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Advice for Returning to School After Long Break?
arohann asks: "A few months ago, I quit my secure, well-paying (but boring) job as a software engineer in India and have been applying to graduate schools in the US, Canada and the UK. My aim is to get back to computer engineering studies (my undergrad major) as a grad student. However, after a 5 year break from academics I'm not sure about my decision and could do with some advice from Slashdot users."
"Here are some of the things that I'd like to know:
1) Typically, how do graduate admissions officials view work experience? Note that I haven't been working as a Computer Engineer but as a Software Engineer.
2) What are the differences between graduate studies at the Masters level in the US, Canada and the UK? I already know a bit from what is available on the websites, so I'm looking for some deeper insights.
3) I'd like to hear from people who've done this, i.e. quit their jobs and gone back to get a higher engineering degree. What problems did you face and what advice do you have?
4) People who've studied in the UK at the MSc, MPhil, MEngg level - how did you fund your education? Were you able to get things like teaching or research assistantships and how much of your costs did these cover?"
1) Typically, how do graduate admissions officials view work experience? Note that I haven't been working as a Computer Engineer but as a Software Engineer.
2) What are the differences between graduate studies at the Masters level in the US, Canada and the UK? I already know a bit from what is available on the websites, so I'm looking for some deeper insights.
3) I'd like to hear from people who've done this, i.e. quit their jobs and gone back to get a higher engineering degree. What problems did you face and what advice do you have?
4) People who've studied in the UK at the MSc, MPhil, MEngg level - how did you fund your education? Were you able to get things like teaching or research assistantships and how much of your costs did these cover?"
Step 1: Have a tech job outsourced to you, forcing someone else to find a way to get back into school. Step 2: Ask them how they did it. Step 3: Expect an answser. Step 4: Profit!
Americans want to get out of school and into the workplace and Indians want to get out of the workplace and back in school.
Sounds like a fair trade to me.
Mature students have pretty good track records. What they may lack or have forgotten in skills, they make up for in attitude and general savvy.
So don't be intimidated. Sure, you'll have some catching up to do, but it won't be that onerous.
1. Start drinking now to build up a tolerance. 2. If you're married, get divorced; your marriage will not survivce. 3. Lot's O' Condoms. 4. Did I mention drinking? 5. ??? 6. Profit!
Don't be a looter...and yes, I know that it's spelled with an "A" instead of an "E".
I recently graduated from a bachelors degree and went out looking for a school to get a Master's from... Unfortunately when I went out, a lot of the schools requested that I got work experience first... So dont forget to mention that you've been WORKING for five years, it really will help you get in.
-Bill
I just completed a professional degree program after several years away from school. Here are a few nuggets of advice:
Good luck, and make sure to do all the readings and homework this time around.
However, I have to say as a piece of advice, that you are wasting your time going to grad school in CS unless your intent is to be a professor or a heavy researcher. I think the best graduate degree for a CS undergrad is probably an MBA, at least as far as earning potential. If your interests are purely theoretical and money is not something you ultimately desire out of your career, then by all means continue.
I'd follow the example of the master.
"Maybe later you could help me straighten out my Longfellow."
- Thornton Melon
Now that you're done with it, of course...
However, after a 5 year break from academics I'm not sure about my decision and could do with some advice from Slashdot users.
and you will immediately do the exact opposite, I presume?
--
You have been warned once. Do not touch my danish again.
Many US grad schools offer night time and weekend classes. You need to find a job here and then go to school in your off time. That's how I got my Masters, though not in CompSci.
Having a job will give you money to fund your own small research projects, buy books/hardware, and contacts that can help you answer questions when you're stumped. It's also a much better way to have a job after graduation.
Is it just me, or did some genius just post a troll on the main page?
Usually in fields such as electrical engineering, students are encouraged to go out and get 2-5 years work experience before returning to school for a masters or phd. Your work experience is not a liability at all - it is an asset to understand how things are really done in the world. You also know what work is really like, so the courseload at a regular university should be bearable. Personally, I think that disciplines that do not encourage people to spend a few years in the work environment before getting post graduate degrees are going to produce a lot of pie in the sky thinkers who can't cut it in real life.
