<p>After a bachelor's degree, an internship and a research assistantship, I've realized that I have very little interest in electrical engineering. I've always been more of a business-y person and IE has numerous applications on that side of things. (Actually, I'm very interested in stock-picking strategies and algorithms, but that's only one of many subfields.)</p>
<p>Right now, there appear to be two options:
1) I can try to apply to IE grad programs directly, but with deficiencies in coursework and research/internship experience (see below), or
2) I can obtain a second bachelor's degree in IE/stats/math, hopefully work on a relevant research project, polish up my resum</p>
<p>The only time it is worthwhile doing a second bachelor’s degree is when the new field is so radically different that the only option is to start over from the beginning - an old friend of mine went from business to EE in this manner. EE to IE does not even come close.</p>
<p>Many people change fields between undergrad and grad school, dependent of course on the prerequisites. In your case, based on your desired research area you would appear to be deficient in math and stat (how did you graduate without high-level stat?). This is easily remedied by taking a few extra courses and in no way requires a second degree. Some schools will even allow you to make up this shortfall during the actual program, rather than before. Your past experience and research will be just fine for the application process, as they are trying to figure out the type of person you are just as much as they are gauging your preparation.</p>
<p>Thanks very much for the good wishes and informative response.</p>
<p>My school required two years of calculus (AP-BC/1st year equivalent, multivar, and linear algebra) and either discrete math w/probability or stats. I chose the former, because most EE/CS students found it more helpful and relevant toward their studies (especially compsci)…and in hindsight, I really can’t disagree.</p>
<p>I definitely wouldn’t mind taking remedial stats classes. However, even if I started three months ago, at the beginning of the Fall 2009 term, the grades wouldn’t have been processed in time for many grad apps. That was my main concern back then, too. If I register for winter/spring stats courses, the grad schools will see that I’m committed to rectifying my deficiencies before entering in Fall 2010, but they won’t know how I perform in those courses.</p>
<p>The last concern is how to approach my SOP. I can explain my interest in the new field, which I confirmed by browsing class webpages (lectures, projects, problem sets) around the Internet, but my SOP/CV won’t be nearly as meaty as someone who does have relevant research and work experience throughout his undergraduate years. And it’s a pretty long stretch to try to tie any of my previous EE experience to IE, as there really aren’t many aspects in common between the two disciplines.</p>