To start my series of Engineering Leadership Education posts, I wanted to share Purdue University’s M.Eng. (Master’s of Engineering) with a concentration in Engineering Management and Leadership. I put this one out first because it’s what I’m most familiar with. It looks like a great fit for my personal interests, so I’ve been toying with the idea for a while.

Here’s why I think this is such an interesting program.

A Beautiful Combination

Photo Credit: Kumar Appaiah

What I like most about this program is that it combines three interests of mine. The program is structured to give you a:

1. deeper understanding of your technical discipline;
2. chance to branch out into other disciplines; and,
3. a solid foundation in business skills with special attention on management and leadership.

In my case, I would want to go on to study (1) electrical power systems to deepen my understanding of that area of electrical engineering. I would then integrate classes in (2) vehicle engineering and systems engineering so that I can branch my technical skills out in an applicable way to my industry. Finally I would (3) take management and leadership classes to set myself up nicely for the next stages of my career.

Purdue is a Great School

There’s no two ways about it. Purdue is a great engineering school.  They’re ranked as one of the best in the world by a number of different organizations, including the Times Higher Education World University Ranking lists, the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and a number of high-profile newspapers.

Don’t get me wrong: a university’s ranking isn’t the be all and end all in terms of a school’s quality. It is; however, a measure of the general perception of  a school. The perception of the quality of your academic credentials, I would argue, is an important factor in career advancement. It’s not everything, but it sure doesn’t hurt to be that guy or girl who went to a highly competitive, highly regarded school.

Career and Education: Both/ And, not Either/Or

Finally, this program is delivered asynchronously online. That means you don’t have to quit your job to push forward in your education. You can take one class a semester and catch up on lectures at your convenience. Got a long commute? You can load up your iPod with lectures before you go. I think online education is the way of the future. It gives you the flexibility of working to your own schedule with the pressure of tests and assignments to keep you on track.

Final thoughts

I’ve yet to take the plunge and actually enrol myself. I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately, and it’s about time I take some action on this. The next step for me is to see if my company will help me out with tuition in exchange for years of service. We’ve got a corporate policy that would let me do that, but I need to look into it more to see how it applies to me. I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

What do you think? Check out the Purdue website and let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below. If you know of any similar programs, I’d love to know about them. I’ve got a few in my notebook that I’ll share in coming days, but the more the merrier.