gardenmom5 Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Ms/PhD year or nay? He wants to do astronautics, and is wondering about this. Is the extra worth the time and school money? Does it increase marketability and payscale? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carriede Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 DH is an aerospace engineer. Many employers will pay for/refund you when earning a higher, work-related degree (the refund is by semester and is grade dependent). See if he can look up prospective employers to see what the general benefits available are. DH entered the engineering world with a BS, so I honestly don't know what the benefits are to entering with a higher degree. It probably depends on what specifically your DS wants to do, or if there's a particular company he's looking at that's more competitive. HTH! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 I've heard that the MS is particularly important for aero. PhD -- not so much, primarily for academics. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 (edited) I still receive occasional emails from Recruiters. Some companies will take a person with a higher level degree, who has fewer years of working experience. I believe, if someone is working as a grunt troop Engineer, a B.S. or M.S. is fine. A Ph.D as a previous comment mentioned, is better oriented to the Academic world. Or, possibly, for someone who is in an extremely high Management level position. My late uncle with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering was a Full Professor in an extremely prestigious university when I was a young boy. Then, he left there to become a V.P. in a large Aerospace company. He continued to teach, part-itime, at another prestigious university, Cal Tech. I worked with a lot of people who had an M.S. degree. I think one of my friends/colleagues got a Ph.D. before she passed away, but am not positive of that. If she did, it was for her own personal enrichment, because she continued to work as a grunt troop Engineer. If I was a Hiring Manager, looking for a grunt troop Engineer, I would bypass a candidate with a Ph.D. Their resume would go to the bottom of the list. To me, that would be "the kiss of death" GL with this decision! Edited February 20, 2017 by Lanny 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 (edited) Generally an MS or PhD position offer would come with teaching assistantships or a research assistantship, along with tuition reductions. All assuming you have grades and recommendations that make you a favorable candidate. I used that type of help to get my MS in Aero without debt (although none of my savings were left either.) DH's MS and PhD in Aero were paid for by his employer at the time, <large aerospace company>, and were part of the job package when he started working there. Be sure to look and ask. I feel like in Engineering it is generally unusual to incur debt for advanced degrees (but I'm mostly in touch with Aeronautics and Aeronautics). It increases starting pay, in my experience. Marketability is a tad trickier. Generally yes, but of course you are much more specialized at that point. Ideally you are working on a problem that your (future) employer is very interested in, perhaps paying for. ETA Some/most? aero companies have a parallel track to management for Technical Fellows. With a PhD, that is likely the type of job you would be looking for. I would encourage a visit to a likely department or two. You would need to find a professor to sponsor you in any case, might as well send out feelers. ETA2 With government funding cut backs, many professors may want people that "cone with their own money", i.e. funding from a corporation paying for the student. Edited February 20, 2017 by SusanC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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