Upenn MS vs Cornell M.Engr in Electrical Engineering

[samppan]

I got accepted into UPenn's MSEE and Cornell's M.Engr program. However, I cannot decide which one is best for me.

I am not planning to get a PhD for now, but I prefer to work after MS and get a MBA; however, I also don't want a M.Engr terminal degree to limit the possibility of going toward PhD if the market is still bad after I graduate.

I read other posts saying Cornell's M.Engr can do thesis track and switch to MS/PhD program.

What is the requirement to do a thesis track in M.Engr program? Do you just sign up for it?

I know Cornell M.Engr program is designed to get student back to the industries. I've been working for almost 2 years, and I know what company are look for

From the course of study, it looks like Cornell emphasis on a lot of hands-on projects, rather than quantitative analysis and theory like UPenn does.

What is the job opportunity with a M.Engr. degree compare to MS from UPenn?

[noojens]

Is Penn's MS a two-year program? Do you have funding at either school?

In many ways, the Cornell MEng program is designed as a fifth year of undergrad, with (as you say) a project designed to cultivate industry-specific skills as the core of the program. However, it's also flexible -- if you take, for example, core EE PhD courses instead of fourth-year electives, and choose your project to be more research-oriented (preferably under a professor with whom you'd like to do a PhD), you can make the switch.

An advanced degree certainly won't hurt your prospects of getting into a PhD program, but a two-year research-based MS is typically more advantageous than a one-year MEng, IMO.