Graduate School FAQs Pt. 1

A guest series by WIT Faculty: Aaron Carpenter

Aaron Carpenter Headshot

Meet Aaron Carpenter, he received a bachelor’s (2005), master’s (2006), and Ph.D. (2012) from the University of Rochester, all in the field of Electrical and Computer Engineering, focusing on computer architecture and VLSI design.  Prof. Carpenter then taught at 3.5 years at Binghamton University, teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses and supervising his own PhD and master’s research lab.  In 2015, he joined the ECE department at Wentworth Institute of Technology, focusing on computer engineering and engineering education.

Professor Carpenter will now introduce us to the first part of a three-part series on graduate school:

Graduate school is an important facet of STEM education.  While it is by no means required for your career, it is often a significant addition for long-term employment and promotion. But, here at Wentworth Institute of Technology, students have no academic contact with graduate students or graduate school, at least not yet.

Students often have curiosity regarding graduate school, and the goal of this article is to answer some frequently asked questions.  We will discuss some introductory information regarding graduate school, including various motivations for graduate studies, some details on various degrees, specifically in engineering and science.  The discussion will mostly be around the STEM fields, but could apply to other fields.

Before going into the questions and answers, let me describe some of my qualifications.  I have a bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degree from University of Rochester, all in Electrical and Computer Engineering.  I then taught at Binghamton University for 3.5 years, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, advising master’s and PhD students doing research, and helping to review graduate applications at the request of the graduate director.  While I have some level of insight into graduate school and applications, please note you should consult your academic advisor, professors, and coop and career advisors for your specific graduate school goals.

General graduate school FAQs:

  • Why should people consider graduate school?
    • Undergraduate programs teach students an ability to analyze problems, think critically, learn skills pertaining to a particular field. The education is often broad, with your major classes provides some depth.
    • Master’s programs teach you a specialty within your field of study, developing a deeper knowledge and understanding, often aimed at more state-of-the-art areas.  Master’s will often push students toward the cutting edge, but not delve into deep research level more than a little bit, depending on the school and program.
    • PhD programs make you innovate in your field. You will learn about the cutting edge, and then add to it, becoming the expert in your field.  It builds on the skills learned in undergraduate and possibly Master’s work.  You will also learn about how to research on your own.
  • So why should someone get a Master’s or PhD?
    • There is a growing reliance on a Master’s degree in the industrial marketplace. Employers want employees that know the state-of-the-art and can think deeply and critically in their field.  They also want to see a dedication to your field.  So, to be more employable or upwardly mobile, or even to increase your salary, it is a good idea to pursue graduate studies.  That could be full-time, part-time, right after your undergraduate, years later, but you should look into it seriously at some point
  • What is the Master’s program like?
    • Full-time master’s work can range in length of time, averaging about 2 years. Different programs have different lengths, depending on if you are doing a thesis, or how many classes you take per year.  If you are pursuing part-time study, you would probably count on closer to 4-5 years, taking 1 course per semester, 2 semesters per year.
    • Programs range in number of classes, but most will be between 8-12, depending on the field. These courses will be of a higher level, beyond the basics learned in undergraduate programs.  Think of a technical or specialized elective in your junior or senior year, and that is roughly the starting point.  Depending on your program, some of the credits typically reserved for classes would be replaced by either a project or a thesis.  A project would be about 1 semester of dedicated time, often in support of some larger research goals of the professor.  Similarly, you could have a thesis, which is often 2 semesters of more dedicated research, again sometimes in support of larger research goals.  The thesis would require you to write a dissertation and defend it to a committee, although it would be must smaller than a PhD thesis, which we will discuss later.
  • Do students need to have research before they apply to graduate school then?
    • You don’t need undergraduate research going into grad school, but it does not hurt to have a little bit of experience. You can get that kind of experience by talking to professors about getting involved in research work as an undergrad.
  • Students often need to worry about cost of education. What should students expect for financing graduate school?
    • As a baseline, you should assume that you will likely have to pay tuition/fees/etc. while pursuing your Master’s degree. This is a big difference between the Master’s and a PhD. Master’s students can get scholarships, fellowships, or assistantships like teaching or research assistant. However, these funding opportunities are typically reserved for PhD students.  You can inquire at individual programs regarding these opportunities.  There are also external grants you can get, such as from NSF or DoD.  Some companies may partially or fully fund a Master’s degree, though typically in exchange for a mandatory employment period.
  • How should students try to find these programs and opportunities?
    • For funding, that would be based on the program or the school. But picking a program or school is a whole process. You want to choose a school or program based on the specialties you are interested in.  If you don’t know yet, that is ok also.  But if you are interested in a particular field, say artificial intelligence, make sure you find a department that has those classes and research available.  That means looking at department and faculty websites prior to application.
    • There are online programs out there. Be cautious of their quality. Do your background research and speak with faculty or the co-op and career center to check their quality.
  • Once a student has found a program, what is it like to be in graduate school? Is it similar to undergraduate programs?
    • Once you get to the program, you will be surrounded by like-minded people, pursuing graduate careers. This community of students will be similar to your undergraduate, but now it is a self-selecting group of scholars, all choosing to dive deeper in their field.   This can be a great advantage, as many of you are now in it together, creating a support structure
    • It can also work against you in something called “imposter syndrome”. This happens when you are surrounded by people who are smart and driven, and can often make you feel like an imposter. Students and faculty no matter how accomplished, are susceptible to it.  It is the feeling that if someone wanted to, they could prove you are not worthy of your opportunities, like you are an imposter in your field. It is important to remember that everyone feels that way once in a while.  It is less common in MS, but is more common in PhD.

