Comments on: MSCE vs. MBA – Let’s Get Ready To Rumbllllle !

By: Civil Engineer, LEED AP

Civil Engineer, LEED AP — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:25:29 +0000

Looks like your question is unanswered. From my experience, there is a vast difference in pursuing a Master’s in Construction Engg & Project Management (CEPM) from US as compared to one in India. I have a Bachelor’s in Civil Engg (india) and Masters in the CEPM (US). Post Master’s you work here in project controls (as scheduler/estimator) or as office engineer. I feel, the construction industry is totally different in both the countries and untill & unless you have a decent work experience in US (5 yrs min) after your Master’s degree from US – your MS is not valued at all in India. Its better if you get a Masters from NICMAR, India. Considering the US economy currently- its not going to get better for internationals so soon. Worst case scenario if you do not land up a job here after you complete your Master’s (this happened with few of my friends who graduated in Spring & Fall 2009) its a total waste of money & time! I know folks who have gone back are fetching less salary than their counterparts who either stayed at the same job after Bachelor’s or did Master’s from NICMAR. So research your options carefully before you decide to pursue MS. Abt MBA- you really need to know what you want out of an MBA degree – finance, marketing, general etc. Its an entirely different field as compared with CEPM.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:36:45 +0000

I’m a senior at Lawrence Tech Univ right now getting my BSCE. I’ve always thought I wanted to be an engineer but lately I’ve realized I want to be in the industry but in management. They way I see it is the specialized engineers (MSCE) are the best at what they do so they should be doing the engineering work. The guys with management skills (MBA, MEM) are the guys who are doing the management. Why would a company send its best engineers who are trained to do only engineering into management? They want managers for management and specialized engineers for engineering.

I didn’t even know about an MEM until I read these posts but it seems to make sense to get an MEM or MBA over an MSCE from a money point of view and management is what I like anyway.

By: Nathaniel Ddumba

Nathaniel Ddumba — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 06:24:09 +0000

Sharp employers do sometimes hire engineers to work as accountants or sales personnel or business manager even when they know such engineers have no background in those fields, ever wondered why?
Here is why, An engineer can be any professional. But any professional can not be an engineer. This is one of the interesting things when looking at a wide range of possibilities engineers can get into after finishing their bachelors degree.
I myself have a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a masters degree in structural engineering and what I have seen during my 8years in the working environment is that it is not really advisable for a young engineer to delve directly into the MBA program unless when the begining years of his or her engineering practice have nothing much to do with the technical bit of engineering.
A young engineer needs to learn the skills he or she has learnt from school. Meaning that they always have a boss here or there who is most definitely a skilled manager. When the skills of the engineer go on developing, then can it be necessary for such an engineer two important paths

i) continue in the profession, like masters and phds into related engineering programs
ii) start managing the projects, like construction management or MBA.

The first option is very good as it helps the engineer to get more feel into how codes and standards are developed. This is very useful since more and more challenges are coming up to the engineer which can be confidently solved by someone who has more than a mere bachelor’s degree.
Whereas the second option is all about more money or rather trying to refine management skills in the working sector as the engineer grows up in ranks within the company. This meaning that the technical jargon slowly fades away as it is left to the new upcoming graduates.
So in the end of it all, it would depend on one’s direction but remember though, someone has to continue with a masters and phd in engineering so as to foster the engineering profession. A mere bachelor’s degree doesnt do it. However, going for an MBA after getting a masters in engineering is very very cool..
Nathaniel.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:23:03 +0000

I disagree with Pete’s comment above regarding firms that work in many different market sectors. I work for one of those firms and, while I specialize in one type of engineering, as most of our employees do, I enjoy the benefit of learning from and interacting with colleagues on a daily basis that are in different specialities. I understand how a project fits together better from start to finish because I work side by side with surveyors, traffic, environmental, roadway, site and water engineers as well as architects and construction managers. I’m not a confused employee and I believe my work product is much more in tune with realistic applications and integration of other engineering aspects because my firm can offer all these services under one roof.

Back to the original topic, though. If you want to be technical, get an MSCE. If you want to be business-oriented, get an MBA. Both skill sets you can obtain on your own through work experience and self-study.

