Grad School

Serendipity

So - I just realized that I will have to make some decisions in the next few years after I finish college.

I'd like to work in the home theater industry as an electrical engineer, but I'm also interested in going to grad school for something like Engineering Management or Physics. Part of me wants to go to grad school but I also want to work too. What would I be able to do with a graduate degree that wouldn't be possible in my interested line of work?

What do you guys think?

shack

Get a job.

Serendipity

And why is that?

PhantomOG

I got a job straight out of college (EE) and told myself I would go back to school eventually. That was 7 years ago... at this point I have serious doubts that I'll ever go back. Part of me regrets the decision. But who knows, maybe it was for the best. All I know is, it seems like the longer you wait to go to grad school, the less chance of it actually happening. Life tends to get in the way.

Serendipity

Yes, I don't want that to happen either. I never like the feeling of "what if" in my mind.

I just turned 19, so this will be for the future. But right now I'm just a bit overwhelmed by decisions...

shack

Grad school is over-rated IMO.

Serendipity

I never thought of it like that. I view it this way - if it is of any benefit to my future career, then it is worth it in the long run.

Shizelbs

Grad school was the second smartest thing I ever did.

bobman1235

You can certainly do grad school part time while working full-time, plenty of my friends are doing it now. At least three of them have it paid in full by their employer, so you may want to consider trying to find that type of deal, where your employer will pay for part-time grad school.

Personally I think the whole grad school thing is hugely overrated. Will it help your future earning potential? Probably. If you do it part-time while working then maybe it's worth it, but if you do it full-time AND pay for it I think you're insane. College is way too expensive as it is, and I hate doing something pointless (I learned WAY more on the job than in college) just because people say it should be done.

Serendipity

So are you basically saying I'd be out of my mind if I work full time and go to full time grad school?

jflail2

Some grad schools prefer you to work a while before diving in. I don't know of many upper end MBA programs that would want you fresh from undergrad....

And working for a while in that field helps you to decide "is this really what I want to do the rest of my life?" I'd rather figure that out before grad school.

Serendipity

jflail2 wrote: »

And working for a while in that field helps you to decide "is this really what I want to do the rest of my life?" I'd rather figure that out before grad school.

I want to work at McDonald's.















Kidding!

bobman1235

Hey, wahtever floats your boat. I'd say it will be very tough if you want any kind of social life. My aforementioned friends take one class per semester and their free time is already severely limited.

exalted512

Working full time and going to grad school full time is like certain death...

-Cody

Early B.

Grad school is not over rated. It's ****, but so are most undergraduate degrees.

Go straight to grad school after college. It's an investment. You'll likely make more money over the course of your life if you do.

Separate what you think you want to do with your life from your career aspirations. They're rarely the same thing.

shack

I have a post graduate degree that I got after I worked for a while (nights and summers). It had very little impact on my income and only reinforced information that I was already assimilating in the "real world". It supposedly teaches you to "think outside the box" while using "best practices" (two phrases I despise)...kind of an oxymoron if you ask me.

bobman1235

Early B. wrote: »

Grad school is not over rated. It's ****, but so are most undergraduate degrees.

Fair enough. Here ya go :

If you just want to make more money, then make sure that in your field you'll actually be able to get a job that pays enough to offset both the cost of grad school AND the 2-4 years you'll spend NOT working and gaining real-world experience.

If you just want to learn stuff, go to work and don't ever glance back at grad school.

Some exceptions apply.

burdette

I think in general you get more out of graduate school if you've worked and 'lived' for a few years before starting the program. If nothing else you get an idea of what the corporate world is really like.

You'll also have a chance to learn if your chosen undergraduate field is really what you want your grad degree to be in. I have an undergrad EE degree, but my graduate degree is MBA. I worked just under 4 years in eng. before I went back.

It also depends on what you want to do. If it were business, I'd say work for awhile. If it were research physics, then probably school right away.

All that said, I think a good indication is to find job postings for what you hope to be doing. If the requirements for those jobs are a graduate degree AND work experience, I'd wait and go later. If the requirements are graduate degree OR work experience, you may not need to go at all.

Also, many larger companies will pay for or help you pay for graduate school. You could get your undergrad, find a job with a company that pays, and work towards your degree over time.

I reiterate... I wouldn't assume at this point that you'll want your graduate degree to be in the same field.

jflail2

Right on Burdette. And there are many other ways to advance/improve yourself without going to grad school (at least in the business world.) I could go a couple of different ways at this point; CFA, CPA, even my series 6, 7 etc. After 4 years in the business world, I'm still not completely sure which direction I'd want to go.

