What's more important in the engineering field: two years of work experience, or a Master's Degree?
I have the option of going to graduate school, but I'd lave to leave my current job and find a new one in two years. What should I do?
2 Answers
In a poor economy companies will look at your school experience first. It never makes sense to me, but most companies don't pay enough attention to experience.
Hey Daniel, check out the stuff Ramit Sethi is doing write now http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/, he's spending a lot of time blogging about how to find your "dream job."
The important thing is being able to sell yourself. So the real question is will you be able to sell yourself better with a master's or with two years of experience? My opinion is that while companies look to a master's first, if (and this is a big "if) they can't otherwise make a value distinction. If you can come into an interview haven't research a company well, then you can propose solutions to the problems that they see rather than trying to sell yourself as a candidate. By conveying that you understand their problems and have come prepared to help solve them, it almost won't matter whether you have the master's or the two years of experience.