For more questions regarding the PhD program, please check back next week for Part Two!

Fall 2018 WITwear Hours: Mon – Thurs 5 PM – 8 PM, Fri 10 AM – 3 PM

Make an appointment with your Co-op + Career Advisor by calling the front desk at 617 989 4101.

Site Visit Spotlight: Delson Faria Dasilva

Decorative ImageBy : Kristen Eckman

Delson Faria Dasilva ’19, is a Mechanical Engineering student currently finishing up his summer co-op with MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Delson shared with us how he is making design changes to build a sample inlet for the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Genomes (SETG). He is also working with microcontrollers to actuate and operate the instrument.

We had a few questions for Delson about his experience:

How has this co-op impacted your future career? 

This co-op allowed me to look behind the curtain of cutting edge research. I gained the experience of working with MGH scientists and NASA-funded engineers from various backgrounds and fields. This co-op really highlighted the importance of communicating problems and ideas for solutions within the context of ones respective field. The laboratory environment allowed me to practice developing a hypothesis, engineering the tools to test said hypothesis, validating the data, and iterating my engineered solutions to improve the performance of those tools. This co-op has provided experiential context in problem solving, that I will be able to refer to for the rest of my engineering career.

Decorative Image

What have you discovered about your professional self? 

Not so much discovered but heavily reinforced is the reality that classroom room knowledge is the bare minimum a professional has to have. What really shines through more than anything is experience. I don’t necessarily mean work experience but hands on experience. This may just be personally but my projects, the things I have built and worked hands on, have always given me the most context to think critically about any engineering problem I have ever faced.

How did Wentworth prepare you for a field experience? 

Wentworth gave me the opportunity to work with tools, lead projects, collaborate with students and professors to establish that hands on foundation to build my professional career on top of.

Check out more of Delson’s work here!

Class of 2017 Career Outcomes

By: Abbey Pober

Each year The Center for Cooperative Education and Career Development survey’s the graduating class to analyze and report on employment and graduate school status of students’ post-graduation. Responses are collected at the December, April, and August commencements, and again six months later from all graduates who reported they were still seeking employment at graduation. These efforts resulted in a 70% knowledge rate of day student career outcomes. Wentworth graduates obtain well-paying jobs in a wide range of fields and we are seeing a continuation of this trend from the class of 2017.

Of those that we do have data, 98% are in graduate school or are employed and their median salary is $60,000, slightly higher than the NACE reported national median and higher than the last few years of Wentworth’s graduates. More than half (56%) received offers of employment from one of their co-op employers and 36% accepted. We have a knowledge rate of 24% of CPCE graduates, down significantly from prior years. Of those that reported, 100% are employed or in school. The median salary of a CPCE graduate is $71,500. Of those that are employed, 96% of students report that their work is related to their academic major, up from last year’s 92%. This year, seven employers hired at least four members of the class of 2017.

