nic_t12

west coast is better than east coast, in terms of VLSI. most major companies are here, from seattle to bay area to san diego. UW (intel is close by, and MS or Boeing), Stanford, Berkeley (silicon valley connections), UCLA(close with BRCM), UCSD (really close with QCM). are schools with good programs. but tough to get in; OSU, UC-Irvine, UCSB are also decent. however, often times PhD will be needed esp u want to do exciting projects, or R&D-oriented work.

didnt hear anything about an interview from berkeley... does it mean i have no chance now?

Thx slaNYC, I think I'll wait for now. It's my top choice school, that's why I'm anxious now. But I agree that professors are very busy, esp. the good ones. Having me on his radar is better than nothing. I also heard that he can only take students that are accepted by the grad school first (the prof not on committee).

i contacted a professor that i'm intersted working with, and after reviewing my resume and transcripts (back in september), he asked me to contact him in Jan. so i did earlier this month, but havent heard from him. should I be concerned? or is there anything i can do?

anyone applying to EE/EECS at Berkeley, especailly wish to do circuit design research at Berkeley Wireless Resesrch Center, heard anything?

i have the same concern. considering i have already told me manager that i will be going to grad school in the fall. quiting job and not getting into grad school will be an absolute disaster. hopefully my work experience will help a lot, since i will be applying to the same field as I am working on right now.

thanks for the reply, it does calm me down a bit. was very worried about quiting job and going back to grad school. my MS advisor is pretty well-known in this field, was planning to work with him for PhD, but turns out he's retiring (so i have to reapply again...) i contacted some professors a while back, the most positive response i've gotten back is a professor told me "you have a reasnable chacne of admission, but final decision will depend on the applicant pool they receive this year." so i'm kinda in a panic state like everyone else, cos it will be a disaster if i dont get into any school, and lose job at the same time.

im applying to the same area, and some of the same schools as u do. have not heard anything yet. very anxious. mind sharing your profile?

i'm wondering about the importance of work experience vs. research experience. i left school two years ago with a MS and got a job in the industry. now i have applied for PhD cos i thought it would be better in the long run. the job i'm doing is exactly what i will be doing in grad school, except it will be more research-oriented, but in the industry it is more tailored to certain products. but i use exactly the same design tools and knowledge. one of my project is almost R&D oriented and i could potentially write a journal paper out of it. as a matter of fact, most of my co-workers have PhD from the field that I'm applying to. the company i work for is a great one, i know many berkeley/stanford/UCLA PhD grads work here. will my work experience in this case benefit me in the application? am very much stressed out about the application and so anxious to hear anything.