What is the right time to go for MS

[Shaiq Bashir]

Assalamoalaikum!

I want to ask you that what is the right time to go for MS in Engineering. Some people say RIGHT AFTER UR BS, and some say that one should do some job after BS and then after some time he should go for MS because MS becomes easier if the student has got some industrial/professional experience before opting for it.

What is your opinion or suggestion for this?

[Moqueem Ansari]

I would say when ever you get the chance. This is more a business decision. If you are going overseas do it as soon you get the pepers right. If you plan to doing it in Pakistan then a couple of years is fine.

[Riaz Haq]

Dear Shaiq,
I'm not aware of all the factors that are important to you, but my own experience was that I worked for about three years in the industry after getting my bachelor's degree in EE from NED. This gave me opportunity to think about what really interested me based on industry experience. For example, my NED course work was almost entirely about heavy Power stuff and I didn't really enjoy that. So I switched to semiconductors and electronics with a bit of Computer Science for my MSEE here in the US. The other path I could have taken was an MBA from a Business School, a choice some of my friends made and found success.
Good Luck with whatever you decide.
Riaz

[Syed Asad Alam]

A difficult question. It depends on you. I mean quite a few of my friends went immediately. Also it is not necessary that the job you do after bachelors would be the same field as your masters. I have stayed back and would go after a year. There will be opinions on both side. But generally I would agree with what respected Mr. Riaz Haq said. Doing a job for one year does give you an idea of the market demands. Secondly after you complete your masters, you would have the experience of working in the professional field and if you go for masters immediately, then even after MS you'll remain a fresh graduate as you wouldn't have any experience. But in the end it all depends on the individual.

[Riaz Qamar]

Its purely upto you. I graduated in December 2006, did job for three months and now doing Masters. There are a lot of factors which differ from individual to individual. I would completely agree with Mr Mouqeem that if you plan to do it from Pakistan, you must at least work for a couple of years. Otherwise whenever you get the chance you should avail it. Due to Pakistan's geographical importance uncertainity in the issuance of visa has creeped in considerably. Looking at the other side of the coin, there is a certain amount of risk involved in doing Masters from outside Pakistan if you are a fresh graduate without considerable working experience. Whatever you decide, always back your decision. When there's a will there's a way!

[Shaiq Bashir]

Thanks for your precious suggestions. One more question regarding the same problem i want to put in here, as Mr. Mouqeem says that if you plan to do it overseas you should immediately go after ur Bachelors. Now what if i do a job for some years and then plan to go outside Pakistan for MS, Will this going to help in my admission or will create problems in my admission?

[Riaz Qamar]

Experience always helps. It broadens your canvas of thinking. But as a prerequisite there are only a few Universities that require experience for admission. It will certainly help you in admission but grades in Bachelors along with scores in GRE and/or TOEFL are of pivotal importance.

[Muhammad Zeeshan Abbasi]

Shariq, I'll say, do it as soon as you can. Education in continuation is easy to complete. When you are years into job, it becomes difficult to get into studies. Although, I have started MBA after 6 years of completing MS; I am having trouble in dividing my time among full-time job, family, and education.

[Sohail Sarwar Tahir]

If you are planning it from US, here is de plan....Work for one year after your BE [take your GRE, TOEFL etc]. Apply for all 3 teir unis [get the list from usnews.com]...What you wanna do after MS? Job in the US? following would help you with your college selection

Apply for top tier colleges [for CS that is NYU, Columbia, Cornell etc.]. These are all private unis and are very expensive and therefore you have more chances [everyone cant afford them] to get admission. Why do you wanna invest so much? It pays-off and is worthit!!! I did my MS in IS from NYU and got offers from Citi, Morgan, Goldman Sachs, BOA etc......why?? becuase career service of NYU/Columbia/Cornell is sponsored by these companies.

[Sohail Sarwar Tahir]

Shaiq,

Check the docs posted to following groups
F1 Visa Interview Prep
Applying to US Universities [I'll add more stuff soon, prolly weekend]
>Would post some cool resources for GRE soon

All the best

[Saqib]

time is not a factor at all. you need to do an upgrade to your studies specially when it comes to Canadian job market. they don't recognize your NED credentials, so in order to get a penetration into the Canadian job market you need an upgradation. i did my masters approx. after 8 years of the BS. so it all depends what your plans are and where do you want to get settled. i am not much aware about the US job market. now i am all settled and working as a manufacturing engineer in an aerospace company for the last 4 years.

[khalid Hassan]

W/salaam Shaiq, first of all I wish I had that kind of opportunity of career counseling when I was graduating from N.E.D. You got your self a pool of professionals with proven track records. Thanks to Br. Riaz for creating such a platform which is already proved so effective so far. Now coming back to your question, almost all the important things has been mentioned already. One thing that I want to add to this is your own assessment & judgment of your future. It’s my personal experience that when I was a fresh grad., I didn't had a slightest idea of what I wanted to do. My first job was the decisive factor which actually determined my future & fate. That’s the most common trend, as soon as you finish with studies you start job hunting, you stuck with the first thing you get without acknowledging any thing about your own aptitude and preference. But if you want to go for higher studies, the best thing would be to realize your own potential, preference & a thorough market research, keeping all the factors in consideration, your family condition, present & future prospects of your field of interest. As far as getting admission in private university abroad is concerned, it does make much difference. When you’ll be done with MS, with few exceptions it’s like a same starting line for every body. Key thing is your own effort & a lot of support from Allah Subhano Tala. Good Luck

[Adnan]

Walaikum Salam,

I tend to agree with Khaild. I think it depends on personal selection based on your own assessment of yourself. When i graduated from NED, i also did not have a clue what i will be pursuing as my career. For a person like me, i had to had exposure to the practical world in order to see my interest. Within couple of years of working with Nissan in Karachi, i picked my interest in Manufacturing. You also have to consider peronal commitments and circumstances in making a decision. If you plan to go abroad for studies but eventually have to return, your scope would be a bit different than someone who intends to stay outside of Pakistan.

I hope this helps and Good Luck with your plans !