I'm not in Engineering but I would say go for the Masters. A lot of employers get so many applicants with Masters degrees these days that they don't even have to consider applicants with just a Bachelors. Not to mention a lot of job ads mention it's a large bonus if the applicant has a graduate degree. If it's only a year's difference, I would go for it.

I'm in the A/E/C industry.

If he can get a job NOW, he's better off grabbing it, then going to get his Master at night. His potential employer will likely have tuition assistance to help with the degree too.

Right now, jobs in this industry are not that plentiful, and there's no guarantee they're going to get any better any time soon. Employers would jump at at "cheaper" hire (young, no experience) in this market.

Hope this helps.

This advice varies on your part of the country, too - some areas (Texas) are booming. Others are still on the downslope.

I'm not in engineering, but my husband is in the kind of industry where that kind of expertise is sometimes hired. I don't think it's going to make that much difference--his age is going to be against him no matter what. For new hires, corporations are going with the younger applicants, the ones they can pay less, and not offer a lot of advancement in pay, perks or benefits. More education, in a lot of cases will make finding a job more difficult.

If I were his mom or aunt? I'd recommend that he get out there and try to find a job now. If he does--as some mentioned, there may be tuition help from his employer for him to get more education. If he doesn't get a job, THEN he can consider doing the extra year, if he's got 'nothing better to do'.

Seriously, in this economy, a job in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.

I think he needs to go get the job. No experience is still no experience. His advantage right now is that he might be able to bring more maturity to a job than someone a few years younger. My dh works in a related field. Some of the 'kids' his company have hired are good people, but they just don't have the work ethic needed. Dh is always complaining about how these guys want it all now and expect everything handed to them.

My husband is a P.E. and partner in an engineering firm, my son is getting his master's in engineering, my daughter is getting her bachelor's in engineering.

Based on what I hear my husband and son discuss, I think an engineering firm is not going to offer your daughter's fiance a higher starting salary simply because he is older. However, what makes a firm more likely to hire one candidate over the other depends on several factors. From what I've seen of the many young engineers we know who are about to graduate or have graduated recently, job experience in a relevant area is more likely to result in a job offer for a graduating engineer. How well they interview, possibly GPA, what areas of concentration they may have had in their undergrad courses, all of these things influence the interviewer. My husband hires young engineering students right out of school. He's looking for a minimum GPA, then after that he likes to see evidence that someone is a hard worker. However, when we've discussed general engineering job prospects (which we do often because we know so many young engineers), he says companies are heavily influenced to hire someone who has interned in the area they're hiring for.

Regarding the master's degree, we hope that our son will obtain his P.E., and we encouraged him to get his master's degree. I think the NCEES may make a master's degree or five year course of study a requirement for a P.E. in the future. Even though my son obviously would get his P.E. before that requirement would be enacted, I still feel like the playing field will be more level later in his career for him if he gets his master's, should that change is made by the NCEES.

The last factor I'd consider is what does your daughter's fiance want to do? My son is getting his master's degree primarily because the "fun" jobs, as he calls it, require higher education. A general civil engineering degree won't get him where he wants to be.

If your daughter's fiance wants to practice an area of mechanical engineering that doesn't require a master's degree, then it might be a waste of time and money for him to get it.

For what it's worth, the young graduating mechanical engineers we know are getting hired if their GPA is good or if they've done some useful internships while they were in school. Most of them aren't going on to get their master's degree, they're getting hired.

If an engineering firm doesn't need an engineer with a master's degree, they aren't going to pay any more for it than they would an engineer without it. The master's may make him a more attractive prospect (at the same salary level as a bachelor's graduate) if the company thinks they will need that expertise down the road.

If he was my son, I'd tell him to get a master's if the jobs he'd enjoy most require one. But if he already has a lot of school debt and the things he wants to do don't require a master's, then I'd tell him to make his job search national or global and just get a job with the bachelor's.

