<p>I have two great offers, or I should say paths to choose from. I have been offered funding for Ph.Ds from several great universities, such as University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, UCSD, etc. The benefits of this route is of course that I’d be pursuing something that I love and advancing my knowledge. The downside is of course the length of time and the uncertainty that comes after graduation (jobs, post doc, etc.) - I will be graduating in May 2013 with my BSEE.</p>
<p>I have also been offered a well paid job from IBM working on eDRAM in Burlington, VT a place that I truly would love to live and the money is just incredible as a fresh graduate with a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>If I went to grad school I would be concentrating in signal processing/communications.</p>
<p>One thing I’ve been debating is whether it would be harder to work for a year and see that I truly want to pursue a Ph.D. or… would it be harder to start a graduate program, see it isn’t for me and then have to start the job search all over again…?</p>
<p>I say go for the great job opportunity. You will be able to get into a PhD program later on since you will have solid work experience and have your current credentials to use by then.</p>
<p>That’s a difficult decision that will lead to very different paths, research or industry. Which one are you more interested in? If you are not extremely passionate about your field then pushing yourself through a PhD program will be very difficult. And you don’t want to waste years figuring out that EE research isn’t for you.</p>
<p>I’d argue that you will get the PhD admission again if you reapply in 1-2 years in case you don’t like the job as much (or you really long for research). If you don’t like the PhD and drop out after 2 years, will you get the job again? Maybe yes, maybe no, but either way you’ll have wasted time. Thus, I’d take the job. Can’t you postpone the admission for one year? I know that for most CS PhD programs that’s possible.</p>
<p>You won’t lose anything by deferring a Ph.D. program for some years. Many engineering programs actually like to see a student with work experience. By taking the job you get to decide if it is the right path for you. You know what academics is like (albeit not a Ph.D. program) but taking the job will let you see the other side.</p>
<p>"…The benefits of this route is of course that I’d be pursuing something that I love and advancing my knowledge. The downside is of course the length of time and the uncertainty that comes after graduation …"</p>
<p>You’ve answered your own question. So go for the PH.D.</p>
<p>In 5 years or so, you’re going to be 5 years older no matter what choice you make now. So the question is, from that point forward, what do you really want to do? It would seem you’ve answered the question- You love engineering AND you want to ADVANCE the field.</p>
<p>The reality is that if you go for the job, you’ll start to justify that it’s for you. You’ll tell yourself, it’s not a bad job, you make good money with benefits, and you’ve made some great friends, etc. In the end, “life happens”, and you will probably NOT go back to school to get your Ph.D.</p>
<p>So my advice is that you take the opportunity to go into a funded program now, because you can…</p>
<p>In 5-6 years, you’ll have more opportunities than you’ll care to know.</p>
<p>If you’re not sure that you actually want a PhD and a research career in electrical engineering, then take the job. If you work for a few years and decide that you still want a PhD, graduate school is going anywhere. And you’ll be a few thousand dollars richer - you may even find that IBM will fund some graduate study for you or hire you back once you have completed the PhD.</p>
<p>It is definitely harder to start a PhD and see that it isn’t for you, then have to start the job search all over again, than it is for you to work for a year and then see that you really want a PhD. Compared to job searching in a tight market, applying to graduate school is easy. And a year of working as an engineer will only help your application, whereas if you start job searching after a year in a doctoral program you will have to explain what you were doing in a year and why you want to leave.</p>
<p>The “advancing the field” argument is kind of shaky. A lot of students think they want to advance the field because they don’t realize the reality of doing research as a scholar. But even if you did, there are a lot of ways that you can advance the field without a PhD and being a researcher in academia. A company like IBM is surely advancing the field, and their BS-level engineers are likely a part of that even if they aren’t directing the research themselves.</p>
<p>If you are happy, and decide that the job is great for you, that you’ve made good friends, love the city that you live in and you have good pay with good benefits - and decide not to go back for the PhD for those reasons - I fail to see how that is a problem. After all, isn’t that the goal of getting a PhD anyway? If you can get all that without having to get a PhD, why bother?</p>
<p>And as far as having “more opportunities than you’ll care to know” in 5-6 years with a PhD, please check out these two articles:</p>
<p>Thank you everyone a lot of truly great comments and recommendations. I really appreciate any and all the views I can get on this matter. Thanks again!</p>
<p>If your research relates to whatever job you get after doing the PhD, your salary ceiling will likely be higher. You may also find it easier to move up in the company. </p>
<p>From a sample size of one (my uncle who did a eng. phd)</p>
<p>Like I said, go for the Ph.D now. I have worked in the tech field myself, as an engineer…and I have many relatives who are Ph.D level scientists and engineers. For example, a cousin of mine got his Ph.D in EE from USC and is doing great stuff at a military contractor that he would never get to do as a bachelor’s level engineer. Another cousin went to MIT for a graduate degree in engineering and now has a high profile position doing fantastic stuff too.</p>
<p>Believe me, I wouldn’t have given you the advice if you were thinking about an UN-funded Ph.D in some obscure field. But you’re considering a Ph.D in EE. There is no way you aren’t going to get a great job in your field once you have a Ph.D. </p>
<p>Right now, you’re young and thinking of taking the first bone that’s thrown your way. Hold off…and get your doctorate. Then you’ll see how many bones are thrown your way.</p>