Should my SoP mention my work, if I have just joined?

[Lyapunov]

Hi Everyone,

 

I graduated in Spring this year, and started work as a full-time around mid-June. Therefore, its been about 5 months since I've joined my present workplace.

 

I am planning to apply to doctoral programs for the Fall of 2014, and am in the process of preparing my SoP. I was wondering if I should mention my current job in the SoP, since its not directly related to the topic in which I wish to pursue my PhD. Since I've just joined the company, there isn't much I can talk about except discussing some minor details, that are not relevant to the topic of my future research. I'd rather write more about my old research in the limited space I have. But I don't want to leave that out only to find out, that mentioning your present status in the SoP is a must.

 

 

Therefore, will not mentioning my job make the admissions committee feel that I'm trying to avoid talking about my job? Or that I'm thinking about a PhD because I'm unhappy/ unable to perform well at the job?

 

 

Thanks!

[fuzzylogician]

You don't need to mention your job at all, if it's not relevant for your future graduate school education. 

[Lyapunov]

Thanks fuzzylogician!

[TakeruK]

I don't think it's a general rule that says you must indicate your current status in SOPs. But even if the job isn't directly related, it could be a good thing to mention, if you choose to (I have no idea if your job is even partially related to research or not). But if you think mentioning it would be detrimental, then you can avoid it and it should be fine! 

[Lyapunov]

Its not exactly detrimental, in fact, it would even help support one of the skills on my resume. However, this skill is very indirectly related to the research I want to work in.

 

For example, assume that I presently work in a company that works in making CAD models of dishwashers, and say I want to join a program in `planetary sciences' where I may have to occasionally design a CAD model of a spaceship. So `dishwasher != spaceship', but being able to CAD something still counts as a skill right? But mentioning that in my SoP won't exactly help or hurt, will just occupy space.

 

Furthermore, I have barely just begun work in the organization, and I cannot really say much about my job, or the complexity of the projects I have worked on.

So, since, it really doesn't add anything, I think I'll leave it out. I was just worried that not mentioning what I'm doing right now may raise red flags.

[TakeruK]

Yeah, I think if you can demonstrate that your job is helping develop some skill that would be useful in your graduate program, like the example you gave, then it's a good thing to mention in the SOP. For me, I did a research project in undergrad where I analysed images in a medical physics field. When I mentioned this work in my SOP for astronomy grad programs, I highlighted the aspects that are relevant to an astronomy grad program. For example, image analysis in medical physics is pretty similar (but not exactly the same) as image analysis in astronomy. Also, the experience of working in a large research group, writing programming code for multiple types of users, having both in-person and teleconference meetings with group members in the same department and collaborators elsewhere etc. were all useful things, I think, to include in my SOP. 

 

It sounds a lot like your job could be helpful to include in your SOP -- if it's a skill that you will use in grad school, it's worth mentioning. You don't have to use a lot of space -- I only wrote a few sentences for each project I had worked on in the past. Also, 5 months of full time work is quite a bit, much more than most undergraduate work experiences, which are usually a few months in the summer or a full year part-time. So, I think this is something that you can really use to your advantage, if the skills and experience (both technical/research skills as well as experience with presentations/communication/software/protocols) you are gaining in the job will help you in graduate school. 

 

Also, by the time your committee reads your SOP, it might be January/February, so I think it's okay to project a little and describe what you are doing currently and will do in the future, not just what you have already completed at time of application. It takes judgement to decide how much you want to "predict the future" but I think this is standard practice. After all, when we submit abstracts to conferences months ahead of time, we write the abstract stating what we will have finished by the time of the conference, not the status of the work at the moment of writing.

[Lyapunov]

Hmm. What you say is absolutely true. This,however, raises another question.

 

I was reading this popular book by Asher on writing Graduate Admissions Essays. The book talks about not mentioning everything you've worked on in your past, but instead focussing on a couple of projects and exploring those to depth. That's the framework I decided to adopt while writing my essays.

Personally, I'm a fan of what you did, namely, writing a few lines on every project you've worked on.

But this might sound like a repetition of the resume. 

 

So, what's a good strategy to follow?

My guess is that it'll boil down to what I have to delete to fit my job details in the SoP.

If it fits in with changing the grammar on a few sentences, I'll put it in!

[TakeruK]

I think your strategy sounds good. The difference between my description of previous work on my CV and SOP was that my CV is very factual, e.g. I worked for X at University Y and did project Z. I used procedures A and B and got result C which we published/presented at D. etc. In my SOP, I wrote about my experiences with a focus on "how does this make me a great applicant for your program". So the tone was a little different -- I explained why I took certain positions (some of them were out of my field) and why I made certain decisions (i.e. how these positions helped me achieve my goals at the time) as well as what I learned from each experience (i.e. how these decisions have set me up for future success in grad school). I'm not saying my method is the best or anything, just telling you what I did!