Graduate studies in US after 8 years work experience in Industry

[spiralarchitect]

I have around 8 years of work experience. After this stage, the possible step is to go along management track. But, I am neither interested nor it appeals me. Thinking more on this, I have decided to go and study in university. Preferably extensive study like a PhD or worst case masters degree.

 

My GRE and acads are not so strong as well. GRE - 1100 with 770 in math and 3.0GPA/4.0. My experience includes companies like amazon, zynga. No research experience whatsoever. Am I a good candidate for PhD or masters with research? My primary interests are in computer graphics or applied mathematics in simulation/visualization.

 

What do you guys suggest me to do? I am aiming for top 20, but not sure if it will be right thing to do.

[complexbongo]

For a PhD program, research experience is the #1 thing admissions committees are looking for. With your GPA and GRE scores not being particularly stunning, and with no research experience, aiming for the top 20 may be a bit of a reach.

 

That said, industry experience helps very much! Schools like students who can solve a myriad of problems, which is something you'll learn quickly in industry.

 

I think you should set you sets on, say, top 50. Look around at schools in that range and see what fits your interest the best.

 

Also, if you have not taken the GRE within the last 5 years, you will have to take it again. 

[spiralarchitect]

For a PhD program, research experience is the #1 thing admissions committees are looking for. With your GPA and GRE scores not being particularly stunning, and with no research experience, aiming for the top 20 may be a bit of a reach.

 

That said, industry experience helps very much! Schools like students who can solve a myriad of problems, which is something you'll learn quickly in industry.

 

I think you should set you sets on, say, top 50. Look around at schools in that range and see what fits your interest the best.

 

Also, if you have not taken the GRE within the last 5 years, you will have to take it again. 

 

Thank you.

Yeah, my GRE was taken 3 years back. I will look for top 50. Do you suggest e-mailing to professors before applying? Will that be acceptable in US universities?

[complexbongo]

E-mailing professors can vary from professor-to-professor. I suggest finding your professors of interest, and then looking at their web pages to see if they have a note for "prospective students". Often times professors will say "prospective graduates are [welcome] to contact me about researching in my group" or "Prospective Graduates: contact me only AFTER you have received admission".

 

Professors from top universities are more likely to have the latter message on their page, unfortunately. 

[zapster]

Definitely contact as many professors as you can - unless they have explicitly stated on their websites or on the program websites that "you should not" / "it is not advisable to" contact professors upfront.

 

Applying only to top 20 would be too much of a risk, although you can definitely apply to these universities as well.

 

Most importantly, I think that in order to stand a chance at the good universities for a phd admission, you might want to refine your research interests a bit, get some more clarity on the areas you will like to focus on, perhaps read some contemporary research in these areas to be more fluent in the "language" of contemporary research.

 

You probably need to demonstrate a strong Quant GRE, especially if your GPA is not very good. Although after 8 years of work ex, adcoms will possibly focus less on your GPA, and more on - subject matter you might have covered, demonstrated quantitive skills, and the benefits that your work experience has brought in. Is your professional experience linked somehow to your research interests, if yes, you should definitely highlight how.