Mechanical Engineering Junior: What Can I Achieve with a BS & MS?

[Seraph042]

I'm currently a junior pursuing my BS in Mechanical Engineering. The workload is difficult but the material I'm studying is interesting, albeit some more than others.

I am currently taking an introduction to materials science course and feel like I've found something I would possibly like to pursue with a masters degree. I love how applicable all of this knowledge is.

What I'm asking is what can I do with just a BS in Mechanical Engineering and what could I do if I also got an MS in materials science and engineering ?

 

[Seraph042]

Does nobody know ?

 

[Mapes]

It's a pretty broad question. I have a BS in mechanical engineering and later got a master's in materials science. I can get better jobs now, and I feel much more knowledgeable about the origin of material properties. I'm especially happy about the graduate training I got in thermodynamics, kinetics, and metallurgy. Of course, I could have been working and saving for retirement during the time I spent in graduate school.

Does this answer your question?

 

[Seraph042]

Yes that definitely helps to answer my questions

Did you get a job before you went to graduate school? Do you know the pay difference for before and after graduate school?

 

[Mapes]

Yes, I worked for four years before going into materials science; it was during that time that I became dissatisfied with just looking up material properties and became curious about how behavior like resistivity, thermal conductivity, and elastic modulus arise.

I would say, in my limited experience, that getting a master's is profitable; that is, one will be ahead in the long run despite a couple years of lost income. I'm not sure that one can say the same about getting a PhD, though.

 

[Seraph042]

Excellent, thank you very much for the information. I am currently a junior in college and am thus contemplating what to do / where I want to go with my life. I am thinking going down a similar road where I work for some years post-college until (if I decide to at that point) going to graduate school.