Most our graduates continue to live in the Northeast with Massachusetts overwhelmingly having the most, followed by New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Outside of New England, many of our students are working in New York, California and Pennsylvania. Of those that we have data, 14% of our students are going on to graduate school. The majors that are sending the most to graduate school are: Architecture, Biomedical Engineering, and Civil Engineering. Most students are continuing their education at Wentworth. More than one is heading to Northeastern and Tufts University. Some of the unique schools to which an alumnus is attending are: Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, the Institute of Technology Eindhoven, and University of Southern California. Most our students are seeking an M. Arch followed by an M.S. Three are seeking an MBA, two are seeking a PhD, and one is seeking an MPS.

For the third year, the survey asked graduates from the College of Professional and Continuing Education about the impact their Wentworth education has had on their professional life. Of those that reported, 50% reported receiving a promotion and 43% reported receiving a salary increase. Seventy-seven percent reported that job opportunities are available to them now that were not prior to their degree, 72% reported that their job performance has improved, 77% reported that their technical knowledge and skills have improved and 73% report feeling more confident in the workplace. Using the learning outcomes of each of the day program’s majors, the survey asked questions to measure the effectiveness of the education at Wentworth. This data is reported on for each major and may be used for accreditation purposes.

The comprehensive report, including salary and employment data broken down by major can be found on our website.

What’s the difference between your Co-op + Career Advisor and your Academic Advisor?

By: Abbey Pober

Throughout your time as a Wentworth student, you are likely to have questions about the classes you are taking and how to position yourself best for your future career. Your Academic Advisor and Co-op + Career Advisor are here to assist in navigating the waters to a fulfilling and successful career. While your Co-op + Career Advisor is here to support you in executing a successful co-op and full-time job search, your Academic Advisor is the person on campus who will support you in creating and executing your path to graduation and career success. These key differences separating the two campus resources are why it’s important you plan to meet with both of your advisors to make the most of your time on campus. When planning to meet with each, consider the following.

Academic Advisors are here to:
• Help you recognize the connection between your Wentworth education and your career goals.
• Provide you with the tools you need to successfully navigate Wentworth.
• Recommend courses for registration and can help link courses with career plans.
• Assist you with identifying your priorities, talents, passion, potential, and interests.
• Provide guidance and assist with planning if you are “off track” in your academic plan.
• Determine when you are eligible to go out on co-op based on your academic standing.

Co-op + Career Advisors are here to:
• Meet with you before your first co-op search to review your resume and provide access to the campus job board, WITworks.
• Coach you through creating a resume and writing cover letters
• Teach Co-op Institute, a six-week course designed to prepare students to search for and secure a co-op.
• Provide guidance and support during your co-op and full-time job search.
• Assist you with preparation through in-person appointments and mock interviews.

Both your Academic Advisor and Co-op + Career Advisors are here to help you succeed and are eager to meet with you. It is strongly encouraged that you plan to meet with your Academic Advisor early in you Wentworth experience, and you can find more information about getting in touch with your academic advisor here. When you are ready to start your co-op search make an appointment with your Co-op + Career Advisor, our team can’t wait to meet you!

To schedule an appointment with your Co-op + Career Advisor stop by our office, 101 Wentworth Hall, or call 617 989 4101.

Meet the Staff: Kristen Eckman, Marketing Intern

I began my marketing internship with the CO-OPS + CAREERS Department at the start of the spring semester knowing one thing; I wanted to be a part of a team. Through my time spent with the department, I can now say that team dynamics and workplace culture will most certainly be deciding factors for me when applying for and ultimately accepting a full-time job offer after graduation.

I am currently an undergraduate senior at Emmanuel College majoring in business management with a concentration in marketing and minoring in economics. And if you couldn’t already gather from my fields of study, I was unsure of what type of position I would be pursuing post-graduation. Creative marketing, specifically social media marketing, however, has been an interest of mine since high-school. I was given the opportunity through my high school’s DECA chapter to create social media marketing plans and compete against students nationwide, which ultimately sparked my love of creative marketing. I was then able to branch out into event planning through my first marketing internship at ENERGYbits. There, I oversaw coordinating a new product launch party, booking and attending multiple sports and fitness expos, and planning and marketing sponsored work-outs with the ENERGYbits team.

If I were asked to give one piece of advice to those searching for an internship or co-op, I would tell you that experience in the field you are interested in should be among your top priorities. Second to relevant work experience, you should be inspired to do what you love. I was touched by one of my marketing research professors while at Emmanuel College. She brought into the curriculum her own marketing plans and projects that she had completed for agencies over her many years in the marketing field. Her experience was something I could connect with and envision for myself. While working on marketing research projects alongside my professor, I realized my attraction to higher education. It was always in the back of my mind that I would like to teach one day, to inspire and guide students in the way that I have been throughout my academic career. It was not until my internship with the CO-OPS + CAREERS Department that I could confirm, higher education is the environment where I feel I truly belong.

