At the beginning of my senior year of under-graduate studies, I was convinced of my destiny to work in industry immediately following graduation. Heck, just a few months earlier the UCSB Outreach video man caught me on tape saying just that in reply to his question "What do you plan to do after graduation?"" For several years following this interview, Just about every freshman entering UCSB would hear me on the "Welcome to UCSB" video explain my plan to work in industry for a few years to get some practical experience before returning to school to get my Masters. It was a done deal, so I thought.
So naturally, starting with UCSB's Annual "Meet the Firms Business Careers Fair" on October 26, I lined up my calendar to attend all the info sessions and career workshops. Its not that I hadn't been to many info sessions before in the Engineering II Pavilion and UCEN State Room during my previous three years. But back then I was focused more on securing an internship or summer job than on full-time employment. Now, however, it was time to do my homework on potential companies matching my interests and prepare the best I could, just as Don and the counseling staff recommended us seniors do. Never mind that the company recruiters often enticed us college kids to come to their session with a nice Woodstocks or UCEN catering morsel and nifty corporate free-bee. The HP and Microsoft sessions always were packed thanks to their laptop and palm pilot drawings. So, after making the rounds at the career fair, over the following week I sat in on the presentations given by Texas Instruments, Anderson Consulting, Raytheon and Chevron.
Then the graduate schools started their campaigns for attracting soon-to-be graduates like me. The November 1st "Graduate school seminar" gave the counter-proposal for continued education. Each of the schools represented had a compelling reason why I should come to their school. Not only that, they presented an orderly plan of attack for how each of us "good" students should go about selecting and applying for graduate programs around the country. Somehow this seemed less daunting than securing a job. After all, just four years before I had gone through the same sort of process in selecting and applying for college.
Well, the door of possibility had opened. Even though I still believed industry was the right direction for me, I was intrigued by the polar perspectives presented by industry and academia. The flashy carrot of corporate sponsorship to go back to school on your employer's dime was no longer a big perk like I first thought before learning that many graduate programs offer full rides as well. What then were the unspoken factors dictating a logical choice of heads or tails? I decided I had better get to the bottom of my dilemma.
I set out to learn what I could from all the resources I knew to tap into. My family, friends, career advisors, DSP, my fellow classmates and the ME professors were all on my list. But the more I discussed, the better the argument for each side became. I needed the nugget that would put this major decision into practical context for action. Luckily for me, such a pearl of wisdom finally hit home during my meeting with the under-graduate department advisor, Prof. McLean. This is what he said:
* If you are a good student now, have any intent or ambition for further higher education, and aren't burnt out, go to graduate school immediately after you finish under-grad. It is far easier to get good letters of recommendation from faculty while you are taking classes than if you wait a few years. Plus, the academy is primed for helping you with GRE preparation and polishing your personal statement whereas in a few years you would be on your own. Additionally, many institutions can offer fellowships to top students like you to cover tuition and provide TA and/or RA positions for living expenses. Finally, going to graduate school is much easier before working in industry because, as they say, ignorance is bliss. Once you enter the life of a working man with bi-monthly pay checks, it's much harder to go back to the lowly life of a student.
So there it was: my answer finally came. I concluded graduate school was the better path for me.
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