Expert: Paul Soderman - 9/11/2009

Question
Hello Paul,

I am an Aircraft maintenance Engineer and have done a three-year aircraft maintenance engineering licence training course by an institute approved by the DGCA. I have worked in areas like aircraft maitenance as well as Quality Control for about a decade now. I think that I need to add more to my qualification and plan to go for higher education. Can you kindly suggest me some courses (preferably internationally recognised)? Also, is it possible to appear for GRE and get into Masters in Mechanical Engineering to help me change my industry? Else, what kind of management courses would be helpful for me to grow with existing qualification. I am sure you have figured out that I am thinking in multiple directions. Kindly help in choosing the right one !

Answer
Kirti
I think you are well positioned to add to your qualifications via higher education.  Unless I misunderstand, it seems you lack a Bachelor's degree in engineering, so before going to graduate school you need to earn that milestone.  Without that, in the U.S. you would be unable to call yourself an engineer. Mechanical engineering would be a good choice and any certified engineering school should be able to give you credentials recognized internationally.  As to business courses, all engineering schools I know of allow a certain number of elective courses.  You can then choose any business courses that might be suitable.  The ultimate would be an MBA program (Masters in Business Administration), but that is not an easy endeavor and may not be suitable for you.  Your choices really depend on what you want to do with your career.  Only you can decide the right path.
Paul