How about chemical engineering master program of UC Berkeley

[tri-xxx]

   Hello everyone, I am a senior student in Peking University, China and my major is Materials Chemistry.

 

  Since I got the admission from Product Development Program of UC Berkeley, which is a master of science program with only one year ( a summer internship included). From the introduction of the department page, this program is mainly focus on product development and industrial marketing. It includes biotechnology, nano science/ microelectronics and consumer products.

 

  In fact, for me,  I used to do internship in cosmetic and pharmaceuticals industry. So I really like the curriculum setting and career development of this program since I hope to work in the area of industrial consulting in the future.

 

  But I still have some problems and hope to get guidance from someone who knows about this PDP program.

 

 1. Since time for PDP is only one year, would it be too short to find a job after graduation, especially for an international student and what kind of jobs graduates usually do?

   

2. Since the tuition for PDP has been increased to $46,185 per year, would it be worthwhile to spend such a large amount of money for this program.

 

 I really appreciate your warm reply~

 

Wish all you could have good luck!

[spectastic]

 

   Hello everyone, I am a senior student in Peking University, China and my major is Materials Chemistry.

 

  Since I got the admission from Product Development Program of UC Berkeley, which is a master of science program with only one year ( a summer internship included). From the introduction of the department page, this program is mainly focus on product development and industrial marketing. It includes biotechnology, nano science/ microelectronics and consumer products.

 

  In fact, for me,  I used to do internship in cosmetic and pharmaceuticals industry. So I really like the curriculum setting and career development of this program since I hope to work in the area of industrial consulting in the future.

 

  But I still have some problems and hope to get guidance from someone who knows about this PDP program.

 

 1. Since time for PDP is only one year, would it be too short to find a job after graduation, especially for an international student and what kind of jobs graduates usually do?

 

In my opinion, this depends a lot on your English proficiency more than anything else. If you're looking for a job straight out of your Masters, companies will pay a lot of attention to cultural fit. As for a green card, unless you have a relative here, you probably won't be able to get it until a few years into your job. With a master's degree, it'll be harder to move up the R&D ladder. If you really want to do research, get a PhD. A masters degree will focus a lot more on the engineering side, probably do a lot of design work on pilot scale process units.

   

2. Since the tuition for PDP has been increased to $46,185 per year, would it be worthwhile to spend such a large amount of money for this program.

 

Only you can answer that. How much money do your parents have? Do you want to stay in America? I would inquire the department or look up information on funding opportunities, such as scholarships, TA and RA. And holy shit it costs 46k to go to Berkeley?? That's a private school rate.

 

 I really appreciate your warm reply~

 

Wish all you could have good luck!

 

see abov3e

[tri-xxx]

see abov3e

Thanks for your kind reply.

1. As for the my career plan, in fact I do not do R&D job, instead I am much eager to get involved in practical engineering industry,especially after I did internship in Bayer Material Science and Pfizer. So I think a master degree is more suitable for me.

Also, since my research currently is about petroleum engineering, so I hope to further my career in energy areas since I am much interested in that.

And for me, I like California    although the sunshine is not free. Wish to work there after graduation!

 

2. As for the tuition, the director of PDP said that it increased a little in order to assist students with robust career development. My parents feel very happy for my admission news and they can afford the tuition, but to be honest, I felt very guilty to let them pay me too much! 

 

3. In addition, I have a question. Since the director of PDP shows me an employment status of PDP 2013, about 70% PDP students find jobs within 6 months of graduation. The companies include Chevron, Applied Materials, Nextant and so on. 

I just wonder whether the 70% ratio is a higher or lower level in America?

 

You are the first one replying to me in the Grad Cafe and thank you very much !      

[raliem]

Hi tri-xxx,

 

Congratulations on getting accepted to the UC Berkeley PDP program! I got accepted into the program as well.

 

 

To answer your question, you could refer to UC Berkeley's Career Destinations Survey to get a rough estimate of the employment rate compared to other majors. Though this is a survey taken by undegraduates.

https://career.berkeley.edu/major/major.stm

 

Hope that helps.