I submitted this story last night, and it didn't get posted.
Two years ago, I did what you did. I left my good paying job as a project manager at a high tech firm to go back to engineering school. It was scary but well worth it! To answer your questions:
;). I spent a few months doing a major review of everything I thought would be necessary to get me to the level where I should be if I were just coming out of undergrad. I also found that I wasn't as quick as some of the younger students in my lab, but what I lacked in speed, I made up in discipline and focus. :)
1. For graduate admissions, at least at Carnegie Mellon, they send the files over to the professors based on your interests. The professors then look at your background to see if you are a good fit. In my case, they considered both my academic background as well as my industry experience. In fact, my industry experience helped me.
2. Not sure about US vs. UK vs. Canada, but what I can tell you is that a M.S. in engineering is more than sufficient if you only want to work in industry. A Ph.D. is good if you want to teach and if you want to lead a research team.
3. The biggest problem I had was all in the mental realm. I forgot most of what I learned in undergrad (all that funky calculus stuff, physics, etc
I hate to use a cliché, but... Just do it(TM)
After you gather all of this information, do something useful with it. I remember being in college and having a classmate who was in his early seventies. He had been a successful businessman, but had never earned his degree. So instead of spending his retirement playing shuffleboard and bingo, he chose to challenge himself and accomplish something.
It's never too late to go back.
I like big butts and I cannot lie.
I didn't know anyone who could give recommendations (all my professors had either moved on or retired), so I went back to my old school as a master's student for 1 year, impressed the profs, and got recommendations which (together with decent SATs) got me into Purdue.
I found that living on a small income was hard, but the studying was actually easier than it had been the first time through. In particular, math was easier to learn. That was a good thing, since econ and stats take more and different math than undergraduate EE.
I never finished my Ph.D (I'm ABD), but I did get an MS in Statistics along the way, and I'm working as an economist. Finishing would have been do-able, but didn't seem worth the cost in student loan debt and time.
If you can get accepted at a school, you can do it, if you can fund it. If they aren't offering you an assistantship with free tuition and a stipend of more than $10,000 per year, keep looking. Schools recruit undergrads, they hire graduate students.
See what I've been reading.
don't go back to school simply to get another degree and cram books. enjoy the college life - go to sporting events, cultural events, join student groups... etc. if you are indian, find a way to acclimate without losing your indian roots. be part of the college community. of course, you should always work hard in classes, but don't let it become an obsession. don't become another stereotypical "foreign graduate student." that's a waste...
Grad schools, from what I understand (I went straight to grad school for various reasons) take work experience as sort of a bonus, if it's relevant. They usually just make sure your previous schooling was sufficient and that you somehow demonstrate through your application that you are capable of handling the rigors of grad school. It's almost more an evaluation of potential rather than actual merit, since a smart but lazy student is much much worse than a hard-working dumbass, because grad school is work, not just book smarts. I would beef up your application by mentioning any projects you worked on long term at your job, any self-motivated work you've done (in or out of work), etc...Also mention how you've stayed in touch with the computer engineering world (if your specialty is VLSI, for example, then maybe if you continually read the appropriate IEEE journal, mention that). I know a few people that went nuts during the dot-com days by getting all sorts of high-$ IT jobs, and then years later came back for an applied physics PhD. Good luck. Oh, and get used to the pay cut...actually, you're comign from India, so the pay will be about the same :)
Hi,
Having left the industry to go back for a PhD, here's my input. It may be different for a Masters, in particular for a terminal Masters.
> 1) Typically, how do graduate admissions officials view work experience?
For admissions, mostly not at all. Admissions is really "previous GPA, application, etc." Past work is good if there's an interview stage, but most of admission is just paperwork and weeding out.
Now, if you do get admitted, that's when you talk to your advisor and find out which past work can count as credit hours (saving you time and money).
That said, admissions does have one critical bit-- whether they (the committee/department as a culture) tend to favor returnees and people with experience, or if they prefer fresh-outs with no real-world taint that they can work hard and mold in their own image.
That cultural barrier will be the one big determinant for any application. A department that only wants fresh-outs would turn you down even if you have a Nobel prize.
