Materials Girl: Scientific debate
Posted on behalf of Materials Girl
It’s late October, I’m running on ~7 hours sleep for the last 48 hours, and deadlines are fast approaching (not to mention my quantum midterm in 2.5 hours)! Must... sleep... study...
My original intent – up until yesterday when my parents offered a “bribe” for staying in school – was to get a job after I graduate next June. After getting that “break” for a year or two, I could head off to grad school. I’ve already started sending off resumes to big companies... Considering the new aforementioned development, however, I’m considering staying at my university for a Master’s in materials science & engineering – possibly ceramics, in which case I have to study for the GRE and write essays now!
So the debate in question is: break to work or grad school ASAP? I’ve heard a few arguments, but not much from scientists. Go!
Comments
I'm currently taking a break, and will hopefully be in grad school next fall after a 1.5 year absence from classes. It's nice on many levels--steady income is always a plus, especially for those of us receiving no parental support and likely facing cross-country relocation. Application season is pretty much stress-free, since there are no exams or assignments to conflict with deadlines. It's also a nice change of perspective.
Hope the quantum midterm went well.
Posted by: psi*psi | October 28, 2008 05:38 PM
psi*psi: Have you been doing only research the past 1.5 years? How did you go about getting whatever jobs you have? (Thanks on the midterm - it turned out I didn't have to study to score above 90%, since my prof teaches well. Better safe than sorry, though!)
Posted by: Materials Girl | October 29, 2008 01:02 PM
I assume it depends what you feel like if you have lots of research experience. I didn't have enough actual research going into grad school. Having more research experience would have been a help, both in finding out what my abilities and limitations in research were and in having something to indicate to others what my abilities and limits were, and a job would have been helpful for that experience. It might give you some ideas from others what the graduate school experience is, though you might have a better idea being in school than others out of it might have. If you know that you will go to grad school, a job might help in giving you extra money to do things when you get there, or to buy books that you might want when you go.
I had heard that people figured that once one went to work and made money, it became harder to leave the job to go to graduate school, but I don't know that from experience. For me, it would have been a good idea.
Posted by: Hap | October 29, 2008 01:11 PM
No, I started in my first lab...about 4-5 years ago? Most of what I've done has been in academic research labs, though I'm currently also working in state government (scholarship contract). Consequently, I don't know what to tell you about how to go about getting hired--I haven't been through a formal interview since I was about sixteen. (Most people just asked and answered some quick questions and then gave me a lab tour.) Network like mad, though, and keep your eyes out for opportunities...
Posted by: psi*psi | October 29, 2008 05:19 PM