Urbanization is at its peak. Cities are now growing more than ever. Old buildings need to be replaced with newer, more innovative ones. Roads have to be constantly expanded and improved as well. This only means that civil engineers are getting even more in-demand.
If you’re a civil engineer, after having finished your degree and taken and passed the licensure exam, it’s a given that you already have the knowledge and technical skills needed for you to excel in the real world. With the fierce competition within the industry, however, you need more than just the “basics”.
Added credential is one that you can quickly obtain through a master’s degree. Read more below to find out how it can open doors of great career opportunities:
- Develops Your Knowledge and Skills on More Specialized Fields
Civil engineering isn’t just limited to one field. It has many specialized fields that you can also look into. But, this is mostly only possible through a master’s degree because, through your subjects in the civil engineering master’s degree, you’re exposed to more specialized classes. From there, you can develop a passion that can lead you to your specialized field of practice.
All this works to your advantage as it increases your competency in a specific field. You now can cater to clients that are looking for civil engineers who are experts in a particular area of expertise.
Some of the specialized fields of civil engineering are:
- Environmental civil engineering
- Construction engineering
- Transportation engineering
- Structural engineering
Having a specialized master’s degree also enables you to meet changing industry standards due to developments and other advancements.
- Improves Your Technical Knowledge
Fundamental knowledge is what you learn in your undergraduate program. This refers to the skills that are needed for you to qualify and work as a civil engineer. But, the more years you spend in the engineering industry, you’ll realize that you need to learn additional technical skills in order for you to be constantly competitive.
A master’s degree in civil engineering will beef up what you already know. It may update everything you learned in the past, which may no longer be as applicable today. The overall advantage is that you’re more advanced in skills than those who didn’t take a civil engineering master’s degree. This makes it easier for firms to give you position as well as salary raises.
- Expands Your Leadership Skills
At some point in your career, perhaps you may no longer want to keep working for a construction firm. Maybe, your long-term goal is to lead a team, which could mean being the boss engineer or starting up your own engineering firm.
With a master’s degree, you learn not just technical skills but also those that you’ll need to succeed as a leader. These leadership skills include the following:
- Delegating tasks to other co-engineers
- Communicating effectively to engineers, laborers and every member of the team
- Better decision-making
- Solving problems more effectively
- Gives You an Edge When Applying for Entry-Level Positions
This section best applies if you’re going to take a master’s degree right after finishing your bachelor’s degree before applying for a job, and when you have already passed all the necessary exams. When you choose to tread on this path, you’re assured than you’re one or a few steps ahead of others. You have an edge against other applicants that don’t have a master’s degree, especially so when you both don’t have any work experience.
Career-wise, this works for you better because when you’re hired, your boss will immediately remember you as that fresh engineer who is capable of handling highly technical tasks. As employers give you a higher level of trust, you’re also offered more senior positions during the promotion season.
- Receive Competitive Salary
Even if you’re only just a fresh engineer, it should be your goal to receive a competitive salary. But, if your credentials are meager, this can be hard to achieve. You have to work your way upwards slowly. With a master’s degree under your belt, however, you’re making yourself more attractive to employment opportunities. You get to be one of the very first ones to be offered a higher post and, of course, higher salary come promotion time.
Also, even while doing an entry-level job, you can be paid more than others for the very reason that you have a master’s degree.
Conclusion
Strictly speaking, one doesn’t need to have a master’s degree for them to be qualified as a civil engineer. You can effectively practice without one. But, this is an edge that you can have against all other civil engineers. With the advantages mentioned above, it should already be strong enough to point out that having a master’s degree is something that you should consider. In the long run, you’re going to reap the fruits of these advantages, which only means taking a civil engineering master’s degree is worth the extra time, effort, and money you spent.
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