An easy way to check this sort of thing, is find out the average age of their student body. Most universities post that (or call them), and it'll clue you into which are 'real-world friendly'. Older = more likely to value experience.
Good luck!
A.
I recently returned to get a pair of Masters degrees five years after my Bachelors.
1) Typically, how do graduate admissions officials view work experience? Note that I haven't been working as a Computer Engineer but as a Software Engineer.
They tend to view it quite favorably. Some programs insist upon it, though I doubt that would be the case for Comp Sci. Work experience is a big plus to admission committees in my experience.
2) What are the differences between graduate studies at the Masters level in the US, Canada and the UK? I already know a bit from what is available on the websites, so I'm looking for some deeper insights.
Can't answer this one.
3) I'd like to hear from people who've done this, i.e. quit their jobs and gone back to get a higher engineering degree. What problems did you face and what advice do you have?
The biggest adjustment is getting used to not having a paycheck anymore. It's hard to adjust your standard of living. Otherwise, I found school to be much more enjoyable once I was older. I was a better student, cared more about the material, knew what questions to ask, and could more easily work with the professors.
4) People who've studied in the UK at the MSc, MPhil, MEngg level - how did you fund your education? Were you able to get things like teaching or research assistantships and how much of your costs did these cover?"
I just took out student loans to cover the whole thing. Interest rates are so low right now it's almost free money. I have some student loans as low as 1.5% interest, and in the US the interest is tax deductible up to a certain amount. My only regret is that I didn't take more money out because the cost of capital is so low. (If you don't know what cost of capital means, learn! It's one of the most valuable things to know about) If you get some sort of working stipend or grant, that is great and you should take it but I'd still recommend getting student loans. Throw the extra into an investment/savings account and whatever's left over is cheap money you can build savings upon. (Yes I realize this is borderline with regard to the terms of the loan but no one will check unless you default)
and not "insightful" (as it is currently modded), but I, too, left a well paying job to go back to grad school. In my case, the job wasn't even boring, and my employer was great (gave me a laptop computer as a going away present), but I wanted to expand my horizons.
There are far more important things in life then money, and the sooner one figures that out, the closer one will come to having a fulfulling life. Of course, this goes back to the maturity equation someone else has already alluded to.
As to some of the original questions - most US schools will look kindly on relevant work experience (even - or perhaps especially - if that work experience is only tangentially relevant). Diversity is still the watchword here, and that includes diversity of experience. Since most grad students (at my school - UVA) have little to no work experience and are in their early to mid 20's upon entering grad school, the older, more experienced applicant has the benefit of bringing diversity. Additionally, as others have pointed out you likely have additional maturity (e.g., well-defined work ethic) that will give you more of an advantage in the course work than the disadvantage of being away from it awhile.
Ben Hocking
Need a professional organizer?
I did grad school after several years in the working world. My advice: take some good solid math classes on the side before beginning grad school. I had forgotten alot of Diff Eq, and my linear algebra was weak. The math courses also helped my confidence. You can amaze your new colleagues by explaining the difference between eigenvalues, eigenvectors, and eigenfunctions!!
--- Often in error; never in doubt!
Aren't you assuming I am assuming that you weren't Candian?
This is a great Ask Slashdot...
I returned to grad school in music technology after 2 years off. For what it's worth, having been in a "real" work environment (at least in my line of work, at a university) really helped me understand how the whole "school beaurocracy" works.
I think going back to school after working gives you an upper hand on your classmates, especially if you're like me and have a teaching assistantship -- "real world" work gives you a lot of experience managing time and planning on how to get things done. It's very easy in grad school to wait until the last minute just like you did in undergrad, but I've found that since I worked before coming here I'm getting things done early and the quality is higher.
My only advice would be, if you go back to school, treat it like it's a job. Be serious, do your work well, and take time to relax too. If you're doing something you love, it's totally worth it.
After working in a low-paid publishing job for 5 years, I went back to school and have never regretted it. I think you'll get the most of it if you do an internship during school, and take classes in other departments as well -- for example, students in my program also took classes in education and law.
