From another boss or from a professor?

[grad2032]

I'm applying for a PhD in Computer Science. I have one letter of rec from a professor whose graduate student I did research with. I did not do any other research with any other professors. However, I do have 3 different bosses (from doing internships) from which I could get letters from. I plan to get one letter of rec from one of those bosses.

But for the last letter of rec, I have a choice: either another boss who knows me well and my work ethic; or, from a professor.

All my internships were doing software development. The first two were mainly just doing programming. The last one was developing a mobile application; but it could be related to research since no one in the company had prior experience in mobile app development, and I had the task of researching which platforms to use, etc.

One of my professors remembers me and did say he would write a letter of rec. However, I'm afraid that he may not write a very strong letter, because I simply took his classes and did a group project with him (and my classmates). In addition, this professor is mainly a lecturer, not much of a researcher.

Another professor said he would write a letter, but I only took 2 of his classes.

Is it a no-brainer to simply get the last letter from a professor? Or should I seriously consider getting 2 letters from bosses since they probably know me better?

[butterfingers2010]

I have a similiar dilemma. I need a third LOR. So far, I have my boss and an undergraduate professor writing letters for me. I knew a couple of my other professors fairly well, but one is highly unreliable (and thus, I would not trust them with an LOR) and the other seems to be either ignoring my request or for some reason not getting my e-mails OR voicemails! I have pretty much given up on the idea of another professor as a reference, as I do not have any others that I would feel comfortable asking. So I decided to ask a co-worker (we worked together as counselors) who just graduated from the program I am applying to. I'm excited about the possibility of her writing a letter for me because she knows me very well ( a huge plus with LOR's) and we have a good rapport. Personally, I think it is better for you to get a letter from one of your bosses, since you said they know you better. A mediocre letter could ruin your chances of acceptance so don't take a chance on a professor who cannot come up with great things about you due to the fact that they hardly know you.