Professional Master's Program combines engineering and management
Originally from Madrid, Spain, Nicolas came to Purdue to study aerodynamics as part of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He also finished an economics minor, because he wanted to study something outside engineering. “In engineering, you spend a lot of time doing analysis and math,” said Nicolas. “But you really don't hit on the more business-related aspects. I gravitated towards economics because the base of it is math, which I knew I could do. But more importantly, I was just curious about it, and how it could be used in the real world.”
Unfortunately, his graduation in 2020 coincided with the unprecedented lockdowns of COVID-19. Rather than try to fight through a pandemic job market, he decided to stay at Purdue and pursue a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. But he still loved economics, and wanted to somehow incorporate that into his studies.
“That’s when I found the Professional Master’s Program,” said Nicolas. “It’s essentially a normal master's program in mechanical engineering, but a percentage of the classes that you take are MBA level courses from the Krannert School of Management. For example, I took Introduction to Supply Chains, something I had no idea about. But now it’s something every industry is talking about, and I have a more thorough understanding of it.”
Nicolas also took classes on economic analysis and financial modeling, utilizing the math skills he gained while an engineering undergrad. “These classes focused on analyzing the behavioral patterns of certain decision-making in economics,” he said. “It’s an excellent middle point for someone like me, an engineer who has all these technical skills, but who wants to leverage those skills to analyze economic decisions, whether it is on a micro or macro level.”
Encouraged by his pursuit of economics, he landed a summer internship with Citi as a sales and trading analyst. “This was something very different from my background, and it was a huge learning curve,” said Nicolas. “But it was an amazing opportunity. They even flew all of the interns to New York so we could walk the floors with our peers and our teammates. It was extremely exciting talking with the people who make these big decisions every day.”
Nicolas is still undecided about going into the engineering world or the business world. But his time in the Professional Master’s Program has enabled him to potentially pursue both. “Any engineering education you get at Purdue is going to be top-notch,” he said. “At the end of the day, with ME's Professional Master’s Program, I’ve gained exposure I would not have gotten in any other master’s program. Having had both the engineering background and exposure to the business world, I know that I’ll be able to put both to use, in whatever role that may be.”
Writer: Jared Pike, jaredpike@purdue.edu, 765-496-0374