Engineering Management Degree is Ticket to Advancement in Technology and Business
Life is full of important decisions that can change your future trajectory. Committing to going back to school for an advanced degree is a perfect example. It is an investment of time, money and sacrifice. The engineering mindset for making important decisions is to consider all factors thoroughly. You will find the following information useful as you sort through your options and choices. The University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering offers a Master’s in Engineering Management designed for working professionals. The program is administered by Texas Engineering Executive Education (TxEEE).
Engineering Management in our World Today
“An MS in engineering management is the perfect preparatory program for a senior leadership post in engineering, that combines advanced technical knowledge with business management and leadership skills,” said Rachel Wells in the Forbes magazine article, 3 Master’s Degrees that Pay Up to $200,000+ in 2024. “You can expect to learn about the economics behind engineering from a business efficiency perspective, as well as risk management and best practices for leadership.” 1
While technology managers and directors clearly need to have the technical expertise to understand their company’s ins and outs, possessing soft skills in communication and people management is also critical to successful leadership. The American Society of Engineering Management (ASEM) emphasizes the importance of mastering knowledge management (KM).
“Engineering managers are instrumental in implementing effective knowledge management by assessing the current KM maturity within their organizations and identifying critical knowledge areas and key personnel,” said Enas Aref, Ph.D. “Knowledge Management involves a deliberate effort to collect, record, and manage both tacit and explicit knowledge within an organization.”2
Check out how The University of Texas Cockrell School is preparing future engineering leaders with our Master of Science in Engineering: Engineering Management curriculum.
“Most of our engineering management graduates work in project management roles at their companies, with many working as part of their employers’ project organization,” said Eric Bickel, Ph.D., TxEEE Engineering Management program director and UT professor of Mechanical Engineering. “In this role, our graduates help make important decisions regarding their company’s future projects and products. We receive many students from the same companies. For example, Lockheed Martin, ExxonMobil and Tesla are just a few of the companies represented year after year in our program.”
Input from UT Engineering Management Graduates
Regarding Preparedness
“My Engineering Management degree from UT Austin has equipped me with the tools and skills necessary to be a good manager. It’s given me the opportunity to better engage. I learned about areas that I was unfamiliar with such as finance. It was a short-term investment that has followed me throughout my career. Since graduation, I’ve been a manager for 12-plus years with three different companies. The degree has served me well.”
-Craig Herdman, Senior Manager, Software Development, Adobe
“I manage a high-performing, fast-paced team of software developers. My master’s degree helped me develop techniques for good management practices. I think back on several of the courses and the materials and how it has reinforced many aspects of my role at work.”
-Christina Gosting, Software Engineering Manager, Lockheed Martin
Immediate Value of Degree
“For me, the value of my degree was almost immediate. I was promoted from an engineering position to director of business development. I work for a smaller company that is experiencing growth, and now I can use more of my personal skills, which I enjoy and are my competitive advantage."
-Tomas Goldaracena, Director of Sales, Graftek Imaging
Texas is a Hot Job Market
Based on 10-year forecasts, employment among occupations aligned with engineering management is projected to grow 18.4 percent in Texas, compared to 7.6 percent across the national average in other states.
Job titles for these positions include industrial production managers, engineering and architectural managers, industrial engineers, project engineers, senior project engineers, senior project managers, director of engineering, chief engineer and senior engineer.
Value of Degree from The University of Texas at Austin
In deciding the ROI on pursuing a master’s degree in Engineering Management, there is an additional factor to consider – the brand recognition of your degree. The Engineering Management master’s degree blends the best of two of the most highly recognized professional schools in the U.S. and world – the Cockrell School of Engineering and the McCombs School of Business. Learn more about the Cockrell School rankings nationally and internationally. For the McCombs School of Business, visit here.
In addition to the brand recognition of your degree, there is the value of the Longhorn network of University of Texas alumni worldwide, offering untold benefits professionally and personally.
Article Sources:
1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwells/2024/11/12/highest-paying-masters-degrees/
2 https://asem.org/blog/13411293
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/emp/
U.S. Census Bureau, www.census.gov
Hanover Research (www.chmura.com)
