<p>Hello there!</p>
<p>I've been working as a software engineer for a large, well known website for the past ~5 months since graduating from undergrad, but I eventually want to return to school to get a Masters degree in either Statistics or CS. Specifically, my interests lie in Machine Learning and AI. </p>
<p>Only problem is that I have no idea how to go about getting LOR's. In college, I unfortunately never really interacted with my professors much, if at all, and so getting a professor to write one for me seems like a longshot, even if it's one in whom's class I did really well.. </p>
<p>I had decent grades (~3.6) from a top 5 university with 2 majors completed and I am certain I can ace the GRE.</p>
<p>Would only being able to get LOR's from my bosses at work severely hurt my chances of graduate admission when I decide to return to school 1-2 years down the line? Or what can I do in the meantime to improve my prospects? What are other peoples experiences applying to graduate school after working for a while?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I’m still finishing my undergrad, but here is my input:</p>
<p>I feel like most tech masters programs favor applicants with a couple of years of experience, and want the most current/relevant references. So having the majority or entirety of your LORs be professional references is likely not a disadvantage. If you have a quality LOR after working closely with senior management at a well-known web company, I don’t see why a school would scoff at that and ask for a reference from a professor you had for some class 2-3 years ago. </p>
<p>That being said, check the guidelines for the specific program you want to apply for, they might strictly outline what kind of letters they are looking for (ex. two academic and two professional), or make some sort of recommendation for the LOR sources.</p>
<p>Here’s the suggested LOR split for the grad program I’m looking at. Its based on how long you’ve been in the workforce. See if what you will apply for has similar information:</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“Heinz College Admissions | Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College”>Heinz College Admissions | Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College]Recommendations[/url</a>]</p>
<p>You sound like a strong candidate, best of luck for whenever you apply.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response! I’ll check to see if the universities have specifications like CMU.</p>
<p>I disagree with ForumMod (kind of). I have heard explicitly from many grad adcoms, PhD and Masters, that not having an academic rec is very bad. It’s not as bad for Masters, but it’s basically lethal for PhDs. A lot of it is that the adcoms are not familiar with CEOs or managers, so their word doesn’t carry as much weight as a renowned PI or professor in the field. </p>
<p>That said, it depends on what your Masters is in also (the agree with ForumMod part). If you go a more research track, what I said above is more true. If it’s more industry oriented, then ignore me, and listen to ForumMod.</p>