I was lucky in that many (in fact, most) of the students in my department were also people who had been in the working world for years and were in the same boat -- trying to get used to being students again. They had more perspective and wisdom to share!
There are lots of programmers out there, but if you can demonstrate an interest and understanding in other fields -- fields that could be served by programming -- you'll gain an advantage.
I went back after 14 years away from school.
My Master's degree in Math was from 1980. I went back in 1994.
I applied to four universities and was accepted at all of them. So I had my pick of where to go.
The first thing I noticed was that, in general, the classes were somewhat less rigorous.
One math professor told me that was true for undegraduates as well as graduate students. He said that the quality of students they were getting was much lower than in the 70s. The high school (and earlier) education systems were leaving them less prepared for college than before.
I found out that older students were generally treated much better than the usual undergraduate students. That was true at all levels.
Seminars were quire interesting. Often, I was older than the profs at seminars being given by outside people. As a result, the presenter would typically think that I was the most senior professor in attendance. So if I subtly nodded in understanding of a point, he would move on to the next point. But if I looked puzzled, he'd explain it in greater detail.
The campus parking people were much more understanding as well. When I received a parking ticket one night because the parking permit was obscured by another parking permit, they dismissed it on the spot. According to the rules, that was still a parking violation and should not be dismissed.
Most of the profs treated me better as well. For example, in one class everyone had to do a presentation during the course. Most of the time, the prof just sat at the back during the presentation and listened. When I gave my presentation, the prof actively participated in the discussion.
With my background, I participated more in class discussions than back in the 70s. In the 70s, if I didn't understand a point, I'd just figure I'd look it up later. When I returned to school, if I had a question, I'd ask it right then. In nearly every class, I asked more questions than anyone else in the class. Most profs get tired of just standing up in front of the class talking the entire period and really appreciate on-topic questions.
I did this in 2001. I took a BS from a top US engineering school in a combination of CS/Psychology in the early 90s, worked for 9 years, started two companies, made some money, but found myself especially towards the end of the boom getting too far away from what I found interesting.
So I went back for CS, and am currently in the process of completing an MS thesis, which should also carry me into a PhD.
It's been a *great* experience, but not without hiccups...
1) Typically, how do graduate admissions officials view work experience? Note that I haven't been working as a Computer Engineer but as a Software Engineer.
The better (top 40-50 in the US) graduate schools exist primarily to create more professors. So your re-entry to the graduate community will be evaluated in academic terms. Despite the greater integration of the commercial and academic worlds through the Internet, academia still is an ivory tower that operates according to its own rules.
Meaning: the better schools generally don't consider work experience relevant *at all*. Unless you were doing *research* or research-type work- had papers or other relevant public/peer reviewed published materials to show for your time- work experience is irrelevant. In fact, it's unhelpful, because you spent productive years *not* doing research.
Don't even bother to submit recommendations from employers, unless those employers themselves have recognized academic credentials (meaning, a professorship. PhDs don't count.).
Put another way, I found that schools considered my *undergraduate* academic performance- from *10 years* prior- to be more relevant in their evaluations than *any* of the innovative, creative professional work I had done since.
This is startling and dismaying, but you'll get over it.
2) What are the differences between graduate studies at the Masters level in the US, Canada and the UK? I already know a bit from what is available on the websites, so I'm looking for some deeper insights.
I can't speak for Canada or the UK, but MS work in the US is viewed in academic circles as *professional*, almost like a trade school. It is of course possible to do research as an MS student, but at most schools there is a class distinction between MS and PhD students that limits access to professors or funding or other academic resources. Most schools expect MS students to *have* another job, while for PhD students, getting a PhD *is* their job.
3) I'd like to hear from people who've done this, i.e. quit their jobs and gone back to get a higher engineering degree. What problems did you face and what advice do you have?
It's been a tremendously *positive* experience for me. However, it was a challenge adjusting after not being in an academic environment for 10 years.
The biggest adjustment for me, frankly, was ego. I came in as an MS student, so it was a challenge coming in at the bottom of the academic food chain, after being at the top in the professional world for the last several years. But humility is a virtue, so I consider this to be a great adjustment to have to go through.
