Industry Before PhD? Engineering

[justinmcummings]

Hellooooo All,

 

I was hoping to hear some Pros, Cons, and Opinions of going into industry after obtaining a Masters, as opposed to going straight into a PhD. This is something I am considering when I make my decision this application season.

[Geologizer]

This entire question boils down to what your ideal long term job prospect is.

 

Especially true for engineering, if you decide to go into industry with a Masters, you had better make peace with probably never going back to grad school. An engineering PhD opens very few new doors that a Masters + Experience doesn't open for you - namely the academy, and that's about it really. The point being that you're going to go on the job market already exceptionally qualified, have a really good salary, and probably be in a very good position to advance your position in terms of job duties and salary (high upward mobility). Now once you have all of that, you're decision to go for a PhD is going to be to abandon all of that, take a massive pay cut, and toil away for years toward a degree that for all intents and purposes is doing nothing to improve your position - more likely even setting you back further once you hit the job market again.

 

Now, if your goal is to become a professor at a university or have some other job where a PhD is necessary, then I would advise just jumping right in. Go for it now while you don't have to rip yourself away from the job market. I imagine it would be immediately difficult to jump back to grad school life, and exceedingly so as time passes. I guess just to hit on all points, I don't see any pros that you would necessarily gain from industry work beforehand. If you're hoping to cover a less than stellar Master's record, I doubt a short stint in industry will do it. If you don't want a life as a professor, then I'd say just jump into the job market. 

[Vene]

This is my experience as a non-engineer working alongside engineers in the chemical industry. From what I've seen, a MS is not a wise move. The people I've known have been put in a position where they take low-pay, temporary work as they search for a real job. Companies tend to either want a BS, where a MS makes applicants too expensive (and if you're willing to work for cheap, they think something is wrong with you) or they want a PhD (and generally don't consider work experience to be sufficient to bridge the gap).

It may be different in different industries. Alternatively, this could be a regional phenomenon. But, just thought I'd offer my experience.