should i accept this offer from the DOE?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I'm having a dilemma deciding whether I want to accept the internship offer from the Argonne National Lab, part of the DOE, for the spring SULI term. They have given me an offer for the project dealing with the testing of newly developed inert anodes for the production of aluminum. I'll assist in the setup and running of a new materials coating process, where I will prepare samples, design mounting fixtures, operate a coating furnace and help with sample analysis.</p>

<p>I just graduated with my BS in physics and applied math. Currently i've been looking for full-time positions in engineering or some technical position using programming. I've been getting a few phone interviews, including an in-person one later this week. But for the most part, I can't get in-person interviews until after the holidays. In a year or so, I will apply to grad schools in materials or mechanical engineering. I chose not to apply this fall since I don't have enough background in either of those to know for sure that I will enjoy graduate studies in those, since I haven't taken any engineering classes.</p>

<p>This project seems to sort of relate to materials engineering. The problem is that this position seems experimental, whereas I know for sure that I want to computations/modeling, not experimental work. In addition, it is out of my home state, which may be a problem since my family wants me close to home since one of my family members may pass away soon.</p>

<p>The only benefits I can see if I were to accept this offer are: the work is with the national labs, so it should look good on my resume, I will get to work closely with a research scientist who can expand my network and serve as a future reference, and it may help me better decide to choose materials vs mechanical engineering in the future.</p>

<p>I could always just reject this offer, and apply again for the summer or another future term. But if i were offered a full-time position at some company, I don't think i can just easily quit the job to do this DOE internship, right?</p>

<p>Do you think I should accept this offer or not? Thanks for the help</p>

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<p>first, whats the SULI term? when you say spring, you mean the season? or the semester? or the quarter?.. how long is the actual program? 2-3 months? what months does it start and end?
im assuming you graduated class of 09 (about 6 months ago?) and are debating whether to take the internship this coming spring? and applying to graduate school NEXT (2010) fall? are you sure you want to go to graduate school, though right? just the field?</p>

<p>that being said:

  1. do you actually have any serious job offers on the table? not to sound mean, but if you dont have anything, then i think the decision is that much easier.
  2. Argonne National Lab works closely with U. Chicago with has great physics and engineering programs- are you considering going to U. chicago? if so, it would probably be a great networking experience in person rather then over email and via conferences.
  3. if you did get a job, would you work this academic year, and next and then going to grad school?
  4. personally, i would say you can always fly back to your homestate if something happens. i cant imagine the PI hassling you for being gone 2-3 weeks…
  5. the experimental part doesnt seem like that much of a killer. its a short term and seems like it would be a good experience/provide prospective (but this is my personal view… you might feel differently/not give a ****)</p>

<p>this seems to vary mostly based on what is going on with the job offers… that being said i (personally) would take the offer if i were strongly considering graduate school. Do you have a PI at your current school that you could talk to?</p>

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<p>the spring term, which I got admitted for, runs from Jan-May. I graduated this fall 09 term. I didn’t apply to grad schools this fall. I may apply next fall or some other time in the future. I’m sure i want either a MS or phD. I’m just debating between applied math, mechanical eng, or materials eng. After just completing a thermo and plasma physics courses and disliking them both, i’m starting to rule out materials eng</p>

<p>i’ve gotten plenty of phone interviews so far, for various technical positions requiring programming and stats. I want an engineering position, but have gotten only 2 phone interviews so far. All the companies aren’t available for an in-person interview until after the new year. That’s whats making the decision so hard, as I have to weigh against so many different options</p>

<p>“3. if you did get a job, would you work this academic year, and next and then going to grad school?”</p>

<p>i don’t know. One question I have is is how easily i can quit a job so i can then attend grad school?</p>

<p>“5. the experimental part doesnt seem like that much of a killer. its a short term and seems like it would be a good experience/provide prospective (but this is my personal view… you might feel differently/not give a ****)”'</p>

<p>that may be true, but it seems more related to experimental chemistry, rather than modeling/simulation for materials engineering.</p>