The second biggest adjustment was working/learning style. In academia, especially in research, you get points for completeness and correctness, while in the professional world, you get points for efficiency.
The strategies you learn and the risks you take in the professional world to be efficient, to get quickly to market, to employ FUD effectively to thwart your competitors and deal with the crazy needs of clients/customers- these are the wrong strategies and behaviors in the academic world.
There of course is hand-waving and FUD and all that in academia, and a strong competitive dynamic (getting papers into conferences, etc)- but the way the game is played, as I found it at least, is completely different.
4) People who've studied in the UK at the MSc, MPhil, MEngg level - how did you fund your education? Were you able to get things like teaching or research assis
There is a huge learning curve for subjects since you've likely purged the 'useless' data which formed the prerequisites for some of the classes you'll be taking. Plan on hours of studying at least for the first few months, as your brain recycles information.
You'll also be surrounded by youngin's. For more advanced classes it won't be too bad, because the kids that made it that far are more mature and focused, but be prepared to be annoyed by flippant young kids who haven't learned things like sacrifice yet. The flipside of this is that you should not discount your younger classmates. We have a tendency to acquiesce to seniority, but in the classroom even the teacher learns new things at times. My equal in my Calc class is a girl who is 11 years younger than me. And hot. Which is distracting too. Either way, it is to your benefit to adopt an egalitarian outlook while on campus.
I'm actually doing what you wrote about: I worked for 8 years as a commercial software developer and recently (like last September) returned to Graduate school for my Masters in computer science. There is alot of things I think I'd like to say about my decision and the ensuing process, including actually being here. Apologies if its a little long.
Make sure you know why are you doing it -
Like others have said, make sure you actually know WHY you want to do a graduate degree. Really, to be honest, there is alot you can do in computers without needing a graduate education to pursue it, unless its a very specific field and/or in R&D. Even then it is sometimes possible to enter a field you want by starting from a junior position at a relevant company as long as location isn't an issue or the money you want to make (which should be true if you are considering becoming a student in the US, UK or Canada). Also if you think you have to have a graduate degree to enter a challenging field I think its a bit of a myth. For example I know that in the game programming community, which may not have a big rep in the academic circles, is extremely challenging and requires its developers to know not only programming but math, physics, AI etc. There are alot of extremely talented and VERY smart people in this field who could knock the socks off of a PhD student in compsci. I had considered, very strongly, to go this route (through employment, not school) but I decided to go back because I in fact, did *want* to be in school. Make sure you do.
Getting in - I can't say enough about what alot of CRAP loophole jumping I had to do to get in. The application process, I think in general, does not look favorably on the mature student. Getting references when you have been away that long is sometimes near impossible, and most of the time they are intersted in your grades, papers you've published or research you've already done. So unless you did it already in your undergrad you'll be lacking in your application. Most commercial work doesn't really apply. Plus, you are competing against recent undergrads who probably knew they wanted to move onto grad studies and in their final year did alot of things to make themselves 'graduate' worthy. That being said, it really depends on the university you are applying to and the supervisor you want to work with. Two profs I contacted wouldn't give me the time of day while two others seem interested. Of those two, only one seemed to appreciate my work experience and encouraged me to come back to school. Find a supervisor like this who is willing to take you on and you are set.
UK, US vs Canada - I actually did check out programs in all 3 countries and here is a very biased comparison of the three: of the 3, Canada typically has the longest Masters program which is about 2 years - as far as I know the other two countries generally offer 50/50 between 1 and 2 year programs; the UK has a nice system where they usually offer a PostGraduate diploma (1 year) which allows you to do the course work portion of your Masters and if you do well enough you can continue onto the full Masters degree; the US has some fantastic research labs and usually allow for a Masters straight into a PhD if you want that sort of thing; all 3 countries will love you because you are an international student and will pay the associated fees (usually 2-3 times as much). BTW, somebody made a comment about why the US and why not study in some other country. My comment is that yes, you really are that good! My Canadian funny money couldn't take me very far in the US but there is some amazing research being done at the US universities that I haven't seen anywhere else.
