I’m a rising junior studying ChemE. Initially, I wanted to go to grad school right after graduation, but now I’m starting to feel a little burnt out from studying and can’t wait to enter a ChemE job. However, I keep hearing conflicting ideas on whether to get your master’s degree right away or not.
Pro’s of waiting: Can save for it or obtain tuition payment from an employer. Also have a clearer idea of which subfield and such.
Cons of waiting: May loose momentum/study habits. Risk of settling down first and never having time to get it.
Thoughts? Thanks. 
If you are having second thoughts, you should wait. Grad school will always be there. If you rush it then you will most likely become very unhappy. Its happen to my boyfriend and other friends.
Waiting is the right thing to do. You have to be sure that you want to continue studying if you decide to go to graduate school. It is not just “the next thing to do,” particularly if you have an engineering degree and good job prospects. If you really need and want to go to graduate school, you will know it in a couple of years of work. By the way working for a few years is not a negative for Engineering graduate school applications. having real world experience is important.
thanks for the responses!
I agree with the waiting thing, it helped me figure out exactly what to look for in a graduate program after working for a bit.
However, I highly recommend you take the GRE while you’re still in school. It is a pain to go back to studying for tests when you are working. Plus, the scores are valid for 5 years which also gives you the motivation to go back to grad school eventually.