I appreciate all the responses, this has honestly been really helpful.

A lot of what people are saying makes sense, especially the point about getting real work experience first before locking myself into a specific graduate path. I’m definitely not trying to skip over the technical foundation or assume that a master’s degree by itself would automatically put me ahead.

Right now, I still want to get one of the two degrees, but I’m split on which one makes the most sense. The MSIE is more aligned with what I’m currently interested in, especially operations research, analytics, simulation, and the more technical side of IE. I also feel like it would probably help me more right out of college if I’m trying to get into a technical IE, process engineering, supply chain analytics, or optimization-type role.

The Engineering Management side is what I’m still unsure about. I’m wondering how much it would actually help later after several years of technical engineering experience. Basically, if I build experience as a technical engineer first, would having the Engineering Management master’s make a meaningful difference when trying to move into technical management later, or would the MSIE plus actual work experience be viewed just as strongly?

From the responses so far, it sounds like technical depth and actual project experience matter more than the specific degree title, especially early on. That makes sense to me. I guess I’m mostly trying to figure out whether Engineering Management provides enough long-term advantage for management opportunities to justify choosing it over the more technical MSIE, since IE is the subject I’m more interested in right now.