I am trying to decide between Columbia University and SUNY Stonybrook to get my M.S. in Mechanical Engineering. I already have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from SUNY Farmingdale. I am planning on staying in New York for my career, so my biggest concern lies with the New York area. I have been accepted to both programs already.
I am paying for the education myself, and I am concerned about the difference in tuition. The degree from CU will cost 55k, while SBU will cost around 24k. That’s a huge difference, especially for someone working his way through school.
My question is, is CU really worth the extra money? Is the education worth it? How are the career prospects after each degree, in New York?
It would be great if responders could include where they went to school, what their degree is, and their first/latest job since then, along with earnings.
I am hoping to get some perspective, because thus far I cannot find much.
Can you really directly go from a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology to an MSE in Mechanical Engineering? You are missing a lot number of undergraduate Math and Mechanical Engineering courses. You said you have been accepted into both programs, but I’m confused as to how that is even possible.
I can’t speak specifically to this problem because I am not in engineering, so I don’t know the relative difference in reputation between Stony Brook and Columbia and how that may affect job prospects.
However, I will say that $55,000 for a master’s degree is pretty cheap, particularly if you don’t have any undergraduate debt. As a professional engineer with a master’s degree, you should be able to comfortably repay that debt. (That changes if you mean that the program is $55,000 per year rather than $55,000 total.)
Obviously I’m not the OP, but it is possible for people to take classes outside of their major and such. So maybe OP majored in MET but took the additional math and engineering classes required to gain admission to these programs.