<p>“this seems to vary mostly based on what is going on with the job offers… that being said i (personally) would take the offer if i were strongly considering graduate school. Do you have a PI at your current school that you could talk to?”</p>

<p>hmm, well out of personal preference, I would much rather stay where I’m currently living at, rahter than spending 4 months in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico, since i can still see my friends. I suppose I could ask my academic advisor for help as well, but I think I’ve already asked her too many questions…</p>

<p>should i try asking the DOE if they have any internship positions related to mechanical engineering instead?</p>

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<p>so i guess no one else can help me…</p>

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<p>Trust me, the skills it sounds like you’re going to need to develop will be very enticing to materials science graduate schools. You may find that theory is not for you anyway. In a poll that I somewhat often cite of graduate students from another website, the most common year in which people found out what they really wanted to do in their field was their first year of graduate school.</p>

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<p>Take the internship. Make new friends and network. Double your facebook friends. Even if you were lucky enough to get offered a job, the company would wait for another few months for you to start. Big company internships pay wages comparable to fulltime staff.</p>

<p>Besides you need a break from academics. Your friends where you are currently living will be gone to far corners in a few years because of jobs, You will be amongst the first to fledge.</p>

7

<p>‘Trust me, the skills it sounds like you’re going to need to develop will be very enticing to materials science graduate schools. You may find that theory is not for you anyway. In a poll that I somewhat often cite of graduate students from another website, the most common year in which people found out what they really wanted to do in their field was their first year of graduate school.’</p>

<p>right, I’m aware that this internship will help me in the future with graduate schools. That’s why i wish i can just re-apply at another time, say for the summer term, instead of doing it this spring, since i want to stay with my friends at school and because one of my family members is really close to passing away, so my mom is really urging me not to accept this offer. But will employers let me take a break from the company just to do this internship?</p>

<p>‘Even if you were lucky enough to get offered a job, the company would wait for another few months for you to start. Big company internships pay wages comparable to fulltime staff.’</p>

<p>i have 2 in-person interviews this week for full-time positions, and possibly more after the holidays. I’m sure i will get offered a job, right?</p>

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<p>Do you think before you type things? U. Chicago doesn’t even offer engineering. In fact, they have deliberately not taught engineering for years since IIT is right down the road.</p>

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<p>well i’ve talked this over with my family some more and it looks like i wont be able to take this offer. I can always accept this offer for another term, say the summer.</p>

<p>But I heard that it is pretty unlikely that I will be able to get a significant job for just one term (for this spring and then quit to do this DOE internship for the summer) and if i start a good job and then walk off from it, that will cause me problems later when i have to explain why i did that. is this true?</p>

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<p>You definitely don’t want to try and get a full-time job and then leave after 6 months if you can help it. Companies hire people in order to keep them for the long haul unless they are hiring a temp or an intern. I would have thought this intern position was about as ideal as you can get.</p>

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<p>Agree with bonehead.</p>

<p>If you question your other sources, why should you take advice from CCer’s?</p>

<p>Someone in your department gave you a very good recommendation. Don’t expect another if you turn down this opportunity.</p>

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<p>ok, i’ll try to ask the DOE if they can accomodate my starting and end dates since i should accept this offer, but one of my family members is very ill and my family wants me to stay home for his last days</p>

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<p>The SULI application retains the submitted recommendation or at least it used to. If creepypasta decides to re-apply for the summer term, the recommendations will already be in the system.</p>

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You will have to ask the program coordinator of the lab that offered you the internship. You will probably not be allowed to modify the start date by much since they usually have a set event schedule which includes the end presentations. It’s more likely that they will tell you to re-apply so it would be great if you can let the PI know of your situation to bust your chances of getting an offer later.</p>

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<p>‘It’s more likely that they will tell you to re-apply so it would be great if you can let the PI know of your situation to bust your chances of getting an offer later.’</p>

<p>If i reapply for the summer term, what can I do from now until then? If its not a good idea to work full-time for a company and then quit for the summer, what are my other options?
I’ve tried looking for research positions with engineering professors at my current school, but I don’t qualify for them since I don’t have an engineering background.</p>