Engineering PhD prestige vs. location and time to graduate

[coolrunnings86]

Hi all,

 

This is my first post on this site, and so any advise would be really appreciated!

 

I completed my undergraduate at a top 30-40 program in Civil Engineering, followed by completing two separate Masters in Engineering at a Stanford/MIT/UC-Berkeley type of school (trying to keep this post somewhat anonymous).  Last spring, I applied to several PhD programs, but ultimately decided to stay where I was since (at the time) I generally enjoyed the project I was working on, and I assumed I would be on track to graduate faster.  Unfortunately, there have been several problems that have come up over the last year (mainly political), and the cumulative toll of everything has made me plan to move on after this academic year.

 

Now I am in the situation of trying to figure out where to attend next year.  I have talked with one faculty member at my undergraduate institution.  He has been in the field for a while and is well known, in addition to the fact I have known him for many years, which is a plus.  Another benefit is he told me if I did attend, I could build upon my previous work to expedite the PhD process.  I could also pursue my PhD at a larger institution, as when I explored universities last Spring, there was a faculty member at a UT-Austic/Va Tech/Ga Tech/Purdue type school who left an open invitation for me to join their program, and I should say their research, as well, matched my interests.  In conclusion, both programs have faculty members doing what I enjoy and have both really shown they fight for their students, which as I have learned over the past year, is incredibly important.  The main difference between the two is one is closer to home and will take a shorter amount of time to complete, whereas the other school is more prestigious.  I have sources of external funding as well that I have not used, and so I'm hoping to get input assuming that financially the institutions will work out the same.  

 

Location, as mentioned, is important to me, and so I have been favoring returning to my undergraduate institution.  Part of that is because I have heard of regional bias when searching for positions, both in industry and in academia (e.g. Illinois/Purdue/Michigan grads are more heavily recruited in the Midwest), and I know I want to live in a certain part of the country upon graduation (I'm unsure regarding how true this is?)  Nevertheless, I am at least curious if dropping down to a still well-respected, but obviously not elite/prestigious program, significantly reduces one's placement opportunities upon graduation.  I should note that I am perhaps less ambitious than some, and so if I do pursue a career in academia, I would not really be interested in becoming a faculty member at an elite program.  I am also curious if the prestige of your Masters degrees hold any weight upon completing a PhD if one does go into industry (which I am less interested in, but it is still a possibility in the future), or does it become relatively meaningless similar to one's Bachelors.  

 

Thanks.

 

[Deadmeat]

My gut feeling would be to go to a new school in a new area. Don't go back to your undergrad school unless you had no other choice. Trust me, you'll want the experience of meeting new people in a new part of the country. It's really worth the effort from my experience. Plus the school that is farther away is also more prestigious, so seems like an added bonus. 

 

My worry would being too "comfortable" with an adviser you know from undergrad in the same setting. Find someone new that has a different dynamic, you will have to adjust but I think you will grow as a researcher and person. Thats just my humble thoughts though. 

[Chai_latte]

I think there is a regional bias in hiring.  However, the most elite schools can carry you ANYWHERE.  If you're interested in academia, you should really shoot for the stars.  Go to the best school you get into (provided that it's a good fit).  It doesn't matter if you're looking to teach at a non-prestigious place.  It's so competitive that almost every school (brand-name to no-name) wants to see shining credentials.  In agreement with Deadmeat, I've heard that getting your PhD from your UG school is generally discouraged by "the powers that be". 

[coolrunnings86]

Thanks guys.  I really appreciate the input!