Second Masters at a London College

Hi all,


I was hoping someone could give me their opinion on whether my plans are realistic or even reasonable considering my situation.

I graduated last year with a 2:1 MEng Civil Engineering and am currently in a very good job relating to earthquake engineering. I absolutely love this topic and wish to pursue a second masters in this specific topic in order to gain a solid higher education base and postgraduate research in order to set myself up for a PhD in the same topic. I am also not sure I would enjoy this current job for another 18 months.

Secondly, I have always wanted to live in London for at least a year just for the experience, and have noticed Imperial and UCL both offer courses in earthquake engineering which look extremely good and I am confident I could get in. My current plan is to leave my job in September and dedicate my life to this course at one of these colleges.

Reasons I think this is a good idea:

- Live my dream of a year in London
- Pursue a topic in which I am passionate and pursue my dream of PhD research
- I have made ~£50,000 this year on the side so I can easily pay for tuition and a year of living in London
- I am still only 24 and can afford to change my life drastically without too much consequence

Reasons I think this may be a bad idea:

- Throw away a great job and potentially ruin my career after just a year in the job
- I have only just graduated and it may be too soon to return to university, and friends and family may not support the decision
- A second masters may be a waste of time if I do not secure a PhD placement afterwards


Does this idea have any merit or am I tunnel visioned on postgraduate research too much? I am aware I am unable to see this from any other perspective other than my own and I would appreciate anyone else's opinions. Thanks.

I don't think your overall plan, to move onto a PhD in earthquake engineering, and presumably then either go into academia or another such highly technical position relating to this, is necessarily a bad one at all, especially if it's what you want to do.

I would ask, though, is it possible to go straight to the PhD without the extra masters? You've already got a masters and some work experience in the area you want to do your PhD in. Given that it's not typically that difficult to get into an engineering PhD in the first place, I would definitely look into progressing straight into it with your current qualifications and experience.

Hi Smack,

Thanks for the reply. My initial problem was that with my MEng I have very limited research experience (4th year was a design project, not a research project) and therefore was under the impression that I would not be considered for PhD programs based on this. If you believe it may be possible to progress onto PhD with the current experience I have, I may have to contact some local professors and ask their opinion.

Hi Smack,

Thanks for the reply. My initial problem was that with my MEng I have very limited research experience (4th year was a design project, not a research project) and therefore was under the impression that I would not be considered for PhD programs based on this. If you believe it may be possible to progress onto PhD with the current experience I have, I may have to contact some local professors and ask their opinion.