Is A Masters In Engineering Worth It?

If you’re an engineering student, at some point, you will question is a masters in engineering worth it? During my junior year as an undergraduate student, I was already excited to start working. I was so done with school, that I didn’t consider coming back. Coming from a lower income background myself, the thought of stable income excited me. My professor always told us that every year we don’t graduate is like throwing away $60,000 USD away from your pocket. The only remote chance I would go back to school is if my employer was to pay for it. My stance on pursuing a masters in engineering full time is that it is not worth it.

February 29, 2024 by Kazu Fujimoto

Why You Should Get A Masters In Engineering

At a higher level, you will come across job applications that will require X years of experience and a degree. The degree required is usually at least a bachelors or masters.

Let’s take a big defense contractor, Northrop Grumman for example.

The below is a screenshot from Indeed.com for a senior principal level engineer.

Notice that the preferred qualifications are a Masters In Engineering and that the years of related experience goes down. Someone with a Bachelor’s Degree requires 9-13 years of experience in design. However, if that person had a Master’s Degree, the minimum years of experience goes down from 7 to 9 years.

A Masters in Engineering checks the boxes off from an HR standpoint.

At a big company like Northrop Grumman, expect HR to define requirements when it comes to levels and promotions. It’s hard to fight HR against matters like these because you need to check these boxes off. These requirements set by HR are not set in stone, but when you check these boxes off, you essentially have more ammo when you try to get promoted.

You should get a Masters in engineering to reduce the years of experience required for you to get into a more senior role. Kill two birds with one stone by getting your Masters in engineering while you are working full time. You’ll see the math on this later.

Why You Shouldn’t Get A Masters In Engineering

For Undergraduate Students

If you just graduated from your undergraduate, and you’re not able to obtain a job, keep applying to jobs. From a financial standpoint, you are losing tons of money if you decide to pursue a Master’s In Engineering without a job already lined up.

For Those That Are Working

Getting a masters in engineering is no walk in the park. You need to be able to set some time aside to attend classes, do homework, and study for exams. If getting a masters in engineering was easy, everyone would have one but it’s not. The above posting shows a job with a salary range of $114,100 – $171,100, which is well above what the median salary is.

If you can’t afford a Master’s Degree, don’t get one. The student debt will hold you back. I know of people in the industry who have gotten their MBAs 10 years ago that are still in debt. The student debt crisis is real.

Taxes

Even if you are working and your employer pays for you, keep in mind that you are required to pay taxes from education assistance:

I myself am actually going through the process of getting my Masters In Mechanical Engineering and am taxed on approximately $3500 of wages due to the educational assistance I have received in excess of $5250. Roughly speaking, this takes approximately $300 from my after tax pay check, to give an idea. Make sure you can afford the Masters, even with education assistance, you will be taxed in excess of $5,250.

The Financials On Getting A Masters In Engineering

This article would not be fun without doing the math. The math on the financials will be simplified and assumptions to averages will be made. We are going to be taking a look at your net worth, starting from when you graduate with a Bachelor’s degree and your first job in a 10 year time span.

So in a 10 year horizon, you will have approximately $150k in net worth. This is a very conservative analysis and your raises will likely be higher than the standard 3% metic increase. Student loans + interest eat your finances up, make sure you take this into consideration. I know of engineers in their 40’s still paying student loans!

Assumptions

The math assumes you:

• Live in a high cost city with roommate (Los Angeles or New York)
• Are working and starting with income of $70,000 USD
• Student loan of $50,000, with interest rate at 5.28%
• $0 net worth after graduating university
• 3% merit raise per year and no promotions
• 3% inflation per year, making this calculation realistic
• Not contributing into retirement

Note: This is absolute worst case math and assumes you will never get promoted. If you only get a 3% merit increase and inflation is at 3%, note that you do not make any money. This should be enough motivation to make sure you work hard and get promoted.

Rent

Salary

As we discussed, this is a very conservative analysis. Starting at $70,000 USD per year combined with 3% merit increases don’t give you much. Do not stay at the same company and let them only give you 3% raises – you’re doing something terribly wrong.

Note – Careers in Thermodynamics for Mechanical Engineers pay relatively well.

Inflation Data

On average, we see inflation at around 3%, excluding the special case of 2020-2021, with inflation as 6%. The math we are using looks at 3%, so if the math looks bad using 3% as inflation, imagine how bad 6% is. 6% math would make the numbers scary.

The Most Efficient Way To Get A Masters In Engineering

If you do decide to get a Master’s, do it while you are working. This way you are building practical work experience, making money, and hopefully having your employer pay for school for you. This is the way to go and the best bang for your buck. A harsh truth is that if you have so many years in school, but not so many in the work force is that you lack practical experience. You lack understanding how to deal with people and politics in the workplace.

Pros of Getting A Masters In Engineering

Your income will increase. The Masters in Engineering will act as a checkbox that is ticked when searching for jobs. As stated above, jobs often minimum requirements regarding education and years of service. 9-13 years of experience for a Senior Principle Engineer vs. 7-13 years of experience required. A Masters provides more ammunition for you if you want to increase in levels.

Cons of Getting A Masters In Engineering

This is time you will be spending on school work that you could be using for something else productive – whether it be time with friends/family or your own business ventures. Understand what you want in life and make sure you have an understanding of work life balance. Otherwise, all of this work will make you miserable and you will never get to enjoy yourself, which defeats the purpose of all of this.

Ask yourself – is a masters in engineering worth it? We did the math and the only way is if your engineering employer pays for the degree.

@ultmeche

Is a masters degree in engineering worth it? What do you think? #engineering #masters

♬ original sound – Engineering Career Coach