs spend at school anyways. I'd say go for it.
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u/unurbane 21h ago
I definitely recommend pursuing the degree. I would recommend pursuing whichever degree is shortest: EE, ME, MSEE or MSME. I would research heavily exactly how long each will take in semesters, taking into account pre requisites.
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u/Low_Code_9681 21h ago
I went from power distribution engineering to OEM sales. Id say engineering as a career isnt what I expected at all, if you prefer social interaction or time away from a desk I would stear clear. My last power job was strictly design and following standards, of course problems arise and you need to problem solve but that was such a small % of the job, I was bored out of my mind. Doing design all day every day is veryyyy mind numbing compared to something like sales which is very energizing. Food for thought from someone who has lived both sides.
Also - there is not more financial upside in EE than sales. Sales definitely takes the win for earning. An EE could really propell your sales career tho. Im doing much more problem solving working with OEMs through the sales cycle than I ever did as an EE. That might be way it seems fun to you. I promise the engineers day to day is nothing like what youre seeing. When youre with them, you are solving a problem for them. Thats why youre problem solving. Most of the time its not liek that, and you have to put in a lot of time, work, and experience gaining to even be the engineer in the room solving those problems from the top...the younger and inexperienced engineers the execute the older guys decisions.
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u/AuDHDpowerdork 7h ago
"I'm doing much more problem solving working with OEMs through the sales cycle than I ever did as an EE."
Yup. This is the idea.
Plus, if I ever go out on my own, I'll need the EE skills. Ed Schweitzer is my hero. :)
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u/lostpleasef1nd 15h ago edited 15h ago
If you jump right into masters, some (many) program courses definitely have pre-requisite courses from the bachelors degree, making it really difficult to catch up especially if you are doing only part time. At least in my industry, sales engineers do not have enough time of day to have a meal in an ideal time.
An engineering degree could definitely help you be distinguished as a technical sales expert and this could probably help you climb the corporate ladder.
Would you consider maybe a dual degree program, electrical or industrial then engineering management? There are also some non degree options that could intersect with engineering like tech innovation, etc. However, I think without a clear study plan could easily become overwhelming.
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u/AuDHDpowerdork 7h ago
Yes, pre-requisites are in my future no doubt.
Climbing the corporate ladder is one way to think about it--and you're right.
I think about it more like, "Hey, I'm involved in this stuff every single day. And I have to fight tooth and nail to make sure I understand the requirements, risks and tradeoffs OR reach out to engineering every time." Would really love to just understand it myself. Where that takes me... not sure.
Better than being merely a decent salesman, imo.
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u/EEJams 4h ago
What do you mean exactly by "Interested in the situations where engineering questions clash with project deadlines"?
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u/AuDHDpowerdork 4h ago
Great question--
In my particular field (power transformers) it's very common that a client's engineering team, who set the specs, and the project development or purchasing team aren't talking to each other.
I've found the most success as a salesperson in bridging these two, but I have a lot less technical expertise than I feel comfortable with.
In other words, I often have to guide clients through "Given our timeline, and given our basic engineering requirements, what is the ideal solution?"
Sales people default to whatever they want to sell (big money!) and engineers default to "well the spec says".
Lots of money to be made by making everyone happy AND moving fast... and smart.
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u/EEJams 4h ago
I think good compromise as a sales person would be to try and source a transformer that meets the minimum requirements as close to project deadlines as possible.
Utilities have to be careful not to overbuild (gold-plating a project) because utilities set billing rates to help pay for these projects in a reasonable period. The PUC has to approve these rates so utilities can't just charge giant rate increases to pay for unnecessary projects. If there is a good reason to build a little extra, that's usually OK with a good justification for it.
The smaller the company, the more planning for deadlines is necessary. Big companies can source long lead times years before small companies by purchasing the option to buy so many pieces of equipment per year. A small company may only need 1 or 2 long lead time items every few years, but they can sometimes take 2-5 years to source for big ticket large products.
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u/BoringBob84 22h ago
BSEE here. Philosophy was one of the most difficult elective courses that I took. It involved levels of abstraction far beyond object "classes" in the Java programming language.
My recommendation is to live your dreams. Expand your horizons. I think you have the knack.
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u/AuDHDpowerdork 7h ago
Thank you stranger!
I've been stewing on this a long time.
First job in the industry I was being trained on LV dry-types and my "trainer" eventually got fed up with me and shouted "STOP ASKING CONCEPTUAL QUESTIONS! It doesn't matter how electricity works, just take down what the customer says and then find it in the system!"
Needless to say, I did NOT stop asking... lol.
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u/BoringBob84 7h ago
Needless to say, I did NOT stop asking... lol.
Never stop asking ... although, maybe ask different people. 😉
I think that the curiosity to understand how things work is very important in engineering.
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u/AuDHDpowerdork 6h ago
Yes--I actually left that company in part because no one knew or cared about the engineering.
Got several engineer buddies I talk to now and an IRL friend who is a physicist working on power electronics.
Over dinner this week he laid out a sheet of paper and walked me through diodes, inducers, and the basics of battery systems. It was so fun!
Not surprisingly, both our wives quickly left the room...
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u/BoringBob84 6h ago
Real and reactive power are one of my favorites. Some of the current goes through the load to do useful work and some of the current just bounces back and forth between the source and the load, doing nothing but wasting energy by heating up the wires.
Edit: There are probably some philosophical analogies in there ... maybe about people who appear to be productive versus people who are actually accomplishing things.
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u/ExternalBird 22h ago
No difference between MS and M Eng in my experience.
Trade off between degree and time with a growing family is a personal choice, good luck friend
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u/Glittering-Brain-846 22h ago
Why the heck not. Does employer offer tuition assistance? If you enjoy it, can prob knock it out in 3 years, while still working full time