What you will liked as a mature grad student - learning new things that challenge you and interest you: unlike undergrad days you no longer have to take courses that you find boring since everything you take should be relevant to your research (which should have interested you to begin with or why do it). I've found I'm m
I'll address #3 since I think that's the killer
:o)
I got my BS CS in Dec 2000, went to work for a DoD company for 2.5 years then went to graduate school. I'm currently in my last semester of the 2 year program I choose so I'll share the pit falls.
Money
Your Own
You gotta watch this. I saved a lot of money before going back and it's all gone, even the money I made off my tax returns, since I stopped working mid way through, is gone. It's really hard to step back your spending habits, especially when it comes to things like food, and not eating out a lot as I did. So save as much as you can before hand and make a budget and stick to it!
As an aside, for americans. The FAFSA which denotes how much you get in student loans, as well how much is subsidized will kill you because the form assumes that since you worked the previous tax season you will be working this tax season and therefor you will get probably nothing in loans. What you need to do is petition the financial aid office at your school to manually evaluate your income based on the actual condition for the year ( basically adjust your gross income), that is how much you will be making during the school year. For my first year this was $0 so my loans were then able to cover my tuition etc for a decent part.
Funding
If you are going just for a Masters program do not expect to get an Assistanceship, expect to have to pay tuition, fees and all living costs out of pocket, and via student loans. GaTech, my school, is like this and the TAs and RAs are very hard to come by, they ever fired all the MS TAs two semesters ago due to budget issues. Some schools I think are able to more definitively offer funding of some sort, but be aware.
Time
Going back to school is pretty much turning your life over to academics. Do not plan on having much free time, no more 9-5 then stop working. This was and has continued to be the hardest thing for me. It's compounded by the fact that not everything will be scheduled for you, eg independant work, or working assistanceships that pay you. It's easy to let all that get lost in the mix and set to the side simply because you are getting your course work done.
So accept up front that you will be working most of the time and deal with it and be happy when you do have time.
Etc
I would advise not getting cable for a couple months after you start. First live without it then if you think you can manage having it just get basic
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
The big difference is that in Canada, people typically finish their Master's before getting a PhD, whereas in the States, they often apply directly to a PhD. Grad school to the PhD level usually takes a few years longer in Canada as a result.
This implies that Canadian schools take their master's students more seriously than U.S. ones, because it's not known whether you'll go further to a PhD (and helping your professor's reputation) or be a so-called "terminal master's" (sounds like a disease doesn't it). In the U.S., since a high percentage of master's students are terminal master's, the professors are less likely to invest as much time and effort into them. In the worst case, the U.S. master's can get seen as a tuition farm or a kind of dumping ground for PhD dropouts, whereas in Canada the master's is seen as a somewhat necessary step along the way to a PhD.
This is talking about research (M.S. or M.Sc.) master's of course. Professional master's degrees are a whole nuther ballgame, and usually involve big tuition in exchange for more job security.
Thats what I was trying to point out, with all this 'open market' outsourcing and no one to look out for amercan workers, expect tensions to go up not down.
Before I hear some crap from a bunch of free market, Fox loving, orielly fans consider this.
I work with a guy that came over here from main land china on an H1B. Nice guy. I had been laid off a couple of years ago. Downsizing not outsourcing. Anyway he asked me what benefits american workers got for being laid off severance etc. I told him nothing. I got a 2 weeks pay as serverance, but the company was not required to do that. I got 300something dollars every two weeks in unemployment and that was it.
He was shocked, Chinese mainland workers had far more 'rights' after they were laid off than we Americans. Thier companies were required to give them so many months pay as serverance and they alot of training and other things we don't get.
I thought that was quite amusing here we are carping at the chinese about their human rights situation and in some areas we are worse off as Americans.
Of couse you know with George II in power the rights of workers will only diminish, never increase.
As long as the US treats thier workers like disposable diapers and the thieveing bastards that run our companies as some sort of Gods here on earth, expect fear and depise of Indians and Chinese to go up not down.
So Long and Thanks for all the Fish.
Ah Dude, he said he was from India and Quit his job in India. Thats kinda germaine to the whole thing, that started whole trollish nature of this article. If he said I quit my job in Cleveland, there would have been probably a dozen or so replies to this article.
