Worth having a PhD/PostDoc as guide for Master's project ?

[deepmetal]

Hiii,

I am a newbie to this forum. I have been admitted to Master's programs in Chemical Engineering in ETH Zurich and University of Maryland, College Park. I am still considering the pros and cons of both places and haven't been able to decide yet. Can anyone help me out ?

Okay, I have talked to a few students in ETH and they said that most of the time Master's students are assigned to Post Doc or PhD students and the contact time with a prof is pretty less. For example a guy I had talked to has been working on his research project in a big research group for almost a semester and still he hasn't met his professor. I have plans to go for PhD after my masters to USA. So is it gonna hurt my chances of getting a good recommendation letter and a good PhD admit ? And can anyone tell me what goes on in top US universities regarding Master's research ?

And I have also heard that many Master's students generally do not become first authors as they work on a part of an ongoing project. In case one become second author then what value addition does it make to the profile of a PhD applicant ? Can anyone tell how is the scene in other places like USA or UK ?

And how reputed is ETH Zurich in comparison to top US universities ? Is it possible to get a break in a top US university like Caltech/MIT/Stanford with a degree from ETH Zurich ? I know this question is a bit vague, but still I would like to hear a general opinion.

Thanks for going through my post. Hoping to hear your opinions now.