Does work experience count in getting into a top US school?

[rayamr]

Hi,

I have two majors ,one in Physics and the other is Electronics engineering.I have 7 years of work experience in Embedded systems and firmware development. I want to do MS from a reputed US university( like Stanford ,University of California Berkeley etc). Do you think I stand a good chance?I need your opinions. Thanks in advance.

 

[fss]

Most of the top schools (including Stanford and Berkeley, who even states that they will not consider students looking to earn a terminal Masters' in their graduate catalog) don't have terminal Masters' programs.

However, if you were applying to a graduate program, relevant work experience would certainly count for something.

 

[twofish-quant]

Hi,

I have two majors ,one in Physics and the other is Electronics engineering.I have 7 years of work experience in Embedded systems and firmware development. I want to do MS from a reputed US university( like Stanford ,University of California Berkeley etc). Do you think I stand a good chance?I need your opinions. Thanks in advance.

It depends on the type of degree. A lot of schools have masters degree programs for working professionals, but you do have to do your research before spending the money on those degrees. There are situations that I know of in which the school has a big name, but the working professionals program doesn't have a particularly good (or bad) reputation.

Also, if you are already working, then getting a brand name isn't that useful for career purposes.

It also makes a difference if you are in the US. Going to school in the US is a major route for immigration, and if your primary goal is to get into the US, then I wouldn't worry so much about going to a "top" school.

 

[twofish-quant]

Most of the top schools (including Stanford and Berkeley, who even states that they will not consider students looking to earn a terminal Masters' in their graduate catalog) don't have terminal Masters' programs.

It depends on the department. Physics departments almost uniformly Ph.D. programs, but there are terminal masters programs, and even terminal masters programs intended for working professionals.

 

[fss]

It depends on the department. Physics departments almost uniformly Ph.D. programs, but there are terminal masters programs, and even terminal masters programs intended for working professionals.

I didn't say there weren't terminal Masters' programs. However, Berkeley and Stanford do not have terminal Masters' programs, and it's uncommon for a "top school" to have such a program. Harvard does, but a small sampling of the top physics institutions (the two mentioned above plus MIT, Caltech, Princeton, Cornell, UChicago, and even some larger state schools like UMich, Univ. Illinois Urbana-Champaign) yields very few MA or MS programs.

 

[twofish-quant]

Harvard does, but a small sampling of the top physics institutions (the two mentioned above plus MIT, Caltech, Princeton, Cornell, UChicago, and even some larger state schools like UMich, Univ. Illinois Urbana-Champaign) yields very few MA or MS programs.

I think we were reading the OP's question in a different way. It wasn't clear to me whether or not the OP was referring just to MS in physics, or if he was interested in getting a masters degree in a related field. Stanford and Berkeley offer MS in financial mathematics.