Continue Working or Pursue a Graduate Degree?

4

Greetings,

Over the past few years, I have scoured through these forums occasionally, and most of you have a ton of useful wisdom to share with everyone. So, I figured that I would ask all of you for your opinion on my recent dilemma - a dilemma which I can't seem to figure out even after about 6 months of thought. I'd really appreciate it if you could provide any insight whatsoever.

About two years ago, I graduated from a respectable college with two BS degrees (mechanical engineering and physics), and I ended up graduating at the top of my class (I did very very well in school). As you can tell, I've always been attracted to the more mathematical and technical side of engineering, and I always saw myself going back to grad school someday - as I've always been into academia both within and outside of school. Well, once graduation approached, I decided that I would take some time off from school. I wanted to work a bit and figure out what area of engineering to focus on; it seemed somewhat silly to dive straight into grad school for something as broad as just mechanical engineering. To make full use of the degree and experience, I thought that I could explore a bit, find a niche which suits me, and then delve further into that subject area's rabbit hole. Thus, I ended up snagging a very good job right before graduating at a very respectable, world-wide company. The pay was very good for a starting position ($66K), and, in general, I was treated very well at that company. However, since I am very very technical, I was instantly bored and displeased with the job. Regardless, I persevered and tried everything to find more engaging work - including sitting down with my supervisor and discussing the situation with him. Unfortunately, I continued to work on equipment quote/scope documents, and I hardly did anything considered "engineering".

Well, since I am in a "career development" type of program at the company, I was able to move to a new position after a year. Unlike the previous position, this was a "real" engineering job, and I was given many responsibilities. However, I still felt very bored with my work (mostly vessel design conforming to ASME BPVC code - including design, drafting, scope/proposal, project management kind of work....basically anything you could see in a typical engineering position). TBH, I've always been more intrigued by deriving equations and theories used for engineering ideas, and the cookbook process found within ASME codes thoroughly bothered me and squashed my curiosity (though, I see how it is somewhat needed). Out of everything I worked on, the chance to write my own program for automatically designing and sizing out equipment was probably the most fulfilling thing I've ever done in industry. Despite this dissatisfaction, I persevered and am currently moving onto another position after another year. Furthermore, I ended up getting quite a generous raise around Christmas time (I now make $74K), and both of my bosses were very satisfied with all of my work.

Well, during that last job, I decided to apply to graduate schools to open up more doors/choices for myself. When I heard back from schools, I was surprised to find out that I had been accepted to a very respected, ivy league school, and they wanted to give me a full ride (free tuition and an annual $28,000 living stipend). However, the caveat is that it would be for a phd program - which is another 4-6 years of schooling. Furthermore, I would have to quit my current job, move to the new area (it's actually closer to my hometown though), and work my ass off again. Obviously, both options (to continue to work or go back to school) are very good, and I am honored to have been offered them. However, I am lost within a cloud of ambivalence; I can't make a decision as to what to do! I have a feeling that I would thoroughly enjoy graduate school, but 4-6 years is a lot of time to invest into schooling. That would be 4-6 years of savings down the drain (at least $120K of savings lost), and 4-6 years of lost work experience. I do have 2 years of experience now, but I feel as though I would be considered entry-level still after graduating again. This makes me fear that I might have trouble getting another job after graduation (shitty job market), and I might start at what I'm making now, which would be very disappointing. Also, I have never done research before, so I don't know if I would be good at or even enjoy it; I only know that I would enjoy participating in classes once again. The whole situation is a HUGE gamble, and I have heard that a phd can sometimes be a detriment to your career.

In terms of making a wise decision, I was thinking that I could continue to work and go to a local, less prestigious school for a master's part-time instead (my employer has a reimbursement program). This way, I would still save money, get more work experience, and further my education. However, it's so hard for me to turn down the honor and respect of a free ride to an ivy league school. Furthermore, I started my 3rd, new position on Monday, and I really don't like it that much already. I haven't done much (and don't wish to jump to conclusions), but it seems like I'll be modeling stuff up in autopipe and doing absolutely no calculations (aside from allowing the program to do stress/dispalcement calcs for me). Working really makes me feel like a mindless zombie, and I'd find it difficult to work and go to school afterwards =/...

Do any of you have any advice? What would you do in my situation? Hopefully I don't sound like a whiney asshole; I am very grateful for these opportunities, but, sometimes, too many open doors can turn into a curse very quickly.

Thanks for any input you guys can provide,
Turbulent Solace