I am in my final semester of undergrad, graduating in less than a month with a BS in Civil Engineering. My plan has been to get a Masters Degree with a focus on Structural Engineering. For this field, a Master’s is typically required or it is unlikely you will find a job. But I currently have a job offer. I turned a different one down already because the pay was low, I didn’t want to live in that area, and I just wasn’t excited about working there. This company is different. I always planned to move out of Florida, but this company is in a location of Florida that is new to me and that I wouldn’t mind living in. The pay offer is a little higher, but the benefits and bonuses are also better.
My dilemma is that I’ve been planning for grad school and now I suddenly have this option to go straight to being a structural engineer. I have been struggling recently with whether I even want to be an engineer, but other times I find myself having that same interest that got me into it in the first place. In grad school, I planned to get an MS instead of an MEng because it would allow me to do research and see if that’s what I prefer over practicing. And if not, I would still have the option of going into industry. I know I could take classes while working, there are a few nearby universities, but that just sounds like hell to work full time and take grad courses. Also, I have schools that I really want to go to that are very good for my field, like top 10 good. So if I find out I got accepted to one after I’ve accepted this job, I’m afraid I would regret it. These schools are also in locations that I would very much love to live in that are outside of Florida. I feel that grad school would present much different opportunities and maybe I would find a passion for research or a niche part of the field that I haven’t seen yet.
My issue with the job is that it’s soecifically with bridges. All of my experience is in bridges so I’m always pinholed into it. It’s not that I don’t like bridges, but I’m also not sure if I do. And I want to experience other aspects of structural engineering before I start my career.
There’s also the financial aspect to take into consideration. I would be financially stable with this job, although the pay is lower than what I’d expect to start with if i had a masters, but right now my near financial future is a big question mark. There are so many options to consider and I’m very confused right now on what I should do.
I know people who regret going to grad school instead of getting a job. I also know people who got a well-paying job out of their first degree and wish that they’d gone to grad school in order to have a more interesting or higher level career. But the financial incentive of employment makes it really hard to go back to school.
If you’re graduating with debt or no savings and you’ll need to pay for your MS program, I would personally take the job. Keep in touch with your professors for the first couple of years just in case you change your mind and want to go to graduate school. If you are a good applicant now based on your grades and rec. letters, then after a couple years of job experience you’ll still be a good applicant especially for Masters programs.
Alternatively, if you end up being accepted at your dream grad school after you’ve accepted this job offer you can ask if it’s possible to defer grad school for a year (it happens, but is program-dependent).
Go ahead and take the job. Assess where you are after a year, and decide whether to go ahead with grad school. You get a chance to stow some money away and gain some work experience that will strengthen you as a student and in your post-grad school job search if you decide to go to grad school.
I’d say “most of the time” is an exaggeration. And while they may reimburse, many employers still expect you to work full time and attend class on your own time. Which can be pretty grueling. They also sometimes have rules about how long you have to stay with their company after they reimburse. And your job might not be near the school you want to attend, or they may not have a part time option that fits your schedule. You can’t make assumptions about this.
Yeah, this company doesn’t have a reimbursement program, I’d be paying out of pocket while I work there. Also, the schools that are near it weren’t even remotely considerations for me. I strongly prefer not to work and do my masters at the same time because it sounds so awful.
I would love to have the option of deferring admission, but I’ve been reading about that and it seems like it’s pretty difficult to get that approved. I don’t know if taking time to work would be a good enough reason.
“I would love to have the option of deferring admission…”
Just to be clear, I did not defer admission. I worked for two years, and applied while I was working. I suspect that the references from the people that I worked for were a significant part of what got me accepted to graduate school.
I did apply with my undergraduate grades, plus the GRE that I had taken during my senior year of undergrad.
That was in response to another person who said deferment was an option. But also, yeah I have put a lot of time into my grad apps and ironically I was planning to submit them this weekend. But I have to let the company know by Monday. I definitely want to be able to use my GRE scores because I did quite well on it. I don’t want all of this effort to be in vain
What do your parents think? Do you have a prof in your field you can consult with for their opinion? Life sometimes get in the way of going back to school so I’m in the camp of getting your masters while you are still in the habit of studying and going to classes. There probably isn’t a wrong decision here though!
My dad thinks I should take the job and either get my masters while working or go to grad school later after I have saved up money. I spoke to a professor I do research for and he seems to be leaning towards grad school. But pretty much everyone else I’ve talked to says that taking the job makes the most sense.
If the MS is the norm than I’d go to grad school and look for an assistantship. You have the rest of your life to work and it is a lot harder to do a grad school while working full time.