Sorry to be so long-winded, but I've heard discussions about hiring young engineers for the past 20+ years discussed over the dinner table regularly. And since my son and so many of his engineering friends recently graduated or are about to graduate, it's a particularly big topic of conversation right now at our house and among my friends.

I hope he gets the job of his dreams in the location he wants. Best of luck to him.

I should have added that if your daughter's fiance has not taken his EIT or FE exam, he might want to do that. Passing that exam may make him a more attractive candidate. My husband would definitely consider someone who'd already passed his EIT exam over someone who hadn't. However, I think (I don't know for sure) that not all disciplines of engineering have the same emphasis on the P.E. I'd think it would still be a nice credential to put on his resume.

I would second Daisy's advice with a additions. Whatever professional certification he can apply for and get now will be a huge plus. If he had a license for his previous trade and/or belonged to any organizations, those will speak well for him. If he can afford to maintain them, he should.

Additionally, he should contact NICET [National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies] as soon as possible and take the exam for the first level of mechanical engineering. Beyond the first level, he'll need on-the-job experience but getting the level one certification will be a valuable foot in the door for him when he goes job hunting. Additionally...NICET is an excellent organization who will help in many professional areas. If he becomes a member, he'll have a local group who will meet on a regular basis so he'll be able to network through them. He can't become a PE until he's had experience and, in my day, you couldn't sit for the exam until you had at least 5 years under your belt so getting involved with NICET early on will give him an edge.

Last but not least, grab a copy of the Engineering News Record...or have him access it on the net...and read through the want ads in it. The necessary qualifications for jobs are usually spelled out pretty clearly in that magazine...as well as required bid qualifications...and it will give him a good idea of what he'll need...and can expect...as he goes forward...as well as what's on the horizen in his chosen field.

HTH

Anne

He can't become a PE until he's had experience and, in my day, you couldn't sit for the exam until you had at least 5 years under your belt so getting involved with NICET early on will give him an edge.

I'm sorry, I probably was very unclear in my posts about the P.E. vs EIT or FE. Anne is correct that engineers can't sit for their PE without experience. The FE exam is typically the first step to obtaining a PE, and engineering students typically take it not long before graduating. If your daughter's fiance plans to take it, it's a good idea to try to take it while he's still in school. I know engineers who wait until later in their career to take it, and they've forgotten a lot of their math, etc. that's on the exam.

Anne, I'm glad you posted about NICET. I had never heard of it, and don't think I know anyone who has those certifications. I'm always on the lookout for things that will benefit my kids! I'll look into it for them.

I had forgotten until Anne mentioned it, but my husband does already have my son doing some networking with engineering organizations. He's about to start pressuring my daughter.

Again, pickyshopper, I wish him success.

Anne, I'm glad you posted about NICET. I had never heard of it, and don't think I know anyone who has those certifications. I'm always on the lookout for things that will benefit my kids! I'll look into it for them.

NICET used to be a small organization years ago, Daisy, but they've come a long way in their membership as well as their professionalism in the last 5 - 8 years. Used to be that being a PE was the end all of end all in professional recognition...but NICET has now reached an admirably respectable level in many areas for those who aren't ready or don't want to pursue their PE.

I agree with you about sitting for the FE as well as the first level NICET before graduation while all the knowledge is fresh in ones head. I've known many who elected not to do that and regretted it as the years went by. Once employed...much of the book learning gets foggy and it's much more difficult to cram for exams when you're trying to satisfy the demands of a day-to-day job.

Anne

Thank you so much for your responses. Please don't worry about being too wordy as all posts are greatly appreciated! I forgot to mention that we are Canadian, so I don't know if the tests daisyinga and anne ct referred to are done here also, but I thought your opinions would basically apply anyway.

I know that he definitely wouldn't think twice if he was a bit younger, but what seems like a short period of extra education when you're in your young 20's seems so much longer when you're 30, getting married and itching to start your career.

Anyway, the decision will have to be his own, but I will mention that based on some opinions here from people with family/friends in similar situations, a master's in engineering is a definite bonus to have, but might be valued more by one company than another. Perhaps if DD's fiance goes on some interviews he'll get a better feel about whether he should stay in school longer, or just get his foot in the door somewhere and possibly do it at a later time.