By: Mohamed Kadasi

Mohamed Kadasi — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:12:53 +0000

If I can summarize what I have learned about this question,armed with a BSCE, an MSCE, several course work toward an MBA, more than 20 years of experience in the AEC industry, and countless training and seminars.., , I will put it this way:
The reality is that one can’t determine the value of knowledge obtained from a degree or otherwise in advance. The value of what you know will depend on what your potential employer sees in you (or what you can sell yourself for and deliver on your promise). It is easy and true that you can do a lot of things to improve yourself and build your confidence (or resume) , which is nice, but at the end of the day, what matters most is what others see in you.
The bottom line is that if you want to be rewarded for your degree (and investment), it has to be targeted for specific goals. You have to have a clear understanding of what particular set of skills the potential employer your are pusuing is looking for, lean those skills, and then deliver when you are asked to do so. If you do that, the MBA or MSCE, or any self training exercise will do. Otherwise, you might be getting that degree jsut for the fun of it.

By: Pete Dombrowski

Pete Dombrowski — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:45:13 +0000

I think that if I owned a company, I would wantmy engineers to be MSCE employees over MBA employees.

I think that from a business standpoint, it makes more sense.

Your liability is a function of your technical capacity.
Your ability to do work is a function of your technical capacity.

I would want my marketing and accounting people to have MBAs.

I can build relationships by having dinners/lunches or doing face to face site visits.

I’ve worked at several different firms, and when a client calls looking for engineering services, they want a solution at an effective cost. Someone might want to argue that to get those clients you have to be business savy. I disagree. Most firms that think they need to be business savy want to diversify their client base. Do work in more than one field.

This leads to a group of people doing lots of different types of work and not really focusing on one type of market sector. Those firms wind up with confused emplyees trying to do quality work without quality “Experience”.

I wouldn’t want a mechanic that specializes on front wheel drive sports cars working on Front End loaders. It’s the same thing with engineers. You don’t want a clean room specialist doing wastewater. It’s not effiecient.

The key to success is to find your passion and follow it. If you want to chase work, chase an MBA. If you have a passion for problem solving chase that MSCE.

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:11:36 +0000

Honestly all the feedback here are great, and learn a lot from the above comments, i’m a civil engineer with BS only, i;m thinking of pursuing an MSCE or MEM. If you are into design, technical, analytical nature of projects, i think you should go into MSCE with the PE, but if you want in the future to have a managerial role in your own company, govertment, design or construction, you should go with MEM. Right now the business is tough, and if you are serious of having your company or be high top manager, then you should consider MBA, but as an engineer i think an MEM is better for an engineer than MBA. But it has happen i mean i know engineer that has both MBA and MSCE, in fact there are few engineers out there that actually has both, MSCE and MBA, or MSCE and MEM. But at the end it depends on the engineer nature, if you are not into management, dont do the MBA, if you more like in design u should go to MSCE.

By: John Poole

John Poole — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:18:36 +0000

You may want to look at an MS in construction management. The interest is growing and as someone who has a construction management degress, I can tell you that it is a fantastic blend of business, construction, and engineering.

By: JParker

JParker — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:08:00 +0000

I have enjoyed reading the comments above and think that they provide great insight. This might throw a wrench in the conversation: I have a b.s. in civil engineering, environmental concentration. I have had approximately three years experience in civil and one or so in environmental. I have been starting to sour on the environmental field, and wanting to get back into construction before I pigeon-hole myself. I am up for the PE this next spring and know that is my first step. Also, m I have been mostly a field engineer, which has taught me many different things, but I have not been involved with too much design. I am thinking about entering a dual degree program where you receive a civil ms (construction) and an MBA at the same time in 18 months. I want to know more about construction and the business side of things cause eventually see that is where I am heading How would this be viewed? Is this too soon in a career to do this. I want an MBA and an MS, but I am always question the timing and if companies would frown upon it because of the reasons mentioned in the article.

By: Master’s Degrees – MBA vs MSCE « Civil Engineering Blog

Master’s Degrees – MBA vs MSCE « Civil Engineering Blog — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:11:32 +0000

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