I haven't done research but I want to move to research

[chessmaster22]

Hi All,

I have a B.S. in EE from University of Maryland and my research experience in college is next to nothing. I had technically related technician job during those years and founded a startup.

I graduated Fall 2014 and I have been working at Visa as a software engineer/systems analyst which is not related to my degree but it's adventurous since I don't know a single electrical engineer who can do what I do in software. 

NOW, I want apply for PhD programs for Fall 2016 and take a hard turn in my career and completely move towards research. I have a 3.9 GPA and strong letters of recommendation. Do I have any chance to get into top programs? (Stanford/Berkeley/MIT/Caltech/Princeton/Oxford/Cambridge/ICL/ETH/EPFL) 

I was admitted into UCLA for Fall 2015  as well as Maryland which I declined because I had higher hopes 

Am I being too optimistic by giving myself a chance for these top programs? If not, what strategy should I choose for my SOP since I don't have any research experience to talk about. 

 

Thanks for reading    

[juilletmercredi]

I know a couple of electrical engineers who work in software engineering - it seems to be a pretty common career path for EE majors, actually. Are you doing a specific type of software engineering that sets you apart?

Anyway, typically PhD programs - and especially top ones - require or strongly recommend their applicants to have had some research experience. Basically, they want to be sure that you know what you're getting yourself into and are not going to discover after a year or two that you really hate research. Also, they're going to want PhD students in their labs who are going to be helpful - help them get out publications and grants.

At any rate, one strategy is to take a look at your role at Visa and emphasize the parts that are research-related or research-transferable, and write about those in the statement of purpose. Also, write compellingly about the reason you are taking this "hard turn towards research." I'm assuming you didn't just wake up one day and decide to become a researcher; what has motivated your desired career change?

[chessmaster22]

Thank you very much for responding.

I know a couple of electrical engineers who work in software engineering - it seems to be a pretty common career path for EE majors, actually. Are you doing a specific type of software engineering that sets you apart?

 

I'm doing deep learning and data at Visa and although it has some applications in signal processing, it is virtually of no use for the research topic that I want to get into which is wireless communications. 

Anyway, typically PhD programs - and especially top ones - require or strongly recommend their applicants to have had some research experience. Basically, they want to be sure that you know what you're getting yourself into and are not going to discover after a year or two that you really hate research. Also, they're going to want PhD students in their labs who are going to be helpful - help them get out publications and grants.

Like I said, my research experience is next to nothing and since there is no other way to prove to them that I am capable of research, I have lost the chances to get into these top schools forever? 

At any rate, one strategy is to take a look at your role at Visa and emphasize the parts that are research-related or research-transferable, and write about those in the statement of purpose. Also, write compellingly about the reason you are taking this "hard turn towards research." I'm assuming you didn't just wake up one day and decide to become a researcher; what has motivated your desired career change?

I can't pin point a specific reason why I want to change my career to research. I just like science and I think I'm good at science. I like to work with science and create science. The alternatives to research are startups and industry jobs that are hectic and boring respectively. Should I mention this?

For the sake of brutal honesty, another reason why I want to earn a PhD is for the prestige and the social status that comes with it. This has to do with my personal life, but I like my future colleagues to be intelligent educated people who also. That is the very reason that I'm doing everything I can to get into a prestigious school. Is this a bad reason for going after a PhD?

 

Thanks again for reading