Crossroads: Accepted in Two Different Fields

[crumbcake666]

Hello all,

 

I'd like to thank you in advance for reading this and hopefully offering some words of advice.

 

After the dust and gunsmoke of rejections cleared, I saw that I received two acceptances.*All rankings are listed according to most recent US News data.*

 

- Chemistry PhD. at a very famous and prestigious tech university. Program rank: 24.

 

- Chemical Engineering PhD. at an up-and-coming tech shool. Program rank: 71.

 

Both are funded 24k/year. Geographically close to one another, so climate is a moot point. Strong research interests at both schools.

Additional information: For all of those BS chemists afraid of the future, I want to reassure you that it is possible to move into chemical engineering, even as a PhD and not an MS. I will have to take some undergraduate courses during my first year (16k stipend, up to 24k after first year), but the track is the same after that.

 

Okay fellow applicants, grads, professors spying on me, and curious students: What would you do?

 

Applicant Credentials: 3.7/4.0 Chemistry BS (ACS-Certified), 2 REUs, several posters, 71% & 81% Quant and Verbal GRE respectively. Short German exchange, few conferences, strong LORs and a hobby reader/writer. American student.

[DTY]

I'm in somewhat of the same boat (an admit in two different fields)... If I were you, I'd go with the higher ranking program. 

[eeee1923]

Honestly, you have to ask yourself what your future goals are. What area would you like to work in? Would expertise in one of the chemistry sub-fields or chemE sub-fields set you up better? I did my BS in Chemical Engineering and MS in Chemistry, so I'm kind of the opposite of you. But what I can say is that the research goals/approaches are quite different between the two fields. 

[crumbcake666]

Honestly, you have to ask yourself what your future goals are. What area would you like to work in? Would expertise in one of the chemistry sub-fields or chemE sub-fields set you up better? I did my BS in Chemical Engineering and MS in Chemistry, so I'm kind of the opposite of you. But what I can say is that the research goals/approaches are quite different between the two fields. 

 

If you don't mind me asking, what made you make the switch from Chemical Engineering to Chemistry? Were you dissatisfied with something, or did you just want to change direction?

[Vene]

What are your career goals? If you want to work in academia, go for the higher ranking. If you want to work in industry, engineering is better.

 

Otherwise, go with your gut instinct, it's probably right.

[doomination]

in chemE we hear horror stories of people getting nowhere with a chemistry phd because there are so many people entering grad school in chemistry.

 

I agree with the posters here though, it depends what you want out of it. A lot of research in the physical side of chemistry is shared between chemE and chemistry. So if that's your thing, you'd still be able to do the same research.

[EnfantTerrible]

I agree with what the others have said. It sounds like you could do well out of both of the programmes, so I suppose you have to reflect on why you chose two different programmes to apply to and what your future goals are. Good luck! And congratulations on your offers.

[bsharpe269]

What is your goal... research or industry? Also, what are your research interests?

 

I was accepted to programs in various fields since my research interests can fit into biophysics, comp bio, physical biology, etc. The name on the degree matters much less then the research you do. For example, you can get a post doc in a chem eng department with a chemistry phd, if your PhD work fits with chem eng research. I think you should reflect on your research interests and see which school has the most labs that interest you. Also, what sort of jobs do the graduates gets... and are these jobs in line with your goals? The name on the degree is one of the least important things to consider.

[Vene]

The name on the degree is one of the least important things to consider.

I disagree with this a little bit. I don't think it means much in academia. But, in industry, HR software does care as they often search for keywords and having the right keywords (such as the name of your degree) can help you. And even though I do think that the difference between a chemist and a chemical engineer can be pretty small at times (having worked with both), pay scales can also be quite different between the two. (not sure that this difference is present for biophysics versus computational biology)

 

So, I don't think it's necessarily the most important reason to pick one program over another, it is something to take into consideration.

Edited March 24, 2015 by Vene

[Argon]

I ended up deciding to switch fields for my PhD. I've been told by every faculty member I've talked to at the schools I visited that the name of your degree matters relatively little at the PhD level. As has been said before, it's the research that you do, and postdoc positions will be available to you if you want to transition between disciplines. I'd ask yourself why you would want to get a PhD in chemical engineering. And then talk to faculty at your own University in both the chemistry and ChemE department to make sure you aren't disillusioned. If you plan to go into academia, the higher ranked school is probably the right answer. Otherwise, ask yourself what research you'd be doing so each school, ask where people end up going after their PhD at both places, and then try to gather up as much info as you can to make a decision. With regards to research, the two fields overlap a lot, but the viewpoints are rather different.

[Argon]

Also, side point. A lot of ChemE departments (I'd say most) have faculty thay frequently collaborate with folks in the chemistry department. If you want to combine the best of both, maybe see if there are any research projects of such a nature at School A. Who knows. Maybe you could even be co-advised.

[bsharpe269]

I disagree with this a little bit. I don't think it means much in academia. But, in industry, HR software does care as they often search for keywords and having the right keywords (such as the name of your degree) can help you. And even though I do think that the difference between a chemist and a chemical engineer can be pretty small at times (having worked with both), pay scales can also be quite different between the two. (not sure that this difference is present for biophysics versus computational biology)

 

So, I don't think it's necessarily the most important reason to pick one program over another, it is something to take into consideration.

 

This is a good point... I am academia focused so advice given to me from professors is more related to my future academic goals. I know nothing about industry and this could matter more there.