Going from industry to grad school

[NanjoeBot]

Hi, I am a Junior in ChE and I currently plan to go straight to work after graduating. I do however hope to one day earn at least a masters degrees, (perhaps a PhD if I am up for it)

My question is, does spending a few years working in industry give you any credentials for getting into a good graduate school? Or do schools only look at academic achievements such as GPA, student involvement undergrad research, prof recomendations etc. ?

Thanks.

 

[Old Guy]

As you might expect, it depends on the school and what you did in industry. Overall, it's close to neutral. The pluses for the grad school are that they are getting a student who is a bit more mature - more committed and dependable. You will also come into grad school with practical knowledge and experience working collaboratively, which is also valuable. The concern will be over how much you might remember about the more theoretical aspects of what you learned in school.

You will also find that (with a few exceptions, such as academia or the research arms of large corporations) after you've been working in industry for 3 or 4 years, employers care much more about your work experience than your degree(s).

It ultimately depends on what you want to do with your life. I think you'll find, as I have, that your chemical engineering education will be extremely flexible, enabling you to learn new areas easily, which is an important part of long term job security.

Good luck!

 

[NanjoeBot]

Thanks for the response. I think you are right. I'm just having a tough time deciding if I should go to grad school or not. I am really passionate about science and used to be on the grad school path. Now however, I have so many goals and interests outside of academia that I have decided to put off grad school. I suppose a BS alone in engineering is solid enough to move on with life without regrets.