Hi,
I am doing my undergrad in Electrical and Comp. engineering and I was wondering if there is anyone enrolled in a Phd program or masters in EE. I have been thinking between going to grad school or may be working after my degree (I m a junior at the moment).  I would like to know what are your experiences in graduate school and whether it is really worth the torture? Also, how is the job market for EE phds? Thanks for any suggestions or comments.

Get a job first. Experience counts more than a master's degree. If you don't have visa issues, then you should look for a job. some companies pay for your higher education.

fortunefaded,

if you are interested in 'hardcore' EE research--which perhaps you will be able to understand in a greater depth
 during your senior year of research work--Phd is the way to go. if you are interested in 'jobs', in general, in the US,
a MS is sufficient. recent changes in the job market have made MS more important; previous years, BS was sufficient.

PhD provides you with the technical edge and aptitude to take "leadership role" in technology direction of a company. MS can 'also' get you there but PhD is a sure stamp. MS or PhD, you are likely to be working on similar problems if you pursue industry. a PhD will be paid higher but the salary increase does not normally justify the additional 4 years spent in school.

having said that, the value that i see in PhD are:
1. intellectual freedom (you are allowed to think and act by yourself. you are your own boss)

2. challenging research (you will get an ample exposure to cutting-edge technology and the states of the art of your field)

3. easier transition to something in the education sector in Nepal (if you are really serious about it)

and, if you aspire to become an academician, PhD is for you.

The fields in EE, especially suited for research, and thus PhD are: 
1. wireless communications 
2. signal processing (Image processing/computer vision)
3. VLSI
4. nano-technology/biotechnology.

Bio and nano, not so much now, but definitely in 5-10 years from now.

i, personally, would suggest you to at least go for MS if not PhD. if you want to acquire a couple of years experience
in an industry after BS and then come back to the graduate school, it will be great. that will also allow you ample 
time to decide on your area of interest within EE.

graduate school life is a challenging life-- from both academic and financial POVs. academic because you will have 
to produce your own unique work in a field which is easily regarded as one of the difficult ones and convince your 
committee that something you did has never been done before. and financial because you need to learn to live on
monthly stipends during the course of your study. but be patient, success comes through serpentine paths. 
graduate school will keep you on your toes, but it will take THE BEST out of you. don't get petrified but don't take
it lightly either. 

all the best!



 
 
 
Last edited: 16-Oct-07 01:06 PM
	
    

          

           
 
 
 

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Q: how is the job market for EE phds?

Very limited. It depends on where you are and what field of study (of course).

LooteKukur, thanks for the info. I probably want to go to the industry at some point. The way I see it, I wouldn't really mind the academia, but the monetary reward in the industry seems too tempting, at least for now. Also, I've heard that it is hard to get into a master's program right after an undergrad as most programs favor Phd candidates over masters and the funding is very limited. I've also heard that some people sign up for a Phd but just get a master's and leave after two years. Would it be wise to do that (apart from pissing my advisor off) or get into a company after my BSE degree and have them finance my master's?
And, another reason I wanted to go into graduate school was due to the limited companies that hire international undergrad  students. top companies like IBM, Intel, TI don't even look at undergrad intl. students. they usually ask for at least a master's. So basically, what i've seen in career fairs is that most EEs end up doing programming or software related jobs. If that's the case, my EE classes are basically a waste. does anyone see it differently?