<p>How can one test the waters so to speak? I don't know if industry or academia is for me.</p>
<p>I'm sure there are many ways, such as trying industry through internships and also trying research positions. I'm interested in hearing more. I'm planning on getting my masters degree after my BSME (or PhD if I know by then that I want to go into academia). Maybe if I'm unsure by the time I graduate with my BSME then graduate school will help?</p>
<p>Well it’s not like getting a PhD is relegating you to a life in academia. The first think you should do is determine if you are interested in research. If you think you might be then get an undergrad research position. You also want to test the waters in industry. For that, get an internship. That should give you a taste of both and help decide if a BS-level job is what you want or if you want to go to graduate school instead.</p>
<p>If you go to graduate school but aren’t sure on whether or not to do a PhD, your next question to yourself is whether you want to do research as a career. You probably can figure that out within a year or so of starting but it may take two (or you may already know before you start grad school). If the answer is that you want a career in research, then a PhD may be the right track or you.</p>
<p>Only after reaching that point will you be ready to think about academia vs. industry. The answer to that question is usually reasonably clear within a few years into your doctorate.</p>
<p>Which can a student typically get first - an internship or a research position? I know a lot of factors probably apply, but aren’t internships usually for those students that are further into the program (like juniors/seniors)? If so, is it possible for a student to get a research position before he/she is eligible for most internships?</p>
<p>In had my first internship between sophomore and junior year. Research it really depends on the professor.</p>
<p>If you want, you can get an internship after freshman year. Get involved in an ME club freshman year and do some impressive projects, then apply to any company that accepts freshman applications.
For research positions, it seems like you’d have to talk with professors doing research that are also in your department, which might be difficult freshman year, as you might not yet be taking major-specific courses.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m going to go for both as an undergrad, and because of something I just read on Ohio University’s site (where I hope to go for graduate school) I’ll plan on doing my masters regardless.</p>
<p>“A Master’s Degree in engineering or a related field, such as chemistry, physics, or applied mathematics, is required for admission.”</p>
<p>Participate in undergraduate research and attempt to get published. /thread</p>
<p>Getting published is easy - I have a few papers published from my grad school days… Getting funding is far more difficult, when we sent funding proposal after funding proposal to NSF this and DARPA that and the such…</p>
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<p>Did you even read his original question? Sure that is great on a graduate school application, but that doesn’t directly help a bit in deciding the things the OP is trying to decide.</p>
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<p>Quite the opposite as a graduate student. Funding is usually taken care of. Getting published still takes often years and a ton of work. Note: I am not counting conference papers because those are a cakewalk to publish and are not peer reviewed. If you decide to go into academia they are of minimal value compared to journal articles as well.</p>
<p>In my grad career I wrote many a funding proposal to the usual alphabet agencies because that is how funding worked. It may be different in a larger school I guess but in our school (directional state turned sort of flagship with a respected doctoral comp sci program) once you get accepted as a research associate for a specific funded project part of your duties often included helping the PI find other sources of funding… </p>
<p>The PI would come up with some research proposal idea which we would then flesh out, maybe develop or expand into some proof of concept, then put in the right form, and send to alphabet agencies. It was not a big deal in terms of time or effort but it gave new insight to the publish or perish mentality. It basically convinced me of the AMWAY-ness of it all.</p>
<p>All my publications were in refereed or peer reviewed national conferences sponsored by big names (i. e. ACM) and I did not find that to be a big issue. I have not published anything in decades as i am in the industry and having received a couple of patents the absurdity of the patent system is well beyond what academia would ever imagine. </p>
<p>We have our own dog and pony shows in the industry as well. I have done mostly research work in my career and just like in academia the politics are a big factor of success. I have had products in nearly every Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show in the last decade, no fun, a lot of work, and unlike academia where you at least publish a paper or three out of a research project, our work is often buried after each show. If we bring more funding ie customers maybe a pat in the back, if not, good luck next year assuming no layoffs :)</p>
<p>Bonehead, I think that my advice was good. If he tried it and didn’t like it he’d know right away if academia was for him.</p>
<p>Personally I expect the whole higher ed bubble to pop in the next ten or twenty years.</p>
<p>What higher ed bubble? The idea that everyone has to get a 4-year degree to be successful? I hope that pops sooner than that. There are a lot of people who go and get a 4-year degree for jobs that only need a 2-year program but they went for the 4-year program because that is what you are “supposed to do”. It is silly and just puts people into a lot more debt than necessary.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I would say that this issue has nothing to do with whether or not the OP wants to get an academic position or not. Even if the above issue solves itself in the near future, there will still be a market for professors, particularly in STEM fields (though whether or not a shortage of STEM-trained workers actually exists or not is another story).</p>
<p>Thanks to various for profit schools full of $3k/class adjuncts, the bubble has already popped…</p>
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<p>The first-to-file system is just about killing me. Due to some IP waivers I had to sign after one half of my group started a company I’ve lost out at least five patents because the other group I’m part of couldn’t wait for me to graduate to file, so I’m just left off the patent. :(</p>
<p>Actually these days the hangups with patents are internal in my company - unless I invent a lithium-cheese battery that lasts for 3 years and is edible afterwards, our own patent guys won’t file (patent chicken). In my field especially, where it’s all design work, ultimately you’ll step into something that Apple or someone else may have filed, may file, etc, and that’s all she wrote.</p>
<p>Ironically, the mechanical engineers designing the boxes and the RF designers doing the various antennae et. al. have far more opportunity to patent stuff than we software/human interface drones :(</p>
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<p>I have experience with something similar to that, except from the other end. ;)</p>
<p>My son seems to think that if he gets a Ph.D., he’ll be pretty much guaranteed a job as a university professor. My gut tells me that is a pipe dream, ie, false assumption. I’m assuming he doesn’t mean tenured professor, but maybe getting a job doing research at the university and teaching a couple of classes. Since he’s had no luck in finding internships, but has been successful in his research, I think he’s assuming he’s found his niche. Interested to hear your viewpoints on his assumption, besides hysterical laughter, which is sort of where I’m leaning. I know, I’m supposed to be a supportive mom, but these past three years of engineering school and how the internship system works has left me a tad bit cynical.</p>
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<p>This is basically the job of a tenure-track professor. Adjuncts typically don’t do any research.</p>
<p>Has he thought about going into industry? You can do research there, though there’s a bit less freedom in what your topic will be.</p>
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<p>As others have mentioned, what you describe here is a tenured professor (or tenure-track professor). That happens to be one of the most difficult jobs to attain, as there is very little turnover in the profession since professors tend to really like their job and usually only leave for retirement or because they have died. Couple that with the bleak funding picture that keeps departments from expanding right now and it just means there are a lot of candidates for each job opening. In short, no, you are not guaranteed a professorship just because you got a PhD.</p>
<p>That said, it hasn’t stopped me from making that my goal. The funding environment will improve eventually and I do know there are many engineering schools looking to expand as soon as it does, but who knows when that will be.</p>
<p>That is like saying majoring in political science virtually guarantees that you will be a Senator, or that majoring in theater guarantees you will be a m</p>