Early B.

bobman1235 wrote: »

Fair enough. Here ya go :

If you just want to make more money, then make sure that in your field you'll actually be able to get a job that pays enough to offset both the cost of grad school AND the 2-4 years you'll spend NOT working and gaining real-world experience.

If you just want to learn stuff, go to work and don't ever glance back at grad school.

Some exceptions apply.

Yep. This cleans it up.

Appadv -- you mentioned engineering management or physics. Based on what Bob says, go with a management degree. For physics, get a Ph.D.

Lots of people make the mistake of getting a degree in something they like as opposed to something they can make money at. Go for the money, then use that money to pursue what you enjoy.

Serendipity

Early B. wrote: »

Lots of people make the mistake of getting a degree in something they like as opposed to something they can make money at. Go for the money, then use that money to pursue what you enjoy.

But I want to do what I like, which is designing electronic circuits and working either as an electrical engineer or in engineering management. So why is this a bad thing?

jdhdiggs

Eh, only go to Grad School if YOU really like that program or have a huge interest in the program, otherwise you're just spinning your wheels. Someone who is really interested and dedicated in their field has a bigger leg up with two+ additional years of experience than a graduate degree.

That said, Grad school was one of the smartest things I ever did for my career.

BaggedLancer

No grad school for me. I want to work work and work more!

PhantomOG

It really depends on what kind of work/career you want. For me, after working for the past 7 years, I realize that I'm happiest with a technical related career (not management). Because of that, it would have been better for me to go straight to grad school after undergrad for an MS degree. Going to school part time while you are working might be ok for MBA, but its a **** for anything technical. I know people who try that at my company and it equates to 5-6 years of hell.

I was really burned out after undergrad and couldn't stand the thought of more school right after graduation. I do wish I could go back and change my mind though. Unfortunately, its hard to make career decision when you've never really worked, and sometimes too late to make them if you stop after undergrad. Try your best to get a *good* internship/co-op to get real world experience.

Serendipity

jdhdiggs wrote: »

Eh, only go to Grad School if YOU really like that program or have a huge interest in the program, otherwise you're just spinning your wheels. Someone who is really interested and dedicated in their field has a bigger leg up with two+ additional years of experience than a graduate degree.

That said, Grad school was one of the smartest things I ever did for my career.

Well, to a large extent, I do have an interest in engineering management so I would like to give the program a try before going to work. But the one thing I would like to point out is - what's the point of making a lot of money if you won't be happy? I'd rather make a modest amount and be happy with my job, like that guy (can't remember his name at the moment) who quit his job as a lawyer to become a designer of toys at Lego...

Early B.

appadv wrote: »

But I want to do what I like, which is designing electronic circuits and working either as an electrical engineer or in engineering management. So why is this a bad thing?

I didn't say it was a bad thing. If designing circuits floats your boat, then float on.

The reality is.... if you're like most college students, you'll probably change your mind 13 times between now and when it's time to consider a grad school, choose a career that allows maximum flexibility. Also, be careful about engineering. Half those jobs have shifted overseas in the past decade.

Shizelbs

another thing to do, search out people that currently do what you want to do and find out how they got there. ask for their opinion. talk to students that are about to complete grad school and ask for their perspective.

PhantomOG

Early B. wrote: »

Also, be careful about engineering. Half those jobs have shifted overseas in the past decade.

I'd be interested to know specific numbers on engineering jobs in the U.S. Have the jobs actually shifted overseas (as in there are *less* engineering jobs now than before) or is the growth overseas just higher than here?

I can't tell you the number of employees here that are on work visas and I know alot of other companies are the same. The jobs will go where the talent is. Maybe its a lack of graduating engineers rather than plain old outsourcing.

Early B.

appadv wrote: »

But the one thing I would like to point out is - what's the point of making a lot of money if you won't be happy?

Happiness is not inherent in what you do, only in how you go about doing it.

Serendipity

Yes, I could understand that.

I was just saying, that I wanted to do something that I really enjoy vs. a job that would potentially make a lot of money but isn't as enjoyable...

Early B.

PhantomOG wrote: »

I'd be interested to know specific numbers on engineering jobs in the U.S. Have the jobs actually shifted overseas (as in there are *less* engineering jobs now than before) or is the growth overseas just higher than here?

I can't tell you the number of employees here that are on work visas and I know alot of other companies are the same. The jobs will go where the talent is. Maybe its a lack of graduating engineers rather than plain old outsourcing.

I dunno, but we know for a fact that lots of US manufacturing jobs have gone overseas, including Polk and virtually every other American-based audio company. So if goods aren't being manufactured in America, there's a reduced need for engineers.

Here's a Business Week article from 2006:

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/nov2006/sb20061107_874214.htm