Many students study for a masters (MEng) at university, but is It worth doing a masters in engineering? This will depend on your situation and what your career goals are. I will cover what an MEng entails with the pro’s and con’s depending on your goals
What Does a Master In Engineering (MEng) Entail?
An MEng has an additional year of studying compared to a BEng. In the additional year, you have a choice to study more specialised areas of engineering. For example, some of the choices I had were: Advanced computational fluid dynamics, advanced solid mechanics, holistic gas turbine design. In addition to these, you cover management and leadership modules and depending on your university, you will manage a team overseeing a project.
Do I Need an A Masters in Engineering (MEng)?
You do not have to do an MEng to get onto a graduate scheme or get into the engineering industry. However, some companies will ask for an MEng as a requirement for the role. Additionally, an MEng makes you a more attractive candidate.
The answer to this question depends a lot on your career ambitions and goals. If you wish to become a chartered engineer, it makes complete sense to do a masters. To become chartered, you are required to do additional studying on top of a BEng. Participating in an MEng will cover the educational requirements for chartership.
However, if you do not undertake a masters you can do additional training outside of university to meet these requirements.
A career goal for many is to move into management and take on more responsibility. As discussed above, undertaking an MEng will give you exposure to managing a team of engineers and overseeing the different phases of a project. Managing a project will require you to use management tools (e.g. GANTT chart, WBS etc.), giving you first-hand experience of applying them to a project.
Getting this practical experience is a massive boost to your management credentials. It will expose you to dealing with different characters while helping you develop a management style that you feel works best for you and the team. In addition to this, you will cover the theory behind management, helping you build the necessary knowledge and skills to take on a management role in the future.
An alternative reason to do an MEng is to allow yourself to specialise in a specific area e.g computational fluid dynamics. As discussed above, an MEng provides modules that include more in-depth information and understanding of specific topics. Having this additional understanding will make you perform better in your role (if applicable) while also making you more attractive to recruiting companies.
Not interested in moving into management or being chartered? If your answer is no to this question, it will most likely make sense to not undertake an MEng. This is because it is likely you are not going o reap the benefits of the additional year at university when you could spend that year doing something that will benefit you and you will enjoy!
Summary
Undertaking an MEng requires an additional year of studying at university, which may or may not be beneficial to your career, depending on your goals. In most cases, taking on an MEng will provide additional skills required to excel in your necessary field. As you develop in your career, you will take on more responsibility and potentially become a manager; an MEng will help prepare you for a management role. However, it is up to you to decide if you will reap the rewards of an MEng, and it should be evaluated on a case by case basis and I have helped you answer the question Is It Worth Doing A Masters in Engineering for your case.
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