Jumping ship (CS to NE)

[towelie]

Hi there !

I'm a software developer with a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and Engineering and 5 years of experience in the industry. I'm really good at what I do and programming had been a passion of mine since I was in high school. Over the past couple of years I've had the chance to work at some Tier 1 companies and am currently in a stable job, but I'm burned out. Just the thought of writing code makes me sick now and my job is a major contributor to my declining health. This, apart from the increasingly worsening conditions in the IT industry have made me reassess my long term career goals.

Apart from computers I was also very much into physics when I was younger and I'm thinking of revisiting that old passion of mine. I'm thinking of switching to Nuclear Engineering and I'm willing to put time, effort and money into this, but I'm not really sure of the feasibility of someone with a CS background moving into NE. Is it possible for me to attempt the GRE, take some prerequisites and get into a Masters course ? I'm even willing to go so far as to consider to get into an undergrad program and start all over again. I seriously need some suggestions on what I should do and whether this is even feasible. I've emailed a couple of professors at various universities but got no response.

Help ?

Edited December 18, 2010 by towelie

[emmm]

I'm even willing to go so far as to consider to get into an undergrad program and start all over again. I seriously need some suggestions on what I should do and whether this is even feasible. I've emailed a couple of professors at various universities but got no response.

I'd be surprised if you needed to get another undergrad degree. It sounds as if you've been out of school for only 5 years or so, so you're still pretty young (unlike me). Taking whatever prerequisites you need and doing well on the GRE should be good enough. What you probably should focus all your efforts on is finding some sort of research position. With your programming experience, that might be a bit easier to achieve, but if you're not at a school that does research, it can be hard to find someone willing to let you work with their group. So my advice would be to try to take your classes at a school where professors are doing research (versus a CC, if you can afford to -- given the classes you likely need to take, a CC probably won't have what you need anyway) and try to get into a lab. Professors are not very likely to respond to your emails, but you could call the graduate admissions office for various schools/departments and ask them for advice. I actually visited a number of graduate program coordinators when I was first considering applying to grad school, and they were very helpful.

[starmaker]

I was also a field-switcher (though I did it right after undergrad), so I can relate.

To some extent, it might depend on what your undergrad curriculum was like. Computer science curricula vary so widely in terms of requirements! If you didn't take, for example, intro physics and chemistry classes, or calculus and differential equations, you'd probably need to take those.

Different programs will have different prerequisites, but NukeE's the sort of field that gets a lot of grad students who didn't major in it as undergrads (though they are more likely to have come from something like physics than from CS), and that will help you.

If all else fails, and you are eligible for US military service, you might consider trying for Nuke School in the Navy, whether as an officer or as an enlisted sailor. This is a very academically rigorous program, and the Navy will actually pay some of the people who work in their nuclear-related positions to get graduate degrees in NukeE.

[towelie]

Thank you all !

@starmaker : My CS degree was "Computer Science and Engineering" so I took two physics courses, two calculus and one diff. equations course. No chemistry though. I'm not a US citizen so the US Navy option isn't available to me.

A rough list of courses :

@emmm : I guess you're right about contacting professors. I dug up a list of graduate program advisors from department websites. Will try to get some answers from them.

There's one more thing that's been bothering me, the three recommendation letter requirement everywhere. I've been out of college 5 years and not even in my home country right now. How am I supposed to get recommendation letters from my professors ? I guess I could manage a professional one, but can't really figure out how to manage the academic ones.

[emmm]

There's one more thing that's been bothering me, the three recommendation letter requirement everywhere. I've been out of college 5 years and not even in my home country right now. How am I supposed to get recommendation letters from my professors ? I guess I could manage a professional one, but can't really figure out how to manage the academic ones.

When you take whatever prerequisites you think might strengthen your application, get letters from those profs. And if you get a research position anywhere, you'd definitely want a letter from that.

[nuclear_engineer]

Your CS skills can play nicely in the Nuclear Engineering field.

Much of the research today involves code development for analyzing steady-state nuclear systems i.e. Monte Carlo and deterministic type codes, and also transient nuclear systems that couple the neutronics side with the thermal-hydraulics side.

At Penn State, they have a introduction to Nuclear Engineering course which is targeted towards non-majors beginning their graduate study in Nuclear Engineering. I am sure that a similar type of course exists for all other academic institutions offering Nuclear Engineering as a Master's option.

Aside from the Nuclear Engineering background, you also need a relatively strong mathematics skill base in order to solve problems related to neutron transport or most reactor analysis problems in general.

Anyway, in my opinion the jump from CS to Nuclear Engineering will not be a easy one since you lack a lot of the physics background. However, if you take the introduction courses for grad students and study the undergraduate physics concepts on your own time, I am sure it is achievable.

Hope that helped.

