What's so good about a degree?

[tbourner]

I finish my BEng this year with the OU, I'm looking to do the MEng, apply for membership of the IET and maybe go for CEng later on.
The MEng will take 2 years and cost just over £6500 - I have 4 years to do it and can't afford it myself.

So I asked work. They said they'd pay for IET membership for me ongoing but wanted justification for the MEng.

So now I've got to write something that explains the benefits of having an MEng qualified engineer in the company.

The Open degrees are very variable, I can choose whichever modules I like really - 2 of the 4 I'm looking at are in a related field to my job but are WAAAAY higher level than I would ever need, they won't really benefit my current position at all as far as I can see. One other is a filler and the final one is compulsory.

I'm doing it for personal goal reasons, I don't really expect it to help my career all that much, I'm happy in my job etc. Will look to move to a more managerial position in the next 5, 6, 10 years or so, but not that fussed.


So, help me out, what do I write? How does a technology company benefit from having an MEng and potentially CEng engineer working for them?


tl;dr: I need to explain why work should pay for my university fun times.
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Trev, now a biker?
Looking for first big bike.

[Hetzer]

The BEng stuff is very useful, it'll get you straight to the front of the queue cleaning the oil out of the fryers at MaccieDs.
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[yen_powell]

You get one of those funny hats with the flat top don't you?
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Blackmail is a nasty word........but not as nasty as phlegm!
XT1200Z and a DR350 in bits

[nowhere.elysium]

Professional credibility is a good start. What exactly is it that you do at work? It's best to try and tie it directly to your current job role.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[Rogerborg]

I suspect what they're really asking is "Why should we pay for you to get qualifications that you'll use to get a better job elsewhere, when we can recruit a qualified person that some other suckers have paid for?"

It's a pretty good question. It's not like there are many jobs for life these days.

Have you considered marrying the boss's daughter (or son)?
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[tbourner]

[Lord Percy]

You should have a look at what modules are available to bring you up to MEng status. Pick out the modules that you know your company will love. Tell them you'll study those modules, and tell them why they're great for the company.

Yeah I think that's best. Don't tell them why you are going to be great as a 'general MEng person'. Tell them why the specific knowledge that you aim to gain will be great.

EDIT: Also you'll probably need to make promises to stay with them for X years.

[hellkat]

The thing about a degree is that people take you more seriously for some odd reason.

It's as if they don't notice that you spent the whole undergrad time off your nut, and future employers will (eventually) award you scads of cash, if you behave in even a semi-professional manner.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[angryjonny]

The point of a bachelors (i.e. your first degree) is to prove you can cope. You turned 18, went to university, lived in a house with a load of other 18 year-olds, no rules and unlimited access to the local Oddbins and made it out alive. The fact that you graduated means that you probably managed to sit a couple of exams and string a few thousand words together about unvoiced fricatives whilst someone in the next room was working their way through more pot than Howard Marks has seen in thirty years. So you'll probably cope in the Inland Revenue.

No other degree has any point. So says the bloke with just the one degree.

[Ariel Badger]

As part of my job I interview a lot of people. Recently we had 150+ applicants for a job that did not need a degree. How do you eliminate all but six of those applicants to give a short list? All CVs without a degree went into the bin.
This is the harsh truth of the job market
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[The Shaggy D.A.]

[Nexus Icon]

[Chinaboy]

Degrees just show someone (prospective / current employers) that you show dedication to something. Sticking and passing a course shows maturity in an applicant.

I have a degree in Teaching Further Education, but this had absolutely no baring on getting the job I have now and is not related to my present job. I am an engineering project manager for a German company operating in China, which I do as a freelancer.

Just find reasons right now, like everyone else has said, how your company can benefit from you qualification. Some companies might try to tie you into a contract so they get their money's worth from you, but that's not such a bad thing. Good luck

[BumpingUglys]

[FriendlyEllis]

I think doing a masters is only worthwhile if it relates to a very specific role.

MEng Software Engineering for job of in software development for example.

Otherwise not!
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Honda CB600F Hornet 2013 -> Kawasaki Z1000SX ABS Tourer 2015

[tbourner]

Well lots of talk of how it may or may not help to get a job - but I don't want a job, I've got one of them, I just need to convince that job that it's a great idea for them!
So basically it's a case of stating what modules I'm taking, linking that to the work the company do and not mentioning my own huge pay rises and promotions.
What about CEng? Is it worth pushing chartered status as an eventual goal which requires the MEng first? I see chartered status as being a better thing for a company i.e.: they can claim a number of chartered employees.
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Trev, now a biker?
Looking for first big bike.

[TheCatSatOnTh...]

Eventually you can get paid to study. I'm applying for a D Phil which has a very appealing wage. (Of course, I'm not in it for the money )

[tbourner]

I've been paid to study since I left school
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Trev, now a biker?
Looking for first big bike.

[petalbriefs]

[DrSnoosnoo]

[Ste]

What's to say there would be any benefit from a company employing an MEng and potentially CEng engineer?

Is that not something to have looked into before choosing a degree?

[Aff]

My work is paying for my BEng with the OU. My justification was similar to the above, highlighting why each module was useful to the company, etc.

Also you don't need a masters to become chartered. We have 4 or 5 and I don't think any of them have a masters.
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Current Bikes:Honda 929RR Fireblade, Honda CD200 Benly (Project), Stomp Z2 140
Electric Bike Project

[Hetzer]

Am I the only one who sees all this for the bollocks it is? Of 'value' to a company? Letters after an employee's name?

Some bloke who's been shown how to operate a lathe, the types of metal, rotational speed, cooling fluid, cutter type and blah blah blah...he can actually then make something that can be sold.

vs

Some bloke who's written a bunch of guff and is given letters after his name but can barely make a cup of coffee in the real world.

A degree is little more than a token that says "This guy is able to sit down, arrange and organize data and present it in written form. He's able to concentrate and has the self-discipline to waste time on bollocks".

I'm generalizing of course because a percentage (very small) of degree-holders also learn how to do actual real shit. A tiny minority.
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[Chalky.]

It would be another 4 years of getting smashed and fucking bitches. Two of my favourite things.

[petalbriefs]