LOR from industry v. academia

[kp_21]

Hi all,

Thanks in advance for reading. Here's my story: I'm applying to biology PhD programs for Fall 2014, and was just advised by a former undergrad professor who just agreed to write a LOR that I should request a LOR from my current supervisor. While I work at a biotech company, I'm in the IT/Engineering department as a data analyst and my supervisor is well, not a biologist. I do have a great working relationship with them, though, and do feel they would write me a strong LOR addressing my working style and ethic, but I was wondering: how are non-academic LORs viewed by admissions boards? 

 

 

[dh790]

I'm in a similar situation and would love to hear some feedback. In my case it's engineering.

[Ciarrai300]

How long have you been out of unergrad?  I think that makes a huge difference.  If you've been out of school a few years your supervisor would be best able to speak to who you are and what kind of candidate you are now.  Also, I would think if all of your other recommenders are in the field 1 outside would be ok as long as the outside one was really strong.  You could discuss with your letter writer that it is important to stress the areas where there is a connection.  For instance in IT you probably had to do a lot or problem solving and critical thinking which could connect to the biology degree.  Also, I could be wrong, but I would think biology would involve a fair amount of data analysis and having someone talk about your strength in that area could be really helpful to your application.

[kp_21]

Thanks for the response Ciarrai. My supervisor and I have talked about what a grad school LOR would look like and what to include (I even sent them a little FAQ I found online), so thanks for the valuable advice. For reference, I've been out of undergrad for a little over two years.