Company paying for Part Time Masters in UK

Cearrbhach

I am currently working as a mechanical engineer in England in the water and sewage treatment industry, mainly the construction side. My current employer is offering to pay for me to do a part time Masters in mechanical engineering, the main aim is to get more chartered engineers working for the company. In the past the company would have had a graduate programme for civil engineers, but does not have one currently.

My own plans was to work for 5-6 years then do a masters when I have experience and know what I want to do.

Mainly what I need to know is what I need the company to provide in the contract? I will have to sign a contract with the company. They will want me to commit for 5 years to the company after the masters, this seems to be a very long time. What sort of time off before exams should I look for.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, mainly I don't want to sign a contract that will screw me in two or three years.

breadmonkey

Will a masters really be of much benefit when you have 5 or 6 years experience?

Turbulent Bill

If you want to do a masters anyway then this sounds like a great opportunity. Presumably you'll have some choice in what course to take, and as you're already working you should look for something with a business element (not purely technical).

If you need to sign a new contract make sure your current benefits aren't affected by the course, i.e., Mon-Fri college time counts as normal working time for salary, pension etc. Get as much time off as possible for exams, project work etc.

They will probably request a break clause in the contract, i.e., if you leave the company in X years you will owe the company Y% of the college fees, reducing as years go by. This is fair as the company is footing the bill, and you wanted to do a masters anyway. Obviously reduce the term as much as possible, and make sure the masters is charged at actual cost (not a figure that the company dreams up).

hughie1989

sorry for the thread hijack but would ye recommend going straight into a masters after graduating or working for few years first?

Turbulent Bill

hughie1989 wrote: »

sorry for the thread hijack but would ye recommend going straight into a masters after graduating or working for few years first?

If it's a technical masters I'd do it straight after your degree - you'll still have the technical study mindset and it might help you get a job.

For a business masters (especially an MBA) you should definitely get some experience - lots of courses won't accept you without it.

hughie1989

hmmm yea its a technical masters i want to do. My plan was to work for a few years and then go and do a masters. I wanted to do this to get some experience first and of course get some money together to pay for the masters but I suppose jobs are hard found these days....

Turbulent Bill

hughie1989 wrote: »

hmmm yea its a technical masters i want to do. My plan was to work for a few years and then go and do a masters. I wanted to do this to get some experience first and of course get some money together to pay for the masters but I suppose jobs are hard found these days....

IMHO you should only do a technical masters than actually interests you, rather than do one for the sake of having the letters. After the degree you should have a good idea of what (ideally) you'd like to work at, and the technical masters choice would be based on this. Work experience or immediate job prospects doesn't really figure - only do it if the subject grabs you.

Business masters are different, I think it's more a pragmatic choice for an engineer than something that really excites them.

hughie1989

Turbulent Bill wrote: »

IMHO you should only do a technical masters than actually interests you, rather than do one for the sake of having the letters. After the degree you should have a good idea of what (ideally) you'd like to work at, and the technical masters choice would be based on this. Work experience or immediate job prospects doesn't really figure - only do it if the subject grabs you.

Business masters are different, I think it's more a pragmatic choice for an engineer than something that really excites them.

Yes I do already have an idea of what I want to work at (Im going into final year) and I do have an idea of what I would like to do the masters on.

Surely the 'letters' would help me get a job tho..? Or would 2-3 years experience look better on my CV? But then will I get the experience straight out of college? I think the way Im looking at it is doing a masters is better than doing nothing because the chances of me getting a job are fairly slim. Im doing mechanical BTW.

Regarding the business masters - I have little interest in this at the minute as I want to be an engineer first rather than a 'manager' (if this makes sense!).

Turbulent Bill

hughie1989 wrote: »

Surely the 'letters' would help me get a job tho..? Or would 2-3 years experience look better on my CV? But then will I get the experience straight out of college? I think the way Im looking at it is doing a masters is better than doing nothing because the chances of me getting a job are fairly slim. Im doing mechanical BTW.

Regarding the business masters - I have little interest in this at the minute as I want to be an engineer first rather than a 'manager' (if this makes sense!).

These days the experience would look better (if you can get it). There is a glut of graduates (including those with masters) from the last few years with little or no experience, so you're better off differentiating yourself from these.

As for the 'letters', most employers won't care that you've done a masters - it doesn't automatically make you more employable. There is an exception in niche industries where the study relates to the company's work. What is valuable though are the skills acquired in the course of study (problem solving, numerical analysis etc.), and that you can spell these out to employers.