Musings on Graduate School

Musings on Graduate School While Mollie has pretty much sent off all her applications for graduate school, Ive just started to ponder what life is going to be like in about 18 months. So today, I attended an info session on the Masters of Engineering in Biological Engineering. A Masters of Engineering is a 5th year Masters that is offered only to MIT undergrads. You apply in your junior year, and you find out before your senior year. Now whats nice about it is that you get a masters in just 1 additional year, but right now my life goal magic 8 ball really says that I want a PhD, so right now Im thinking why not just enter a PhD program off the bat? What I guess is nice about the BE MEng is that I get to see what life as a grad student is like without the commitment, but then if I like it, would the MEng be a wasted degree since I would have a PhD as well? Right now, I think the answer is yes and no. For example, Ive often heard of the stigma that those people who have PhDs have when they enter the work force that they are labelled as researchers and end up becoming the head scientist for a company but never the CEO. If I had a PhD and an MEng, I could only list my MEng on my resume and not the PhD. While this sounds loony, Ive talked to a few people who have done this before. I dont know how true the PhD/head scientist combo is because most of the people I know with PhDs have stayed in academia which is what I think Id want to do with a PhD, but Im 20 years old, so that could change very quickly. Phewthats enough pondering about life for now. If you want more info about MEng programs: Course 6 Electrical Engineering Computer Science Course 3 Materials Science and Engineering BE Biological Engineering Course 2 Masters of Engineering in Manufacturing Course 1 Civil and Environmental Engineering 22 Nuclear Science and Engineering