<p>Hey guys, I hope you're having a good break.</p>
<p>I've discussed those questions with friends and family, but I'm looking for unbiased opinions, so I ended up here.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>I live in New Mexico, which is one of the worst places in the country for a college student (no social scene, small college selection). I am a junior right now studying engineering in NMSU; and I'm just wondering if I made the right choice. NM State is a nice decent school, but it's nowhere near the top. State tuition is low, and because of state scholarships I go there pretty much for free (I only pay for books and living). My grades and test scores allowed me to go to a better school, but ridiculous out of state tuition rates turned me off. My parents saved quite a bunch of money for me, but still I had to take student loans and I was too scared to have a big debt. Is it a wrong decision in a long-term? I have 4.0 GPA, participate in student organizations, had internships + taking one-semester full-time co-op this spring. Will I be that much worse in terms of good job opportunities than AVERAGE top school graduate?</p></li>
<li><p>The following question relates to the same topic. I am planning to go to graduate school, and this time I am going to a good one for sure. I am thinking about UT Austin (it's in top-10 engineering schools in the US, relatively inexpensive, fantastic city overall), but facing the same choice again. I can go there right after graduation and pay out of state tuition, which I will be capable of. Or I can find a job in Texas, live there for 1-2 years, get the residency, then apply and pay 2 times less? Some people say once you get out of college and work you usually don't come back; but I really want a master's degree. What would you do?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks for your time</p>
<p>Studying for a PhD in engineering should be funded with fellowship, research assistantship, or teaching assistantship, so you should not have to pay for going to graduate school for that. Terminal master’s degree programs may be a different story, however. If you want to go only for a master’s degree, you may find it more advantageous to try for a job that will pay for your master’s degree studies (though it may be limited in practical terms to schools relatively local to the job location).</p>
<p>For jobs right out of school with a bachelor’s degree, engineering is generally regarded as being less school-prestige-conscious than most areas, although you may have to be more aggressive at finding and applying to non-local companies (especially smaller ones) that may not come recruiting to NMSU.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus, thanks for the reply.
PhD is not a choice. I am not interested in research or teaching, I just want to get coursework-only Master’s to get more in-depth knowledge and be more competitive in the field. </p>
<p>I’ve heard many people talking about companies willing to pay for grad schools for their employees, but how to know which ones? They never post it on job-listings, and it will be kind of cocky to ask them about it during the interview.</p>
<p>Glad to know that regular state school degree is not that big of a deal. Hopefully it won’t matter at all if I get a chance to get a Master’s from top 10.</p>
<p>Many colleges pay for your Masters in Engineering, fully funded with extra cash each month; you would be working either as a teaching assistant or a research assistant. My brother went to Texas for his MS, and they paid him to do it. With your grades you should have lots of options. Talk to your faculty advisor and some of the professors you like the most.</p>
<p>It may be hard to find a list of companies with education benefits, though you may be able to find out about a particular company by web searching “[company name] education benefits”.</p>