Advance your career as an engineer into management and leadership with a masters.
Online Master of Engineering Management degrees offer professional development for engineers progressing into management careers. You can study flexibly as a working professional, with part-time study options available.
Your problem-solving skills as an engineer can also be used as a manager. A combination of managerial skills and technical expertise is a formula for success. The best masters programs allow you to learn management principles in an engineering context.
Best Online Courses in Australia
CQUniversity - Master of Management for Engineers
QUniversity has a business-style program for studying engineering management. It is available by distance education and at campuses in eastern capital cities. The full program is 4-years part-time, though this can be reduced with advanced standing. You can undertake an internship or work placement as a component of the program. Students can choose from a wide selection of electives offered by the University's business school.
USQ - Master of Engineering Management and Enterprise
The Master of Professional Engineering (Engineering Management & Enterprise) at USQ is for engineering graduates seeking to lead complex projects and develop entrepreneurship skills. This two-year program, available on-campus in Toowoomba or online, emphasises practical experience through mandatory residential schools and a research project. Graduates gain expertise in engineering management, innovation, and entrepreneurship, preparing them for leadership roles or launching their own ventures.
What Engineering Managers Do
An engineering manager oversees an engineering operation in some way. They're usually an experienced engineer with a good sense of the technical aspects. Duties could include:
- product development and innovation
- drawing up budgets, schedules and plans
- coordinating corporate, finance and marketing activities
- introducing machinery, equipment or systems
- recruitment and job allocation
- advising and guiding junior engineers
- leading production and quality assurance
- supervising maintenance and operations.
What This Degree Gets You
With the benefit of this degree, you may be considered for more senior administrative positions within an organisation. You could also reach a position to be able to branch into consultancy work or a business startup.
Opportunities to take on engineering management roles come with experience. As your engineering career progresses, you gain technical, professional and industry knowledge that are useful in leadership roles. Developing and demonstrating managerial skills helps you make this mid-career transition.
The best engineering managers combine engineering experience with the ability to manage people, projects and finances. For many people with engineering skills, management becomes the favoured path to professional development and career advancement. Engineering knowledge is needed for effective project and team coordination while management skills are essential for achieving business and organisational goals.
MEng vs MEM vs MBA
There is no specific qualification you need to be an engineering manager. You are able to choose the course that best develops the skills you want. But different degrees have the potential to set you along different paths.
A Master of Engineering (MEng) degree develops skills and knowledge in both technical and management areas. The exact mix depends on the course. It is a common form of professional development for an engineer.
A Master of Engineering Management (MEM) degree is known as the MBA for engineers. It develops business and management skills in professional engineers. Completing the program signals intent to take on management responsibilities within engineering.
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a general business and management degree. It is often a significant investment of time and money. Doing an online MBA signals a strong intent to be a professional manager, either in engineering or more broadly.
Signalling effects matter. It is easy to label someone as a technical person if all their qualifications and experience are in applied engineering. They might never be considered for administrative roles.
As a professional engineer, earning a management degree (MEM or MBA) shows you are serious about being a manager.
- It demonstrates you possess business and management knowledge.
- You'll come away thinking and talking more like a manager.
Study Engineering Management Online
The best engineering management masters allow you to achieve your learning goals with flexible study options. In an online environment especially, the program must also be engaging.
When you enroll in a MEM degree, you should have a good idea of what you want out of the course. Programs vary in content. Ideally, the curriculum aligns with your development goals.
- You might want something that resembles a straight Master of Engineering (but with extra management content).
- Or you might want something close to a management and leadership MBA.
The best online courses are engaging. The study materials shouldn't just be lifted from an on-campus course. They should be designed or adapted for online learning, with rich use of media and digital communication.
