<p>I’m currently an alumni doing a co-op up til August. I think my mentor wants to keep me around for full time employment. I’ve been doing a good job for them, and it appears they are really eager to hire people due to expansions and implementation of some new technologies. I think if I finish my current project, then that would be my “ticket in”, as he told me. But I didn’t tell him about my grad school apps, and don’t plan to unless I get some good offers with decent stipends.</p>
<p>Honestly, I would probably choose grad school and research, even though my income would be barely half of what I’m making now (ridiculous), and Much more stressful. On the other hand, I only applied to 5 schools, four of them being quite competitive. That’s why I’m not telling my mentor about grad school. If I don’t get a good offer, then I’ll probably lose my full time position AND immediate transition to grad school. Back to the point, he’s asking me what my plans are, and I hate to give him the run around.</p>
<p>Have you sent in your Grad School deposit? No? Then there’s no reason to discuss it with your Co-op Supervisors. (Do you really want to risk those Supervisors interpreting your confession as ambivalence toward the job/organization?)</p>
<p>Is there a place you could go near by? Is the program related to your job? Maybe they would pay for it. My company gives six thousand a year for grad school.</p>
<p>Until you receive admission decisions and you’re sure you want to accept them, it’s not necessary nor wise to disclose this information yet. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Most places with such a program require an employee to work a minimum number of years/months before they can partake in that educational benefit. </p>
<p>At one company I worked for, it was as little as 3 months, at another, 1 year. Also, restrictions on programs/schools allowed can vary. </p>
<p>One friend who worked for the state was restricted to MPA programs from a lower-tiered private or public colleges in his area…even when several higher-tiered programs weren’t necessarily any more expensive than that private institution.</p>
<p>Spec, I’m guessing you have already finessed this, if your employer asked about your plans you must have answered something that left the possibilities open. Or perhaps your query is more academic
My team has highly qualified interns pass through on a fairly regular basis. If they show significant promise we often sound them out about their interest in staying on as an employee. We actually expect that the best and brightest will sign on for only a short (1-2 year) gig and then go off to a grad program. If you can say with honesty and enthusiasm that you are hoping to find a position at a company just like (insert co-op employer) and eventually to go on to grad school, I think most prospective employers will respect that. In all likelihood your grad options will be clear before your employer could/would get an offer together. Bottom–be honest, but no need to overshare. Best of luck!</p>
<p>It sounds like your not easily replaceable so I vote to tell Leave on the best possible terms. Someday you might need a reference or be back applying for a job.</p>
<p>guys, I’ll be doing a PhD. Companies don’t pay for what’s already paid for. Besides, these masters degrees are either online, or taken nearby at a small state college. This is a pretty big limitation. But thanks for the input.</p>
<p>Spectastic - My husband hires recent grads for a position that asks (doesn’t require) a two year commitment (and ends after two years). Over the last five years, two of his employees have only fulfilled one year. In both cases, they told him they were “looking into the possibility of grad school.” At least two other employees said the same thing, and they ended up completing their assignment. I would suspect that those employees were not not accepted into the programs they wanted or they were not going to be funded, etc. </p>
<p>In all cases, my husband appreciated having a warning that they might be leaving. He didn’t hold it against them, although any letters of rec that he wrote for the ones who left early were not as glowing as for those who have now completed their commitment. </p>
<p>I think I would let your employer know that you are thinking about grad school, but it has its downsides and you haven’t committed to that route at this time.</p>
<p>yea, that’s also important for ethical reasons. But I’m going to hold off until late Feb/early March to tell him. By that time, any admission decisions afterward would mostly be rejections, waitlists or unfunded degrees. So either I would’ve already committed, or it’ll be like nothing ever happened.</p>
<p>It looks like OP is applying to graduate school in the field where getting accepted to graduate program means covered tuition and stipend. If OP wants to get a PhD, he is much better off getting into a good graduate program where his tuition and living expenses are covered. He should not be working full time while trying to complete a PhD. Your suggestions are only applicable if he wants to attain Masters Degree, which nowadays have very slim chances to have COA covered by the program.</p>
