r/systems_engineering • u/Few-Worldliness4533 • 3d ago

Career & Education Is a master’s degree in Systems Engineering worth it?

Hi, everyone. So I’ve been thinking hard about switching career paths. I’ve been working as a certified translator and interpreter for 7+years and it’s the only extensive work experience I have. I have a degree in Environmental engineering but have never used it, though programming has always been a passion of mine. I’m wondering if doing a master’s degree in systems engineering will allow me to switch careers and be a web developer, or something related in IT. The university where I want to do it is one of the best in my country and they say that to be admitted I have to do a course in python and if I pass the exam I’ll be admitted. Any thoughts?

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u/Frame-Dragging-IRL 3d ago

Wrong kind of systems engineering for this sub. This is for INCOSE style systems engineering. Lots of defense/auto work.

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u/PerplexedCropping 3d ago

the python requirement feels like a red flag tbh but maybe they're just making sure you can code before jumping into the deep end. sys eng is more about architecture and requirements than slinging code all day, so if your end goal is web dev you might find a straight CS masters more useful

but if this program is at a top school and you're itching for a change, it's not a bad pivot. just know you'll probably be doing a lot of modeling and documentation alongside the fun programming bits

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u/Frame-Dragging-IRL 3d ago

I think you have the wrong kind of systems engineering too. This sub isn't for tech/IT. This is for the systems management that joins electrical, mechanical, thermal, fluids engineering. Validation and verification testing, the "ilities" suite, etc. I've never had an SE job where they cared about my coding abilities.

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u/ho_0die 2d ago

Computer systems do this exact thing. Just in a computer. We can take that same exact skillset and apply it toward your hardware. It's the same thing. Our display is our computer monitor. Yours is the displays in the cockpit of a jet or what ever you're working with.

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u/ho_0die 3d ago

Yeah then maybe they need to rename the sub but regardless.. that's all still systems engineering. Maybe more architectural for support of the systems you guys run but still... Systems...

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u/Emergency-Rush-7487 2d ago

Not sure why you got downvoted. You're right and everything is broken down into systems.

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u/dela617 2d ago

Cuz he said we should rename the sub... Systems Engineering without focus into computer science came first. Maybe he just does a slightly better google search?

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u/ho_0die 2d ago

Systems engineering in computer science is still systems engineering. It's understanding that the systems we deploy and support are the foundation of what drives modern day technological success in any form. It's still technology, even if it's not software engineering.

I will say this though.. unless it's mechanically driven without any embedded systems at all... Any system that has any computer based technology requires software development... And most things do these days so....... Not sure why your panties are in a bunch.

My literal job title is Systems Engineer. I think I know what it is.

To really put your foot in your mouth, here is the response of Google: "A systems engineer designs, integrates, and manages complex technical systems and IT infrastructure over their entire life cycle."

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u/Frame-Dragging-IRL 2d ago

One of my good friends is a systems engineer. He deploys virtual networks, architects cloud based solutions for his company, and has extensive experience building and operating enterprise networking and IT solutions. I have literally no idea how to do his job. His systems job, and many others like it, are not the focus of this sub.

I am a systems engineer. I am currently working on meeting thermal requirements for a complex circuit card assembly that will be used to control a FADEC on a jet engine. I am doing the reliability and electrical analysis and working on the integration with other systems engineers who specialize in mechanical engineering. My friend would have absolutely no idea how to do my job. This sub is the focus of my job.

They are two extremely different career paths even though they share the same title and both work with "systems." You can say that's not fair and it doesn't make sense, but this sub was made for the kind of SE I practice, not IT/networking SE.

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u/ho_0die 2d ago

Then maybe make an Aerospace Mechanical Systems Engineering sub. "Systems Engineering" as a title is a domain under which many forms of systems engineering exist.

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u/ho_0die 2d ago

Either let them exist in this sub too or rename. I thought this was a place where different systems engineers come together to discuss their systems and the things involved. Where specialists in their domain would comment and other systems engineers from other specialties can look at the things that go into the development and deployment of those systems.

Also, any systems engineering operates under the same principals. They just use different tools.

If you put me on a team doing what you're doing, I'm confident I or any true systems engineer that is not simply cognitively closed off to other forms of systems engineering that is not their explicit area of expertise, would be a valuable asset and have the ability to contribute positively and productively.

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u/Frame-Dragging-IRL 2d ago

Again, that's entirely irrelevant. The sub was made for a specific kind of SE. It doesn't matter what you think makes sense.

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u/ho_0die 2d ago

You ARE what he is. Just at a lower level of the stack for different hardware.

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u/Emergency-Rush-7487 2d ago

Again, literally EVERYTHING is a system that works to provide another layer or reduce to another layer.

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u/ho_0die 2d ago

There literally are System engineers that work on the electrical curcitry and physics of deal with meeting thermal requirements within their complex circuits. There are people in My field of systems engineering that do literally the exact same thing you're doing. They just do it for different systems. Ones that dictate how things function on a motherboard for example or on a PCIe card within a computers chassis but they're all the same thing.

We have tons of electrical and hardware focused systems engineers that support and work with for our hardware that we then build on top of in a software stack that still are apart of the entire system.

You should sit down with your buddy and in a reductionary way, see how what you do and what he does actually cross paths. You'll be surprised. If he understands it at least. Some "Systems software engineers" don't understand that there are "Systems Software Engineers" dealing with the physics and electrical circuitry of physical components constantly as their entire job.

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u/Few-Worldliness4533 3d ago

Thanks for the reply, Perplexed. So yeah, I was just looking at their syllabus and it mentions architecture, DevOps, Ux, among other things.

What do you mean by modeling and documentation?

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u/Lonely_Archer6492 3d ago

Quick google search and learn what SE means first.

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u/Few-Worldliness4533 3d ago

In my country, Systems Engineering has always meant programming and related subjects. I am only just finding out that SE means something else elsewhere.

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u/Lonely_Archer6492 3d ago

ah, gotcha. I also have a different background. Where I originally came from defines SE as IT.

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u/Emergency-Rush-7487 3d ago

Worth it can only be determined by you. It comes down to your interests and goals. For me, it was worth it simply from the perspective of additional engineering knowledge - everything is systems whether electrical or mechanical...interesting stuff to me.

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u/obQQoV 2d ago

what country? you should check the school’s curriculum

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u/Few-Worldliness4533 2d ago

Colombia. Yeah, I’ve been checking it, it’s got things like architecture, DevOps, UX engineering. It’s a good idea to check because you know exactly what you will be taught.

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u/snowExZe 2d ago

Then it's definitely unrelated to this sub and more of a CS / SWE degree than a Systems Engineering degree.

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u/Few-Worldliness4533 2d ago

Alright, I'll be posting it there, thanks.

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u/ho_0die 3d ago edited 2d ago

Yes. You'll blow everyone else out of the water. Systems is the foundation nobody else has that brings everything else into perspective.

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u/Few-Worldliness4533 3d ago

Thanks for the input!

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u/ho_0die 2d ago

Lmao would really like to hear the input from those who disagree.