This decision, I will warn you, was not an easy one. There is no straight path to your dream job and choosing a career involves strenuous self-reflection. With that, I will say that internships and co-op opportunities are essential to shaping your career path and I would not be where I am today without the academic and professional guidance I received throughout my college career. The guidance I refer to includes not only your own experiences, but informational interviews with successful alumni in your major or intended professional industry, and informational meetings with your professors and Co-ops + Career Advisors. Through my internship I have learned that you have overflowing resources here at Wentworth to help you along your career path, do not be afraid to reach out! The CO-OPS + CAREERS Department, myself included, are here to help you make the most out of your co-op experience.

As always, feel free to stop by CO-OPS + CAREERS to discuss co-op opportunities or talk professional development with your Co-op + Career Advisor. To contact us stop by 101 Wentworth Hall, email coopsandcareers@wit.edu, or call 617-989-4101.

What Makes Wentworth Unique?

Decorative ImageBy: Robbin Beauchamp

Sure, all of our undergraduate day students are required to complete two co-ops to graduate. That requirement certainly makes a Wentworth graduate unique. The question is: how do we get our students prepared so they are successful?

First Year Seminar

All first year Wentworth students are required to complete First Year Seminar. This first semester class is designed to help our students’ transition to Wentworth by learning about time management, academic expectations, academic integrity, and how to register for classes.

Co-op Institute

It is strongly suggested that all second year students complete Co-op Institute, a seven-week hybrid class taught by the student’s dedicated CO-OP + CAREER Advisor. During this seminar, students learn how to write a resume and cover letter, conduct an effective co-op search and interview, learn how to use social media for networking, create an “elevator commercial”, how to be successful at the co-op and how to register for the co-op. Attending Co-op Institute has shown that students are better prepared for the co-op search and have better results.

WITwear

Better results includes invitations to interview. All students should dress professionally for this meeting and some students don’t have access to a business suit. Let’s face it, it is an item of clothing that will only be worn for interviews. Once hired, students on co-op wear business casual attire, so why invest in this garment? Our current students are part of the “sharing economy”. This is a generation that has made Uber, Lyft, Airbnb and Spotify hugely successful so why not share business clothing, too. CO-OPS + CAREERS created WITwear during the fall 2016 semester so our students could have access to professional clothing when they need it. Donations were made by faculty and staff and all garments that were not new have been dry cleaned and are dry cleaned between each user. WITwear is located in Tudbury Hall and open Monday-Thursday between 5:00-8:00pm.

Wentworth On The Road

One way for our students to meet employers is to have them visit the employer at their location. In May 2016, CO-OPS + CAREERS launched “Wentworth on the Road”, a program that allows our students to meet employers at their office, have a tour, meet with hiring supervisors and learn about the opportunities they have for co-op and post-graduation jobs. In our first year, three employers participated and this year, 10 are confirmed. The employers are located in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island and hire from all of our majors. We host this program during the first week of May so the visits are not during a time classes are in session. Students are not necessarily in the Boston area which is why the sites are throughout the region. Students are responsible for their own transportation and lodging if needed. Wentworth on the Road is a great way for our students to practice the networking skills they learn in Co-op Institute.

ASPIRE Partnership

For some students, networking is a challenge. Personal interactions can be difficult, as can situations that produce stress, such as interviewing. With co-op a requirement of graduation, CO-OPS + CAREERS has partnered with the Massachusetts General Hospital’s ASPIRE program to provide personal job coaches to students who need intensive assistance before and during the interviews and during co-op. ASPIRE meets with each student to help them assess the level of assistance they need and provide practice interviewing. The job coach can attend the interview with the student if the student would like. Once the student has begun their co-op, the student is required to attend a weekly seminar facilitated by their ASPIRE job coach and attended by other Wentworth students in the program. Students who are interested in this program need to discuss ASPIRE with their CO-OP + CAREER Advisor.

All of these programs are in place to ensure that Wentworth continues to graduate highly-sought-after students by employers. In the last two years, between 98-99% of our graduates were employed or going to graduate school within six months of graduation. Wentworth itself is unique as a college and our uniqueness has translated into exceptional career success for our students.