So Long and Thanks for all the Fish.
I worked for 3 years before returning to school to get my PhD in chemistry. Taking the time off before I went back was probably the smartest thing I did.
/., you will get things done quicker than someone who is fresh out of undergrad and views graduate school as "school" and not as a job. Professors have a lot more interest in you since they know you're more dedicated to school and are in it for the long haul.
You will find that you treat graduate school more as a job and less as school. As long as you don't spend all day on
Some advice:
1. Find something to do that isn't graduate school; it will keep you sane. This was the single greatest piece of advice given to me on my way to graduate school. Preferably, find something that doesn't involve other graduate students. I train martial arts to get my head out of chemistry.
2. Cut your expenses accordingly. If you take a 50% cut in pay, cut all your expenses by 50%. You will find that you stay busy enough that your paltry stipend doesn't bother you so much. Take this time as a lesson in how to budget.
3. When looking for a major professor (advisor), make sure you like the guy. He will control your life for a number of years. Talk to graduate students who have been there at least 3 years as they won't sugar coat everything.
4. When looking at schools, ask lots of questions about money. You won't be making much so every bit helps. Ask stupid things like the following:
How much does parking cost? (this can get pricey)
What about health care?
Are there any hidden fees? (typically student fees)
Do I have to pay for conferences?
Does my stipend increase every year to offset the cost of living?
Hope this helps. Best of luck.
I just completed a Master's program and I found this book to be very helpful.
It will give you some idea of the politics and tactics used to get through a grad program.
Never confuse feeling with thinking.
Well, I'm not sure if a response to the OP's question is allowed in this forum; judging by the posts so far (less than 200) it appears not, but I'll take a chance.
I suppose I should also preface my remarks with the comment that my experience is not up-to-the-minute-current (:-)). I got my undergrad degree in 1965, spent 5 years in the nuclear Navy and then returned to graduate school. I took the GREs and applied to 5 schools. I never heard from one, was rejected at one, accepted at one without financial, accepted another with financial aid, and heard late (after I'd accepted) from one that lost all the applications for awhile!) Who knows how the experience played there -- mixed I'd guess.
I ended up at Johns Hopkins in a PhD only (no MS) program.
There were 10 of us newbies at JHU/CS in 1970-- 5 had been working, in various fields, for 3-8 years, and 5 were coming straight from undergrad. I can't tell you what the faculty was thinking, but looking at those numbers it doesn't look like they considered it a negative. There were some interesting differences between the two groups. Those coming straight to Grad school from undergrad found gradschool was harder than they were used to. Those coming back to school from work found it much more enjoyable and easier than working. The first one through was one of those coming straight from undergrad. On the other hand, he was the only one in his group that actually completed the program. One of those coming back dropped out, the rest of us finished. The undergrad finished in about 3 years. I took 5. The longest took 7 (which was the time limit).
I spent some time in my last year of working reading up on the area I was interested in pursuing, including stopping by a couple of college bookstores and finding interesting textbooks.
My undergrad was BA, Math/Physics. The PhD was intended to be Computer Science, but the department died my first year, we were grandfathered into the EE department, which became EE/CS. The fact that I'd worked in another field was not a problem.
I think the work experience was very valuable in gradschool -- it helped me focus on important issues. I'm a kinda theory type, but I like to wallow in the bits, too. JHU is/was focused on theory, which I liked, but I could also stay close to practice.
One big difference was as a LT, USN, I was used to having responsibility and being "allowed" anywhere. As a grad student, I was in a significantly different position -- I couldn't even get into equipment room to mount a paper tape without "supervision" -- that was a change.
In general, I think work experience is a plus. You'll have some adjustment to do to get back to studying, but your perspective will be an asset some of your fellow students will benefit from.
I also benefitted by having a colleague who was on leave from Bell Labs in my class. I liked his stories enough that when I finished, that's where I went (Development, not Research). You'll provide similar benefits to your fellow students.
When I taught as a visiting professor, students with work experience were an asset to the class, too. You probably wouldn't want to go to any place that considered it a problem.
I say, go for it! It sure beats working.
joe