Edited February 1, 2011 by nuclear_engineer

[towelie]

I've contacted departments in 5/6 universities presenting my case and asking about eligibility. The response has been a bit mixed. Most say it would not be possible, or I would have to take more than a year of pre-reqs. Some responses have been encouraging and gave me hope this was possible.

@nuclear_engineer : Your post was very helpful. Thank you. As for my undergrad background, I did take Calculus and Differential Equation courses along with some physics. Here's a list of courses :

Introduction to Computer Science

Computer Programming

Calculus and Linear Algebra

Applied Physics

Object Oriented Programming

Computational Methods

Communication Skills

Calculus II, this included Differential EquationsProbability & Statistics

Electronics

Digital Logic Design

System Analysis and Design

Data Structures

Discrete Mathematics

Visual Programming

Computer Organization & Programming

Theory of Automata

Internet based Software Development

Project Management

Database Management Systems

Operating Systems

Programming Languages

Design and Analysis of Algorithms

Introduction to Data Communication

Software Engineering

Computer Networks

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Architecture

Micro-controllers and Microprocessors

Computer Graphics & Image Processing

Robotics and CNC Machines

Industrial Automation & Control Systems

Embedded Systems Development

Digital Signal Processing

Machine Design & Mechanics of Materials

System Programming

Mobile Communications

VLSI Design

Entrepreneurship and Leadership

Apart from Penn State are there any other similar programs that are more open to people from other undergrad profiles ? I'd like to know so I can be more focused when I start applying.

Thanks again.

[nuclear_engineer]

I've contacted departments in 5/6 universities presenting my case and asking about eligibility. The response has been a bit mixed. Most say it would not be possible, or I would have to take more than a year of pre-reqs. Some responses have been encouraging and gave me hope this was possible.

@nuclear_engineer : Your post was very helpful. Thank you. As for my undergrad background, I did take Calculus and Differential Equation courses along with some physics. Here's a list of courses :

Introduction to Computer Science

Computer Programming

Calculus and Linear Algebra

Applied Physics

Object Oriented Programming

Computational Methods

Communication Skills

Calculus II, this included Differential EquationsProbability & Statistics

Electronics

Digital Logic Design

System Analysis and Design

Data Structures

Discrete Mathematics

Visual Programming

Computer Organization & Programming

Theory of Automata

Internet based Software Development

Project Management

Database Management Systems

Operating Systems

Programming Languages

Design and Analysis of Algorithms

Introduction to Data Communication

Software Engineering

Computer Networks

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Architecture

Micro-controllers and Microprocessors

Computer Graphics & Image Processing

Robotics and CNC Machines

Industrial Automation & Control Systems

Embedded Systems Development

Digital Signal Processing

Machine Design & Mechanics of Materials

System Programming

Mobile Communications

VLSI Design

Entrepreneurship and Leadership Apart from Penn State are there any other similar programs that are more open to people from other undergrad profiles ? I'd like to know so I can be more focused when I start applying.

Thanks again.

I think you will have a very difficult time getting accepted to top tier programs such as U Michigan, MIT, Texas A&M, and UC Berkeley without a Bachelor's degree or research experience in the field. You should keep in mind that most applicants possess not only a strong academic/research background in nuclear physics, but are also adept in computational methods.

However, I know as a fact that CS undergraduate majors and non-majors in general have gotten into the MS Nuclear Engineering programs at second tier schools such as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Penn State University (where I got my undergrad and masters degree, respectively).

In my opinion, those schools offer an excellent nuclear engineering program, and have courses specifically targeted towards non-majors entering the graduate curriculum. The professors to talk to regarding research in computational methods would be Dr. Uddin at UIUC and Dr. Ivanov at PSU. You can email them explaining your educational background and your interest in nuclear engineering, and what research they envision you participating in as a Master's student.

Also, your points of contacts are correct in that even if you are admitted into the second-tier programs, you will have to take a handful of junior/senior undergraduate level classes in order to meet the requirements for the graduate level classes. As I said before, it will be achievable but difficult!

I also think you have adequate math experience in terms of an entering graduate student. I am sure if you do research in computational methods, there will be plenty more math e.g. numerical analysis to take.

Anyway, in the mean time, I would highly suggest picking up and reading(cover to cover) either "Introduction to Nuclear Engineering" by John R. Lamarsh or "Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering" by Shultis and Faw.Those books will give you a great overview into every aspect of nuclear engineering. For computational methods in nuclear engineering, I would read "Computational Methods for Neutron Transport" by Lewis. That book will give you a very strong background on fundamental techniques for computational nuclear engineering.

In addition, I would also read a few recent papers by professors(won't make sense to you unless you read Computational Methods for Neutron Transport) before applying, so that when you do apply, you can succinctly state your research area of interest.

Alright. Good luck.

Edited February 5, 2011 by nuclear_engineer

[towelie]

Thank you ! Your post couldn't be any more helpful.