I'm about the same age I think, and I will say that I had full intentions of getting an MBA or other graduate degree once I had worked a few years. But, it's been much more difficult than I imagined and now I'm 6 years into my professional career and I have no intentions of getting one. Balancing a full career, which often means late nights and weekends, with a degree program is very tough. And I'm speaking as a single person with no kids. A family would make it even worse. And tuition assistance can vary greatly. I've worked for companies where the only assistance is $100 a semester, which really doesn't go far.

I guess my point is that yes, in this economy it's good to get a job as soon as you can but if you're talking only a year between a bachelors degree and a master's degree, I would do it because it becomes very easy to settle into a routine once you're in the work force. And once you have a family, it's hard to give up that free time to go to school. So if you can get it done beforehand, I would go for that.

Also, if he goes another year, he can try to get an internship, if he hasn't already. Those internships can make all the difference in even getting an interview, and they often lead to real jobs after graduation. When I was in college, I couldn't find an internship that reflected what I wanted to do so I made up my own by contacting local business owners and offering my services for free in exchange for the experience. It worked, and I had a good job after college because of it.

Another huge thing to consider is the recruiting. Most good jobs out of college are found via recruiting and I'd be willing to bet the recruiting is probably better for the graduate students. Perhaps he could talk to a career center or other similar resource and see what sort of options there are for recruiting. Our current economy isn't great and I don't know how it will be in a year. It may be better, it may be worse. But if it's worse, there's no guarantee he wouldn't be laid off anyway and I think he'd be better off with a graduate degree when he's competing with all the other college graduates.

My husband was home early and I was able to ask him. Recent engineering graduates finding jobs is a subject dear to my heart since I know so many of them right now!!!!

His opinion is a)definitely if he can find a decent job now, take it and b)if he can't find a decent job now, then get the masters. However, I will say that he was very, very pro my son getting his master's.

Regarding the tests he will need to take to become a licensed engineer, his university and his academic adviser should know which steps to take and should be clearly communicating those steps with him. If he is graduating from a reputable, accredited engineering college, then he should be getting emails on any exams he needs to take.

Chi83 makes excellent points about going ahead and getting a master's degree now. One more year or two out of his life will not make that much difference in the long run. I will say that my son is finding that all the other master's degree students in his field are older, many of them substantially older than him. Her point about the internships is well taken. I know the students who are getting hired here usually have internships.

My son is finding he's getting a lot more interest from firms at job fairs here now that he is a master's student.

Your daughter's fiance probably has a good handle on the situation if he's paying attention to what's going on around him. He probably knows students who are interviewing, interning, etc., and who is getting hired. There should be people at his university who can advise him, too.

There has got to be some engineers in your/his area ... possibly a local group of engineers that meets from time to time ... good idea to check some of them out.

ole joyful

I also would say, if he can get a job now, to take it....And, he can work on his masters while working, it might be tough but if he's determined, he'll do it....

One of my grandsons just graduated from Penn State in Mechanical Eng. and with in 2 weeks had a job with a very, very good salary....And of course, Gram is so darn proud!

Good luck to your son....

Could he try to find a job now and go back to school in a year if he doesn't find something in his field? I do know a couple of engineers but I haven't really talked to them about their jobs and such. I do know a couple with just a BA and a couple with the masters. Also, can he get some type of intership? Maybe that's the way to go.

Similar to Azzazlea my DH is also in a related industry. We would agree with her advice. There are a lot of people with ME degrees pounding the pavement looking for jobs. Most companies around here want experience in the field. More willing to hire someone fresh out of college at a lower salary. That Masters wouldn't be worth much around here without work experience. Also some of those graduating with BAs in Engineering do have work experience in the industries, not necessarily as engineers but at least in the industry. If your DS has been a full time student and hasn't worked in the field at all a job would be of greater value than the Masters.