[SeeGeeWhy]

Hey Phanuthier.

I graduated from U of C in '05 as a mechanical engineer and started working in the patch as a production engineer. Next spring I will be qualified to apply for my P.Eng. designation after I write the professional practice exam as I had a year of work experience mixed in with my schooling.

Coincidentally, I also just started my MBA this fall at Haskayne - and as Fotze said - on the dime of my employer.

Basically, from what I can tell, and from asking others in my class, a majority of the courses you take in your MBA training are just rehashed business basics that most any B.Comm. would have learned while getting their undergrad degree. If you are looking for advanced or specialized business training (CA, CFA, etc), I do not think that an MBA is the way to go (at least from what I can tell so far).

That said, I still find it valuable as I never had this sort of training at any level of schooling. It is interesting, it is augmenting what I am learning about business while I am at work, and it will probably open doors to the executive management level after another 5-10 years of working should I stay in private industry - maybe less if I push it, but I would likely have to strike out on my own to realistically accomplish that.

It will also be of benefit to my small business, but I tried not to underline that to my employer when I was signing the education assistance agreement.

The second value an MBA affords you is the people you add to your network. I am in class with a number of international students and people with very broad industry experiences. I actually think that this is the more valuable part.

I am not exactly sure what your question is.. are you interested in engineering research, business, or the business of engineering research?

But to take a stab at answering your question, it is by far better to have REAL WORKING EXPERIENCE than either one of these two degrees. Especially when negotiating that first salary. Unless you can demonstrate to the company interviewing you that your M.Sc or MBA is going to have a benefit to them right away, they are not going to pay you extra for a job that they can likely fill with someone who only has a B.Sc. When you consider that it is YOU that pays for the degree in this situation, it doesn't look very good from your perspective.

I can think of many people that I have worked with that have had all kinds of different education levels and it is typically the person who can actually do a good job of what they are doing that gets paid the most money. I've worked with Ph.D's that are useless, and Ph.D's that are part owners of chemical companies that are great. I've worked with M.Sc. Engineers that couldn't do half of the things that a petroleum technologist could do. If I were you, I would focus on being that person - the one who does a good job.

I suggest that you just get out there and start to find out what you like - your goals seem pretty vague at this point and you're likely not going to find the answer your looking for in a textbook.