Edited March 3, 2014 by raliem

[tri-xxx]

Hello raliem,

 

       Really nice to meet you in the grad cafe! ! ! 

 

     Thank you so much for giving me guidance about the job data. Are you an undergraduate majored in Chem E in Berkeley? In fact, I am still waiting for the results of other master programs and you know they all come too late....

 

     In fact, I like California very much, and UCB is also my dream university. Also, I think PDP matches my future career plan, but the only thing I worry about is the too-short time for the program.

 

    So have you decided to go to PDP? Maybe we could talk more through Linkedin, since I feel truly lucky to meet you. My name is Xuanxuan Xie.

 

    

 

    

Hi tri-xxx,

 

Congratulations on getting accepted to the UC Berkeley PDP program! I got accepted into the program as well.

 

 

To answer your question, you could refer to UC Berkeley's Career Destinations Survey to get a rough estimate of the employment rate compared to other majors. Though this is a survey taken by undegraduates.

https://career.berkeley.edu/major/major.stm

 

Hope that helps.

[raliem]

Nah...I majored in Bioengineering (Biotechnology) at UCSD during my undergraduate years. Though I can see why you would think that based off my location. Let me fix that. I've actually been out of school for almost two years and been working in the biotech industry since then. I wanted to hone my interests while at the same time get some hands-on experience working with industry and research professionals before going to graduate school. That...and I also wanted to earn some money to pay for grad school, haha. 

 

I was actually surprised (pleasantly mind you) that I got an acceptance notification from UC Berkeley this early. I haven't heard from any of other schools either so you're not alone. Still waiting for the UC Berkeley's Application Status page to change from a "Submitted" to "Admitted" though...

 

From what I see, most career-focused Masters degree programs last 1-year (well 9 months in this case). So this seems normal to me. Masters degrees that typically take 2+ years are the research-based ones.

 

There's a good chance i'll go to Berkeley, but i'm going to wait till I get my other results back before making any final decisions. 

 

Sure I can add you to my LinkedIn, though I haven't really used it that much...

Edited March 4, 2014 by raliem

[tri-xxx]

Nah...I majored in Bioengineering (Biotechnology) at UCSD during my undergraduate years. Though I can see why you would think that based off my location. Let me fix that. I've actually been out of school for almost two years and been working in the biotech industry since then. I wanted to hone my interests while at the same time get some hands-on experience working with industry and research professionals before going to graduate school. That...and I also wanted to earn some money to pay for grad school, haha. 

 

I was actually surprised (pleasantly mind you) that I got an acceptance notification from UC Berkeley this early. I haven't heard from any of other schools either so you're not alone. Still waiting for the UC Berkeley's Application Status page to change from a "Submitted" to "Admitted" though...

 

From what I see, most career-focused Masters degree programs last 1-year (well 9 months in this case). So this seems normal to me. Masters degrees that typically take 2+ years are the research-based ones.

 

There's a good chance i'll go to Berkeley, but i'm going to wait till I get my other results back before making any final decisions. 

 

Sure I can add you to my LinkedIn, though I haven't really used it that much...

Wow, that must be so great to have work experience in industry!  Same as you, I hope to make final decision after all results come out, although I got the rejection from Yale today!

 

Really hope to meet you in California! There must be many things I could learn from you~~~

[An Shi]

Hello

 

I am also a student been admitted into PDP at UCB this fall term. My name is An, Can I add your QQ? Mine is 977391343. Let's talk about it. I am from University of Michigan and will be graduating this May. UCB is a top school with well-known reputation, however I share the same concerns, as an international student, I have also applied some other schools. One of them is University of Delaware and it offers summer internship, and here is the problem: A school well known like UCB but not guarantee internship and a school less prestige but still good school like Delaware, which one you choose? I am always seeking advise like you. You can also add me on Linkedin and facebook. We can create a QQ blog. Hail yea and go blue and go bear