Whether you’re considering a career in engineering or you’re already in the field but thinking about taking the leap into management, your decision could greatly impact today’s world for the better.
The advantages of being skilled and knowledgeable in this area go beyond many other skills people try to learn.
Besides the opportunity for getting a job being higher in this field, the salaries tend to be very motivating too. Furthermore, engineers are regarded as an asset to any company as they’re viewed as natural problem-solvers.
Choosing to obtain a master’s in engineering management should not be taken lightly. You must consider what you’re looking to learn, what program offers the best subjects and practice, and of course, take your budget and availability into consideration.
There are different options available to everyone, but most importantly, you should be looking for a program that meets your needs and doesn’t make you waste time or money.
Contents
Your next path
If you already have a bachelor’s degree in engineering, the most logical path is to continue into getting a master’s, but other professionals with experience and knowledge in this field can also gain from developing their business and managerial skills by obtaining this degree.
You can choose what type of company or corporation you end up working for; you can even do it freelance and have clients from different sectors to keep things interesting and exciting.
People will always need help with creating their website, developing a new app, working on the backend of a software, and even with just maintenance. It’s up to you where and how you want to work when you finally have the skills to do so.
But why do you need a master’s in engineering management if one of your life missions is to make an impact and to change society? Below you’ll find the most relevant reasons.
How to start the process:
Obtaining a master’s degree will inevitably give you the opportunity to apply for higher roles, therefore giving you access to more responsibilities and more people you affect when making decisions.
Being a manager in any sector opens the doors to making changes as a leader in your field.
The first step is choosing the right program for you. In this day and age, considering an online masters degree in engineering management that gives you the freedom to adapt learning time and covers a large number of modules and, consequently, gives you the tools you’ll need to use in the real world, is the best way to go.
Being online means you can connect easily from anywhere, even if you’re at work or on vacation. Moreover, you can keep in touch with professors and your classmates in a way that traditional education just doesn’t compare.
Hopefully, after having obtained your master’s degree, you can find a better-suited role for your new skills and start making changes rather quickly.
How can I make an impact with a Master’s in Engineering Management?
As an engineer, you can work in different industries from IT to construction or even energy and manufacturing. The opportunities are endless to choose an area that suits your interests, even if they’re concerning making a difference in the world.
In your master’s program, you’ll learn a new set of skills that will help you to make decisions better, build stronger interpersonal relations, and learn about different ethical issues that may arise.
With these learned skills, you will be able to lead better, make changes that are impactful, and feel proud of your accomplishments, all within one job.
Leadership Skills: Becoming a Better Leader
To make any real changes to society or within a team, you have to become the best leader you can be. With a master’s in engineering management, you’ll learn how to turn difficult, stressful situations into learning opportunities that will help you and your team grow.
When studying engineering management, one of the main aspects is to create and build your leadership skills, which will affect different sectors such as people, financing and budgeting, and technology-related decisions.
This is not a course that will focus on only one side of things. Instead, it will build your critical thinking process by challenging you with unique questions and problems.
By becoming a leader in your preferred industry, you will be in the position of inspiring others to think better, question more often and look for innovative solutions.
You will probably be experienced in this already, but you can lead and guide others to do the same. Just think about the opportunities you’ll have to change how the engineering market and world works.
You can make an impact on careers, training, and work environments that would otherwise be looked over because their teams lack someone who knows what to look for and what to do with the found data.
Engineers in management can help close the gender gap in multiple industries, can change how the process of recruiting and hiring works, and can even pave the way for other females to feel excited about going into engineering and other STEM careers, all due to the efforts you can start making once you’ve graduated with your masters and start that new role.
Besides making changes yourself, leading and inspiring others along the way, a master’s in engineering management will teach you how to become more collaborative, which will then translate into the way you do business and conduct meetings or even into your working relations.
Make a Difference where you work
Without engineers, society wouldn’t be as advanced nor as constantly improving as it is. Engineers are taught that to succeed in the world you have to know and accept failure first.
They see first-hand in their projects, in their professional experiences, and everywhere in the engineering field. The tenacity and determination that makes an engineer is one that not many other jobs offer in such a quick turnaround.
At school, you’re taught how to do things, but more importantly, you’re given the chance to try them out for yourself. Engineers are given the theory and the tools to work on problems from day one.
Besides knowing failure, they are aware all they have to do next is to stand up and try again.
Learning how to fail and accepting that one can fail and still succeed is something that is shown and experienced by any engineer throughout a master’s degree or later in a working environment.
This is one of the biggest reasons why engineers in managerial roles can make the largest difference where they work.
They won’t quit on the first try because they know it’s just part of the process. They will, instead, find a new path, a new solution, and simply try that one. If that, too, fails, they try again.
Making a difference where you work is vital for the world to continue improving in its journey to a kinder, more open, and sustainable reality. You can, with all the knowledge you’ll gather in your studies and your experience, change things.
You’ll have the power to change beliefs, rules, and mentalities at work. Furthermore, those changes will spread to other companies, industries, and sectors before you realize it. It only takes one to make things happen.
Potential Careers in Engineering Management
Below, you’ll find a list of jobs and their benefits that you would be able to get to make a change with a master’s in engineering management.
In the engineering field, you can work for many different industries and organizations, and some of those roles are:
- Aeronautical engineer
- Biomedical engineer
- Chemical engineer
- Civil engineer
- Electrical engineer
- Geo-technical engineer
- Mechanical engineer
- Petroleum engineer
- Process engineer
In the physics field, you also have options that would make you have an impact on research and studies conducted. Some job opportunities are as follows:
- Geophysicist
- Material science technologist
- Research analyst
- Research scientist
- Technical analyst
Of course, probably some of the most common career paths lead to computer science. There are plenty of differences in working in these roles, depending on the company you work for, but these are their job titles:
- Computer research scientist
- Network engineer
- Software architect
- Software developer
- Software engineer
- Systems engineer
It doesn’t matter what specific role you end up taking or in what industry you work; the most important thing is that it’s the best position for your individual beliefs and objectives.
If your goal is to find a job where you’ll have a direct say in how things work, people’s lives, climate change, and even the recruiting process, then a master’s degree in engineering management is probably the best way to get you there.
So, you already know you can make an impact and change at least a small part of how society works, and you are now aware of how a master’s in engineering management will help you to lead the way and be successful in making those big and small changes.
The question you’ve got left to ask yourself is, are you ready?
