Waiting a few years before Engineering Grad School...Ways To Start Making Myself a GREAT APPLICANT!?

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>Okay so…</p>

<p>I am a graduating electrical and computer engineering major in May, 2015. Concentration in Systems Engineering. Systems engineering internships for biggest defense contractor and research experience in Systems engineering. I want to go to grad school for Systems Engineering.</p>

<p>BUT! I have some family things going on and I need to be home for a year or 2 before I go to grad school.</p>

<p>SO! I am going to try and find a local job, (Philly metro area), as hopefully a systems engineer or something relevant so as to keep my industry experience along the lines of systems engineering. However, I am a try hard! So I need something extra to make myself a “wow” kind of candidate, (i.e. unpaid research in systems engineering, joining committees, doing things at night to assist a professor with Systems work).</p>

<p>So any advice guys? How can I, with the next 2 years of my life, keep myself relevant with systems engineering as I already am, and make myself an even stronger applicant to grad school so that I am NEEDED so much that I can get research assistantships and such?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>It isn’t that unusual for a student to graduate with a bachelor’s in engineering, work for a few years, then go back to school for PhD study. Try to take a job involving your focus area and keep current on what kinds of research is going on in the focus area.</p>

<p>If your goal is a master’s degree, then many employers will pay for part time study toward a master’s degree while you are working.</p>

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<p>I would like to do a full time masters with a thesis for the sake of completely immersing myself in the degree. It is important to me that I do that, and by doing so, I also may be able to attain a research assistantship. Any feedback here?</p>

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<p>Not all programs give TA positions to Masters candidates. You might have to self fund unless you can get into a funded research position (again, if that is given to Masters students). Nevertheless, work experience is a plus for graduate school applications in engineering.</p>