Careers in Science and Engineering: A Student Planning Guide
to Grad School and Beyond
This guide is intended to help upper-division undergraduate
... [Show More] and graduate students in science, engineering, and
mathematics to make career and educational choices.
Where Do the Information and
Guidance Come From?
The content of this guide was shaped by information
gathered from focus groups and surveys of students and
postdoctoral appointees. The surveys revealed students’
desire for additional help in answering such questions as the
following:
➤ Should I go to graduate school, and where?
➤ Where can I get advice about different disciplines?
➤ What type of experience should I obtain beyond my
formal classwork?
➤ What classes should I take outside my major?
➤ Should I stop at the master’s level or pursue a PhD?
➤ What should be the relationship between me and my
research adviser?
➤ How my career goals affect my choice of thesis topic?
➤ What nonresearch skills do I need, and how do I attain them?
➤ Is a postdoctoral experience desirable for me?
➤ How much salary will I make when I graduate? Is it
worth the investment in time and opportunity cost?
Students also expressed a need for career guidance information on
➤ Identifying careers.
➤ Educational requirements for various careers.
➤ Off-campus and postgraduate research and education (extramural programs).
➤ Skills and attributes that could improve employment
options.
Addressing issues like these is fundamental to a satisfying professional career. In these pages, we encourage students to seek help from peers, friends, advisers, and many
other sources in planning a career in science and engineering. It is true that you, the student, are finally responsible
for shaping your own career, but your success is largely a
product of the abundance and accuracy of career information and the guidance of those familiar with the world beyond graduate school [Show Less]