I have gotten myself into a bad situation. I have a tendency to get caught up in how good ideas sound without thinking them through. I have done it to myself once again. Here’s the deal. I graduated in May with an engineering degree. I didn’t COOP before I graduated so I had no work experience. When it came time to think about getting a job, I thought while I was young and not married that it would be in my best interests to get an advanced degree (Masters) before it became too difficult once I was more settled down.
Long story short I figured that in graduate school, just like as an undergraduate, I would have people throwing money at me to go. Unfortunately, as it turns out, this is not the case. I believe this is mostly due to the fact that I didn’t fill out any forms for an assistantship until really late in the game and the fact that my GRE was less than stellar. I am now currently in graduate school, every dime paid for by me and student loans, and I am now rethinking my plans. I just feel out of place because it seems as if most of the other people there have assistantships of some form and I am getting in major debt to pay for this. For instance, for my first year I am taking out about $19,000. I figured I could graduate in Fall of 2007, but I am really screwed up because I don’t even really have a major advisor, all I have is a temporary one who helped me pick out classes. I am now considering withdrawing because if I do I will only incur about $1,300 worth of debt from this rather than $20,000 or more doing something my heart truly isn’t in anyways. I would then go and look for a job.
Another thing that is making me want to go to work is the fact that many companies will later pay for you to get a Masters degree or MBA once you are employed with them.
So basically this is what I hoping to get out of this topic:
Do you have any comments/advice on my situation? I am currently going through a lot so please only use constructive, i.e., I know I am foolish for not researching more into this prior to get myself so involved so please don’t tell me again.
Did you go to graduate school? What was your major or emphasis?
In your experience, how common is it for someone to go into graduate school without an assistantship or fellowship and come out with one in a semester or so?
Do you think it’s worth it to incur this much debt to get a Masters degree when there’s a large possibility I could get it paid for once working for a company for a few years?
I have been to graduate school twice–once in Chemical Engineering–no degree, once in Information Science, got a Master’s.
First trip was paid for by the school (assistanceship), second was paid for out of my pocket–in a manner of speaking–no assistanceship anyway.
I know a LOT of people who dropped out of graduate school after a couple years, some with Master’s Degrees, some without–they count as drop outs if they got a M.S. and were hoping for a PhD.
I also know a number of people who got PhD’s and aren’t using them for various reasons. It’s not the end of the world.
If your heart isn’t in it, I’d encourage you to drop out, get a job, and worry about graduate school later–I’ve heard that in engineering you should only go if you can get someone (the school or an employer) to pay for it, but I’ m not sure that’s true. And certainly, I got mine paid for and was still miserable, unsuccessful, and left sans degree.
I’d encourage you to cut your losses and leave now, rather than being miserable for a couple of years and ending up in debt to your eyeballs. Expect to have to tell people why you dropped out, and whether you want to go back someday to finish the degree, but your biggest problem in finding a job is that you are not that different from what you were before you went to grad school (in other words, no experience).
Thank you for the reply Eureka. Do I still have to tell employers that I quit? For instance, I have only gone for four days. This was my first semester. I have gotten no grades and only completeled one homework assignment so is it really necessary to mention that I dropped out? Would I have to denote it on my resume in some way?
Oh, 4 days into the semester? I didn’t realize that it was that soon. You probably don’t need to mention it–it’s only those of us who dedicate months or years to dead ends who need to explain them on our resumes.
On the other hand, the angel on my other shoulder is pointing out that under most circumstances I’d tell you that you’ve barely given it a chance, and you should try to stick it out for at least a semester. Of course, a semester costs a lot more than 4 days does . . .
So, I guess I don’t know. Is there anyone in your department who could give you some advice?
I know plenty of people who are happy with their graduate degrees, it’s just that I also know a number who went to grad school immediately after they graduated from college often with an unstated wish to avoid having to get a real job immediately, and who decided not to use their degrees, or even not to finish getting their degrees.
