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Færdig som diplomingeniør – eller kun godt halvvejs?

Marianne Bom & Rie Jerichow, Publicér

En del færdige diplomingeniører fortsætter på universitetet umiddelbart efter deres afsluttende eksamen. De tager en kandidatgrad og ender som civilingeniører. Men hvorfor skulle man – eller skulle man ikke – bruge et par år ekstra på det? Læs, hvad en studievejleder og en HR-direktør siger om den sag.

”Hvis civilingeniøruddannelsen er en motorvej, der leder direkte til målet som cand.polyt., kan man nå det samme mål, hvis man først tager en diplomuddannelse, men så skal man indstille sig på, at der vil være nogle bakker undervejs. Den rute kan for nogle være meget anstrengende, men for andre kan den give nogle spændende oplevelser,” siger teamleder Camilla Nørring fra studievejledningen på DTU.

Diplomingeniøruddannelsen er en selvstændig uddannelse og ikke tænkt som en forløber for kandidatuddannelsen. Alligevel går mange diplomstuderende den omvej for at blive cand. polyt.

”Det er for eksempel studerende, der bedst kunne se sig selv på en praksisnær og anvendelsesorienteret uddannelse, da de skulle vælge. Men med de kompetencer, de har opnået igennem diplomingeniøruddannelsen, er der måske kommet nogle andre perspektiver og en større viden om, hvad de kan med en kandidatuddannelse, og dermed har de fået lyst til at give sig i kast med to års studier mere,” fortæller teamleder Camilla Nørring fra studievejledningen på DTU.

Andre har måske valgt at fortsætte med en kandidatoverbygning, fordi de oplevede, at det var svært at få det arbejde, de drømte om, som diplomingeniør, fordi de f.eks. ville noget med forskning eller udvikling, og andre igen valgte i første omgang diplom­uddannelsen for en sikkerheds skyld.

”De var måske ikke sikre på, at de ­havde lyst og overskud til at læse i de fem år, som en civilingeniøruddannelse tager. De valgte derfor at begynde med en diplomuddannelse, hvor de allerede efter tre et halvt år kunne afslutte en uddannelse, der giver en ingeniørgrad i sig selv. Det gør en ­civilbacheloruddannelse ikke. Og da de så oplevede, at de efter tre et halvt år havde lyst og energi til mere, valgte de at fortsætte på kandidaten,” siger hun.

Benspænd undervejs

De to uddannelser er naturligvis begge ingeniørfaglige, men alligevel meget forskellige. Mens diplomingeniøruddannelsen er anvendelsesorienteret, er civilingeniøruddannelsen mere teoretisk og peger i retning af forskning og udvikling.

”Derfor skal man gøre sig klart, hvad man vil, og hvor man har sin styrke. Hvis man for eksempel synes, at man havde rigeligt at se til, og at det var fagligt svært på diplomuddannelsen, er det måske meget godt at overveje en anden vej end at fortsætte på kandidaten,” siger Camilla Nørring.

Der er også nogle benspænd undervejs, fordi diplomuddannelsen ikke er konstrueret til, at man automatisk fortsætter på kandidaten.

”Der er en række adgangskrav til de forskellige kandidatretninger. På ­nogle diplomuddannelser er det muligt at tage de krævede, adgangsgivende kurser som en del af diplomingeniøruddannelsen. For de øvrige er det muligt at supplere, men her kan der være tale om en egenbetaling. Alle adgangskrav er beskrevet i studieordningerne for de forskellige kandidatretninger,” fortæller hun.

To forskellige uddannelser

I NIRAS, der beskæftiger flere end 1.000 ingeniører i Danmark, ansætter man stort set lige mange fra de to uddannelsesretninger. Her ser man på diplomuddannelsen og civilingeniøruddannelsen som to forskellige uddannelser, der fører forskellige veje hen.

”Hvis vi har brug for en højt specialiseret medarbejder med meget teoretisk kendskab, ansætter vi en civilingeniør, og i sådan en stilling vil det være underordnet, at vedkommende også har en baggrund som diplomingeniør. Så er der andre stillinger, hvor der kræves en mere praktisk tilgang, og hvor man ikke nødvendigvis behøver den dybe, teoretiske fundering. Her ansætter vi diplomingeniører. Men hvis en diplom­ingeniør hen ad vejen får brug for mere teori, så sørger vi for den rig­tige efteruddannelse,” fortæller ­Susanne Kynne Frandsen, der er direktør for HR og kommunikation i NIRAS.

Marianne Bom & Rie Jerichow, Publicér

A portion of bachelors of science in engineering continue at their university immediately after their graduations. They go on to the master’s course, and become a master of science in engineering. But why should you – or should you not? – spend a couple of
extra years on that? Read what a students’ counsellor and an HR manager say.

“If the master of science engineering course is a motorway that leads directly to the goal of becoming cand.polyt., you can achieve the same goal if you get a bachelor’s degree, but then you have to be aware that there are some obstacles during that course. That route can for some be very hard, but for others it can provide some exciting experiences,” says team leader Camilla Nørring, from the students’ guidance at DTU. Private photo.

The bachelor’s course is a separate education, and not thought of as the first step in a master’s degree. Still, many bachelor students go the extra mile to become cand. polyt.

“It might be students who imagined themselves studying in a practical and application-oriented course, when they had to choose. But with the competences they gathered during the bachelor course, they may have gained other perspectives and greater knowledge on what a master’s degree can give them, and thereby gotten the will to study for two more years,” explains team leader Camilla Nørring from the students’ guidance at DTU.

Others may have chosen to continue with the master’s course because they experienced that it was hard to get the job of their dreams as a bachelor in engineering — because they wanted to work with academia or development, for instance, while others chose the master’s course just to be safe.

“They may not be certain they have the will and energy to study the five years a master’s course takes. So they started with the bachelor’s course, where they, after three and a half years, could finish a course that granted them an engineering degree in itself. And then when they, after three and a half years, realised that they had the will and energy for more, they chose to continue with the master’s course,” she says.

Hindrances during the course

The two educations are naturally both within the field of engineering, but still very different. While the bachelor’s course is application-oriented, the master’s course is more theoretical, and points towards academia and development.

“Therefore, you have to find out what you want, and where your strengths lie. If you, for instance, think that it was plenty of work and that it was academically hard on the bachelor’s course, it might be a good idea to consider a different way than continuing onto the master’s course,” says Camilla Nørring.

There are also some hindrances during the course, because the bachelor’s course is not constructed with the intention of automatically continuing onto the master’s course.

“There are a number of admission requirements for the different master’s courses. During some bachelor’s courses, it is possible to take the required, admission-giving courses as part of the bachelor’s degree. For the rest, it is possible to do them in addition to the bachelor courses, but there may be a fee for you to pay. All admission requirements are listed in the curriculum of the different master’s courses,” she says.

Two different educations

NIRAS, which employs over 1,000 engineers in Denmark, employs almost an even amount of candidates from the two types of course. Here they look at the bachelor’s course and the master’s course as two different educations that lead two different ways.

“If we need a highly specialised employee with very theoretical knowledge, we hire a master of science in engineering, and in this position it doesn’t matter that the candidate has a background as a bachelor in engineering. Then there are other positions where we need a more practical approach, and where we do not necessarily need the depth and theoretical knowledge. This is where we hire bachelors of science in engineering. But if a bachelor in engineering later needs more theory, we provide the education they need to further themselves,” says Susanne ­Kynne Frandsen, who is communication and HR manager in NIRAS.