Graduated undergrad in '06 in Civil Engineering. Earned my Masters of Engineering in '08. Focus was structural engineering. I've been in practice for seven years now, four years in commercial building design and three years serving industrial and utility based clients.

I've just found that this type of work isn't all that stimulating or challenging. I find myself turning routine design work into more complicated problems that I enjoy working.

Throughout school I excelled in mathematics and loved the theory behind the design. I read and reread books on the topics I enjoy and am extremely well versed in structural mechanics, structural dynamics and structural stability.

I got my PE license as soon as possible and have passed both the PE exam and the newer 16-hour two day SE exam.

While I was in grad school, I was a TA and I really enjoyed helping undergrads.

I have contemplated going back to school for years, but I fear that ship has sailed as I am married now and both my wife and I are accustomed to having a solid income.

Can anyone shed any light on the prospects of going back for a PhD? Would I expect four years minimum of grad assistant like pay?

The end goal wold be to become a professor at a university.

I don't know what I expect from posting this, it's Friday evening and I'm really just writing out my thoughts to get perspective.

I am not an engineer, but I do have a Phd. I can speak to some of this that I think might be universal regardless of discipline.

You can absolutely expect to have terrible pay unless you are a part-time student while you keep a "real" job. How long it takes is totally dependent on you and the requirements of the program.

I went straight through to the PhD after graduating with a bachelor's degree, so I didn't have a period of good income in between. I don't think I ever would have gone back to school had I earned any amount of money in the real world. It is just "gentile poverty" for a while and that sucks.

Your payoff will be a lot bigger than mine though, you will be an engineering prof while I am in the social sciences. You'll make more as a new assistant prof than I'll make as an associate.

That brings up one last point. Make sure that you really want the life of an assistant professor for 5 or so years before you go that route. The publish/research or perish life isn't for everyone, and some people get here and hate it and wash out in a hurry. If that happens to you, you will end up with a similar job to the one you have now, but you will have wasted many solid income earning years of your life.

Do it! I was 15 years into my career when I realized I wanted something more. I'm currently in a 4-year PhD program and haven't looked back!

How are you supporting yourself and your family?

Thats my biggest concern.

My wife is hands-down the bread winner in our family. We've made sacrifices (cut-down on distant/long vacations, for example). However, the program I'm in is absolutely 100% full-time and there is little free time for a vacation anyway. They do not allow us to work outside of the University. Most programs have financial assistance that is available to PhD students (this will vary by university and by college/department). I get 100% tuition and fees covered (the only thing I pay for is my parking pass) and about $20K/year "stipend". I'm far from living like a king, but I'm also not eating ramen noodles every meal.

I left public accounting years ago, and we all know the earning potential in that field. However, I did not want to be working 60 hours/week, while smooching with clients, for the rest of my career. Academics and research will give me the chance to bust ass for 6 years, make associate, bust butt for another 6 years, make full, all by the time I'm in my mid-50s. Then I can decide if I want to keep producing research, or turn more to the classroom and/or working with graduate students. I'd even consider administration (maybe department chair, associate dean, or something) if the opportunity was right. If you can handle the classroom, you can teach until you die...full benefits and decent pay along the way.

I would advise that if you're thinking about doing this, consider where you want to end-up when you're finished. Do you want on as an assistant professor at a Tier 1 school (A&M, UT, and the likes)? Or, do you want a mid-tier (UH, Tech, etc.)? Or, a teaching school? For me, I absolutely did not want Tier 1 nor the research demands that would come with that. So, I pursued a mid-tier school and hope to land at a mid-tier when finished. For salary comparison, in my field (accounting) a teaching university (research requirements are very easy to meet), starting salary for assistant is $100K. For UH, striving to make full tier 1, with maximum research requirements, starting assistant is about $180K. I think A&M starts their assistant accounting professors around $160Kish. In engineering, you will be in VERY high demand I bet. You may live frugally for a few years while do the PhD. But, in the long run, it's likely to easily pay for itself.

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It is just "gentile poverty" for a while and that sucks.

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I suspect that should say genteel poverty. Probably accurate as written though, come to think of it.

Do not waste your time unless the company want you to and they are paying for it. You are better off performing self improvement, changing companies to learn more and broaden yourself.

I got a BS and MS engineering in sequence and then my company sent me years later to another school to get an MBA. They paid for it. It worked out.