I’d vote to bail out as well. I don’t think the grad degree will make a huge difference in getting hired in entry level jobs. It’ll help some, and might be a tie-breaker in some cases, but (depending on your engineering field) it probably won’t be the deciding factor. You are correct that a lot of companies will fund grad degrees for their engineering employees. Remember that you’re not only saving the cost of school, you’re earning a full paycheck while you go. (assuming a nice round 50K/year; instead of -20K for tuition, you have +120K for your two years). It’s important to remember that you’re also earning retirement (if you opt for theeir 401K), vacation days, and you’re covered under their insurance plans. Finally, some companies can be pretty generous to their student-employees. My company is funding my Masters (I finish in Dec. Woot!), and they also pay for books, fees, and even meals on the days I’m in class.
Seriously, let someone else pay for your Grad degree, if you can.
Tough call. In the maths and sciences, you almost always get a stipend.
A graduate degree can make a pretty big difference in a lot of engeineering fields. . .I mean starting at $40,000 a year vs. $65,000 a year. I’d advise talking to someone immediately about the chances to get locked into a stipend or at the very least a tuition waiver for next semester. If they say there’s no chance, well, you might want to look into dropping out until a better opportunity comes along.
If they say there’s a good chance, you might want to stick it out. That graduate degree can make a big difference in future employment.
If you’re accepted, then you’re probably accepted for more than one semester; i.e., you probably can bail now and re-start in the winter if you so choose. That would drop your costs right now, which is important if you’re really not too intereseted in grad school anyway.
Ayup. Economics.
For Master’s programs, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was fairly common, but it depends on the subject mostly.
Yeah, if you like the subject and if there is good probability of making up the difference in future salary. In my experience, grad school is more a labor of love than undergrad, so if you don’t dig the subject, you may not be so happy with the decision. Caveat lector.
If you’re just looking for something to do, and if you can get a job, then take the job. If it looks like a job will be hard to get, then grad school may be a good option.
Follow me on this for a moment. The cost is the $19,000 for school plus the wages you give up by not working for those two years. If you’d make, say, $25,000/year on a job, that’s an additional $50,000 cost to going to grad school.
Now, if you can’t get a good job, then the cost of going to grad school drops considerably.
Talk to someone in your department ASAP about your thought process - maybe your advisor, maybe a student services person, maybe a friendly prof. As was mentioned, you could always defer for 1-2 semesters while you make up your mind.
Regroup, and either hit grad school hard, or bail quickly and try to get an internship or entry-level job. These can be hard to get in engineering with no prior (in school or summer) experience.
If you decide to attend grad school, try to find out how the other students are funded. There are some programs where virtually everybody pays their own way for the first year or comes in with a fellowship; other programs try to match incoming students with TA/RA opportunities.
Don’t hang out on the SDMB all day - go now, be a man (or a woman) of action!
Go talk to the secretary for your department graduate program. He/she will know all the ins and outs of assistantships and tuition waivers at your school, and at the very least be able to point you to someone else to talk to. I think it’s too early to give up just yet.
I went to graduate school for physics, and didn’t know of anyone who didn’t have both a tuition waiver and an assistantship. Most of us had to do a teaching assistantship the first year or two to get it, but sometimes the department has extra money to help people out in a bind. I think it’s fairly rare for graduate students in the sciences or engineering to have to pay their way, although obviously you should have applied for assistantships early on.
You may be right that grad school is not the right choice right now. But if you do stick with it, here’s my 2 cents.
In my experience (not engineering, tho) it was quite common for masters students at a large state university not to have assistantships. Many were going to school part-time and had other jobs. Ph.D. students almost always have assistantships, from what I’ve seen.
There may be on-campus jobs that are comparable to assistantships. They may not come with all the benefits, but might still be of use to you. Look into employment at a computer lab or tutoring center, or see if a professor needs additional help on a project.
I’m torn - you could go either way - but the important thing is to make a firm decision soon and commit to it fully, don’t look back! There are no wrong answers here, but being indecisive can hurt you.