Master's degree - necessary/is it worth it?

pinkie1105
Mon, 05 Aug 2013 14:27:39 +0000

I recently graduated with my bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering, and am currently interning at a large medical device company (one that I would be more than happy to stay at if offered a full-time position). I am also enrolled in a progressive degree Master’s program in Mechanical Engineering which will start in 3 weeks, but I am debating if I should continue with the program or just continue working/searching for a full-time job. (Progressive degree offers a reduction in classes, which will make things cheaper, but I need to finish by Spring 2015… so I can’t take an extended leave of absence).

My position right now at my internship is not an engineering position - I am in data management/bioinformatics, which is the area I did my undergraduate research in as well. When I had applied to the Mechanical Engineering program, my goal had been to get a job in mechanical R&D at a medical device company. However I did not get any of the mechanical engineering internships I applied for (probably due to my lack of undergrad experience), but at this point I do like what I am doing now, and would be happy to stay in this field in the long run. I fear that finishing the mechanical degree may be useless, as all of my work experience will be in a completely different field, yet I will have a mechanical engineering master’s degree (and it will cost around $20-$30K).

Of course, best case scenario, I get offered a full-time position at the end of my internship but it is ending in 2 weeks and have not heard anything of the sort yet. So, I’d like to be prepared for what I should do next. Plus, I need to register for classes if I want to continue. Any advice/experience is very much appreciated!