really stuck on what to do after graduation

[Skiddex]

well i will be graduating from UW-Madison in December and am really torn on what i should do after graduation. I will have degrees in Computer Engineering and Computer Science so work will not be hard to find. this summer i am working for a medium sized company in madison doing ms reporting services and vb.net (read: ewwww) and they are already talking about putting me in their leadership development program which is really a fast track to management. i really could see myself as a project manager so this appeals to me, but not developing web portals for an insurance company...i really would like to get into the internet security division. so these are the four options i see.


1) Work for the company i am interning for, become a manager, work for them and start looking for a better job with management now on the resume. pay would probably be around $60k - $70k

2) Grad school. I have always been interested in going to grad school, and doing research...very appealing, but i have a 3.0 gpa right now, and im not sure what my options are at this point

3) Play the job market. as opposed to #1, just start out in a job i know i will enjoy from the get go and possibly take a bit longer to move up the ladder. i have already made lots of great contacts and know i wouldnt have a problem finding a job in fields such as consulting or bioinfomatics.

4) Bum on State Street and wait for the annual halloween riots.

 

[Modular]

Real world experience > grad school

Get out there and work for a few years, then go back to grad school. That's what I'm going to do. I have to though...fo0king school loans

 

[sonoma1993]

I go with #1

 

[captains]

mooch of your parents till they die then get a job

 

[Skiddex]

Originally posted by: captains
mooch of your parents till they die then get a job

ive mooched long enough...thankfully no loans to pay at all

 

[MrChad]

There are really two options, work or grad school.

Assuming you choose to work, do you enjoy working for your current company? If you enjoy it, the opportunities are there and the company is healthy, I wouldn't hesitate to consider it an option. You should certainly explore other opportunities as well. Don't limit yourself to just one company if you don't have to.

 

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: Skiddex

Originally posted by: captains
mooch of your parents till they die then get a job

ive mooched long enough...thankfully no loans to pay at all

must be nice

 

[Skiddex]

Originally posted by: Platypus

Originally posted by: Skiddex

Originally posted by: captains
mooch of your parents till they die then get a job

ive mooched long enough...thankfully no loans to pay at all

must be nice

yes, i am very lucky to have great parents who make a decent living

 

[MrBond]

You might be able to get into grad school, even with your GPA. My GPA wasn't great (3.2 I think) and I got into grad school. Granted, I went to the same school I did my undergrad at, so they fasttracked me in. I think the minimum GPA they take is 3.0, anything less than that and you have to take the GRE.

I had a lot of people tell me that it helps if you're an American student applying to a program where there aren't many American students.

You should see how the market is for people in your field with grad degrees. For me, I wanted to do R&D, and you pretty much need a grad degree for that. If there's not a lot of demand for people in your field with their masters/docterate degrees, then you might want to reconsider grad school.

 

[Modular]

Middle class FTL...

 

[Skiddex]

i would love to do R&D, specifically in huristics and CAD algorithm design, so yes, grad school at a minimum. but its hard to pass up the opprutunities offered to me at this point not knowing what grad school options i would have

 

[Whisper]

If you want to go to grad school, especially for a Master's, a 3.0 gpa won't keep you out.

However, my personal recommendation (depending on what it is you want to study while in grad school) would be to work for the intern company for a year or so, see how the leadership development program works out (i.e. how long it lasts, when you can expect a new position, etc.), and then decide if a) you want to stick around and try it out for another year or two, b) want to switch over to another company, or c) take your year's worth of experience and $$ and head back to the land of higher education for a bit.

 

[j00fek]

Originally posted by: Skiddex

Originally posted by: captains
mooch of your parents till they die then get a job

ive mooched long enough...thankfully no loans to pay at all

must be nice

 

[Sentinel]

IMHO I would go with option one, would probably benefit you in the long run.

 

[Skiddex]

thanks for the input! post lunch crew got anything?

 

[PinmasterJay]

Hmm...I would go with #1, you can always be on the lookout for a better opportunity,
and grad school is still an option also

....I did vote for "bumming on state street" before I read the OP

 

[Nerva]

i would go with option 1 because you can always return to grad school after working a bit, that is if you are absolutely passionate about your area of study.