<p>I would like to get a masters in petroleum or chemical engineering. Unfortunately, my Bachelor’s was not in engineering. I graduated in 1989 with a BA in Computer Science and Mathematics. My GRE scores were good (Verbal 720, Quantitatative 760, Analytical 780) at the time, but my GPA of 2.95 could use some help. I might want to boost my GPA and take the prerequisite engineering courses.</p>
<p>I am in my 40’s now, married, and have an eight-year-old. I have worked in the IT field and as a high school math teacher. Any suggestions how I make that switch?</p>
<p>I would ask you why you want to pursue a Master’s degree in your 40s? Are you unable to find work, or do you really, really want to change fields? </p>
<p>The reason that I ask, is that financially it doesn’t really make any sense to go back at this point, because you’re probably going to wind up paying out of pocket to go back to school for a Masters. Because your degree was so long ago, you’re probably going to have to take additional courses for deficiencies which just adds to the total cost of going back… If you have other financial support (or you can pay out of pocket) then that’s fine… But the last thing you want to do is take out student loans. </p>
<p>Also, you should know that you are going to have a VERY hard time finding a job with a company just coming out in two years time with a Masters. Most companies don’t want to hire entry level employees who are beyond a certain age range (although they won’t tell you this during recruiting). Ageism is a very big problem in STEM fields, and its only getting worse with time. </p>
<p>If you still really want to do this, then I would suggest you talk to quite a few counselors and/or advisors and see if it’s going to be worth the time and effort. Talk to some recruiters, make sure that you’re not wasting your time if you’re doing this to get a job.</p>
<p>Thanks for your candor. I really want to make a career change. I have regrets about not majoring in engineering at the beginning. I don’t agree with many of your perceptions, but they probably are ubiquitous in academia and industry. </p>
<p>I think a career switch does make sense financially. I was laid off form a nice-paying job as a senior systems analyst and project manager. I wasn’t able to find another job (ageism may have been a factor). I was able to switch to teaching by taking classes at night, but my state only pays teachers 25k a year and it is difficult to support my family. Entry-level salaries in petroleum engineering are over 80k right now. Even PHD stipends pay more than my teacher’s salary. I would have to work full-time and pay for school, but tuition is low in my state.</p>
<p>I think I had more academic deficiencies when I graduated from college than I do now. I struggled with writing in college. My weakest subject was English Composition. I earned a “D” in it when I was in college. I recently recieved an “A” in it when I retook it at a local college. What about computer programming skills? Twenty years of programming, and training others to program has strengthened those skills a bit. What about math skills? Teaching calculus to others has forced me to discover things I never knew and become a better mathematician.</p>
<p>Petroleum engineers are supposed to be in short supply right now. That is why they have an starting salary is over 80k for most recent college graduates. I know many switch career to nursing in their forties and have no difficulty finding jobs, but that is not really a STEM field. I’d love to hear if others have something to say bout this topic. I do wonder if the demand for petroleum engineers would overcome ageism. Perceptions and prejudice may work against my endeavors no matter how much petroleum engineers are in demand.</p>
<p>I understand a little more what you are thinking, but petroleum engineering is not as much of a slam dunk as you think. Sure, $80k sounds nice on paper compared to $25k, but you would probably be better off looking for a better paying job (even if it means moving) then to go back to school. Why you ask? Here’s why:</p>
<p>1 - There’s a very good likelihood that with you will have to make up undergraduate deficiencies in engineering. At my institution, you’d be looking at 3-4 semesters of full-time deficiencies before you even start MS course work. If you’re going to night school, that could make your MS a 5-6 year ordeal. Think about that long and hard.</p>
<p>2 - Entry level salaries in petroleum engineering at $80k are only for certain positions in typically geographically undesirable locations with lots of field work (i.e. away from the family). A typical new graduate is expected to do 1-2 years of field work before moving to an office job. Field work entails 12-14 hour days in geographically remote locations. Once you finish, you will be expected to move to Houston, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, or Alaska for permanent employment. Are you OK moving?</p>
<p>3 - You will be at a tremendous disadvantage to regular students, because you won’t be able to go on summer internships. Right now, the majors and some independents almost exclusively hire solely from their intern pool. </p>
<p>4 - The O&G industry is very cyclical. If the price of crude drops again, then you won’t be able to find a job. Ask petroleum engineering graduates from 2009 how long it took them to find a job, or graduates from the early 1980s. IT is much stabler.</p>
<p>5 - If you go to a smaller school, then your job options will be limited. You might have a hard time getting a job muchless a well-paying job.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to crush your goal. I’m trying to make sure that you understand what you are signing up for, and the full ramifications of your choice. If you’re OK with the above then go for it and don’t look back.</p>
<p>In this economy good jobs are hard to find, and many states are even laying off teachers. You might have scared me off with the comment about the industry being cyclical. I wouldn’t want retrain for any career that has a good probability of leaving me unemployed an scrambling for a new career again.</p>
<p>IT is cyclical itself. Between 2000 and 2005, the IT workforce in the United States had a 20% staff reduction while one million foreign IT workers were given visas to work in the States through outsourcing companies. Millions of the most experienced and best paid IT workers lost their jobs and found it near impossible to find new jobs. I was among them. I have seen more IT jobs available recently, but not enough to let someone who left the field switch back just yet. </p>
<p>In your other points you gave me a lot to think about. One of the bigger petroleum engineering schools is in my state. It might really be to my advantage to go to school full-time (at least a couple of years) to be in that intern pool. I worked a full-time night job while going to school during the day before. I can do it again.</p>
<p>I haven’t mentioned this before. I used to develop software (working alongside engineers) used by oil refineries. I was sent around the world to train petroleum engineers to use it.</p>
<p>That being said, I appreciate what petroleum engineers do (based on working with them). I also think I would really enjoy studying a petroleum engineering curriculum. But I am certainly not so stuck on becoming a petroleum engineer that I would want to be an unempoyed petroleum engineer.</p>