Just got offered a job...

[bignateyk]

update: I decided to take the job, and i'll be starting next week. I realized that the only real reason I didnt want to take it was because I didnt want to lose the freedom of being a student, but that has to end sooner or later, so theres no point in postponing it for another few months.



I am currently a grad student at Penn State, and I have an assistantship (with the place that offered me a full time job, but a different department)

Assitantship:
$1400/month
3 classes/semester
$0 tuition
20 hours/week

Full-time job:
$5000/month
1 class/semester
75% tuition discount
40 hours/week


I just started grad school (EE) last fall, and I wasnt enjoying the classes at all, so I decided to put in for a full time position at the lab I currently work at. Due to security clearance issues (They can only give out a certain # of top secret clearances), it didnt look like I was going to get it.

Then the guy comes up to my office this morning and asks me when I can start. This is about an hour after I tell my current supervisor/research supervisor that I will be sticking with school full-time for the next semester.

Now I am torn... on one hand, I make alot more money, but on the other hand I wont have that freedom of being a student anymore. Decisions, decisions...

He mentioned something about a project starting in march. Maybe I will see if I can wait until then to start full-time. Class starts next monday, so I need to decide pretty quickly.

Bah.

 

[Strk]

Are you still not enjoying your classes?

 

[jmcoreymv]

Isnt it going to take forever to graduate with 1 class/semester?

 

[j00fek]

just get the classes and then make the cash

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv
Isnt it going to take forever to graduate with 1 class/semester?

It would take me 2.5 more years to get a masters instead of 1.

 

[pontifex]

man, i wish i was getting real job offers. all i get are the same spam/scam job offers.

 

[slsmnaz]

So you will get the security clearance w/ your new job?

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: slsmnaz
So you will get the security clearance w/ your new job?

Yeah. Right now I just have a secret clearance, and I would get the top secret if I took the job.

 

[KK]

take the job.

 

[LS20]

being a student is fun...kinda... as long as youre still getting paid some. you can always get a job with msee

 

[archiloco]

yeah take the job

 

[Strk]

You never answered my question. If you still don't like your classes, but enjoy the job, it really seems like a given. In addition, it's not like it will take you that much longer to get your master's in the end.

Personally, I think doing what you enjoy makes a lot more sense.

 

[slsmnaz]

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: slsmnaz
So you will get the security clearance w/ your new job?

Yeah. Right now I just have a secret clearance, and I would get the top secret if I took the job.

So in 2.5 years you would have 2 highly-marketable things to put on your resume instead of one, masters and security clearance? Take the job.

 

[lobbyone]

Take the job! :thumbsup:

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: slsmnaz
So you will get the security clearance w/ your new job?

Yeah. Right now I just have a secret clearance, and I would get the top secret if I took the job.

Take the job. Your SSBI (Single Scope Background Investigation) lasts for 5 years after it is completed. You can always leave the job, finish school, and then find another cleared job.

That's what I did.

 

[blurredvision]

Job.

 

[patentman]

Be cool stay in school. Take it from someone who knows that it is very hard to go back to grad school once you leave for the real world.

 

[ViviTheMage]

job -- larger resume man...experience is key these days!!

 

[pmoa]

ummm full time job is a no brainer...

 

[TheGizmo]

full-time eff school it won't get you anywhere

 

[bignateyk]

I enjoy the senior level classes, which are practical in nature. I hate the graduate level classes which are theoretical in nature. We have to take 3 senior level classes and 5 graduate level classes for a masters. I have taken 2 senior level and 1 graduate level so far.

hmm. I guess what i'll do is see if I can get them to postpone my employment until march at the start of a new project. If they cant do that, i'll just take the job now.

 

[Wapp]

Originally posted by: Danman

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: slsmnaz
So you will get the security clearance w/ your new job?

Yeah. Right now I just have a secret clearance, and I would get the top secret if I took the job.

Take the job. Your SSBI (Single Scope Background Investigation) lasts for 5 years after it is completed. You can always leave the job, finish school, and then find another cleared job.

That's what I did.

This guy speaks the truth. Once you get that clearance shop yourself around, you can make way more than what the job is offering.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: slsmnaz
So you will get the security clearance w/ your new job?

Yeah. Right now I just have a secret clearance, and I would get the top secret if I took the job.

Take. The. Job.

 

[bignateyk]

update: I decided to take the job, and i'll be starting next week. I realized that the only real reason I didnt want to take it was because I didnt want to lose the freedom of being a student, but that has to end sooner or later, so theres no point in postponing it for another few months.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Congrats. More money and opportunity to take a class at a time is great. Trust me, it's a great situation if you're close to the classes. I used a university to finish my undergrad and stuck around for my graduate degree. I'm on my last semester....and it's been a free ride....the best kind.