Careers
Soon you will have your first engineering degree. You know you can get a good job. So why stay in school for one more year? An M.Eng. is well worth your investment of time and money for two important reasons: a higher salary and a more rewarding career.
National Averages used here are those reported by the National Association of Colleges and Employers and cited by the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics.
Higher Salary
The M.Eng.degree commands a higher starting salary—and that will be the platform for your future professional earnings. On average nationwide, the starting salary for an M.Eng. in electrical and computer engineering is about 13 percent higher than a bachelor's in engineering. A Cornell degree further increases entry wage levels, with a 15 percent boost over our own bachelor's degree 24 percent over the national average for a bachelor's degree. So the payback on your investment is relatively short, and the financial benefits compound throughout your career.
A More Rewarding Career
The degree is about much more than salary, though. Our M.Eng. degree is designed to develop engineering professionals. Earning the M. Eng adds to your knowledge through advanced coursework in leading edge science and technology, solidifies your design and analysis skills on a design project, and develops your skills in teamwork, communication, and leadership—all essential steps for tomorrow's engineers.
Today's M.Eng. prepares graduates for rewarding careers in a wide range of industries: from high-speed silicon hardware to high-power financial software, from undersea fibers to geosynchronous satellites, from national power grids to energy-saving LEDs, from computerized medical instrumentation that looks into the human body to radar systems that look out to the heavens.
A View from a Long-Time Recruiter "We hire for one reason: to get something done. M.Eng. graduates generally hit the ground running. They have more problem-solving and interdisciplinary skills, and they are better able to integrate into an organization," says Kevin Weitsman (B.E.E. 1972; M.E.E. 1973). He served as a Cornell recruiting campus manager for 25 years, first with Hewlett Packard and later with Agilent; Weitsman and his team hired more than two hundred young professionals. "Employers typically think of M.Eng. graduates as having the equivalent of a year’s work experience. When you’re hiring people to get some traction in your organization, a 10 or 15 percent boost in starting salary for that added capability seems like a bargain."
Excellent Career Services
The College of Engineering provides outstanding Coop and Career Services, as do the university’s Cornell Career Services office. Abundant information on career options, resources on all aspects of the job-search process, on-campus recruiting, huge alumni networks, and more are all at your lifelong disposal as a Cornellian.
More Information
“After comparing many graduate schools, I determined Cornell to be the best
environment for advanced studies due to its highly ranked ECE program and
excellent research opportunities. In addition, the prestigious professors and extremely helpful staff are enthusiastic and very pleasant to interact with!”
- Ania Kacewicz, ECE MS/PhD Student