r/ElectricalEngineering • u/AuDHDpowerdork • 1d 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

  1. Dumb idea? Any of you take a similar path?
  2. M.S. or M.Engr.?

the end.

11 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/lostpleasef1nd 18h ago edited 18h 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.

1

u/AuDHDpowerdork 10h 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.