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Graduation is in 9 days in 2009! Show me a coin from years ending in 9.

Started by Revenant,

31 posts in this topic

Revenant

Revenant

Posted
Posted

You see the title. You get the point.

 

I graduate in 9 days from Texas A&M University, hopefully Magna Laude, with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.

 

Hopefully the next step is a Ph.D. in the same field.

 

Just for fun, and since this is a B.S., coins with a bull on them are also cool. :)

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Schatzy

Schatzy

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I have been an engineer for 35+ years and it's a great profession. Even in bad times you can almost always find a job.

 

I wish you were right. Less than 10% of the people in my graduating class got jobs right

out of college. I graduated last December and I still don't have a job using my degree.

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SkyMan

SkyMan

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Congratulations! Best of luck with everything! BTW, don't you need a Masters (I assume in your case MS) before you can go on to a Ph.D.?

 

Franklin59N65Obv.jpg

Franklin59N65Rev.jpg

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TomB

TomB

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This is fantastic news and quite an accomplishment. I started off as a ChemE major in undergrad, but other scientific niche fields pulled me to them over the years. To answer a previous question about the MS and PhD; in many fields if you enroll in a PhD program you will not receive an intermediate MS degree unless you leave the PhD program and accept the MS as a terminal degree.

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Revenant

Revenant

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Thanks everyone. :) A few of quick replies:

 

Hiho and Schatzy: Traditionally engineering is a very good profession for a job. Normally 95% of the seniors from my department have a job waiting for them at commencement. This year is different however. Chemical Engineering esp is very dependent on the fortunes of the oil industry and, therefore, the broader economy. With the economy like it is, many companies have cut back on hiring and they're getting to "cherry-pick" the best candidates. Some of my friends are having intense problems with job hunts. I wanted grad school though, so I haven't been competing for job interviews. Schatzy, good luck. I hope you find something soon.

 

SkyMan, TomB is correct. In fact, in recent years, the M.S. has become rather marginalized in the chemical engineering field. Looking at various metrics that I won't go into, there is simply no incentive to go for a Masters in chemical engineering. The Ph.D. programs offer much better financial support while in school and much better pay increases once out of school. Most ChemEs won't pursue a Masters unless it is something like an M.B.A. or other business/administrative degree.

 

Lazarus, congratulations on your degree. :) I hope it nets you returns proportional to the amount of effort you've invested in it.

 

Physics, I hope to start my studies in August/September of 2010 after having a bit of a break. The Ph.D. usually takes about 3 to 5 years to finish, so you won't have to call me Dr. until around 2014.

 

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Revenant

Revenant

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Oh. Minor update:

 

Every year the teams of Seniors in the final design course give presentations on their project designs in front of industry representatives and compete for who had the "best" design/presentation. Out of 10 teams, my team earned 3rd place. :) I'll take that any day of the week.

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Catbert

Catbert

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Well, congrats to you on achieving your degree and to do so with great distinction. My son also graduates in 9 days with an Industrial Engineering degree from Purdue (I think he'll end up with a 3.6 GPA - I've got to brag on him). He started as a ChemE, but decided he hated chemistry! His good friend who remained in the ChemE program is going to join Exxon after he graduates in May and will start at 92K!!!!!!!!! I find that amazing for a fresh out BS degree no matter what the major (he did have co-op experience).

 

Anyway, here is my contribution to your thread (a birth year coin for me)!

 

26.jpg

 

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Revenant

Revenant

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Catbert, chemical engineering is the highest paid major out of college with a B.S. Starting pay for us tends to range from about 60K to 100K depending on the work you're willing to do and where you're willing to do it. Recently, willingness to work in upstream drilling programs in Alaska and the Middle East or refining work near New Orleans have generated higher starting pay.

 

The attrition rate on ChemE majors is pretty terrible, and a substantial portion of the graduates never go into engineering because they've grown to hate it, but finished the degree out of a sunk cost fallacy. Congratulations to your son, both on the degree and on having the sense to leave before he was stuck with a degree in a field he didn't like.

 

(Just a bit of bragging in kind: My GPA is currently 3.770. I expect it to drop just a bit this semester but it should remain around 3.70-3.75. I don't know what the situation is with Purdue, but at A&M >3.5 is c.um laude, >3.7 is magna c.um laude and >3.9 is summa c.um laude. Yes, I stuck the periods in there to mess with the filter. :P)

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TomB

TomB

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Three to five years for a PhD...I wish my field was like that. At the time I received my PhD we were averaging six to seven years for the degree. :frustrated:

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Revenant

Revenant

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Three to five years for a PhD...I wish my field was like that. At the time I received my PhD we were averaging six to seven years for the degree. :frustrated:

 

My professors, who manage a large number of graduate students, supply an estimate of 4-5 years usually, based on a typical timeline observed with most students at thte school. While this could vary, likely within a range of 3 to 6 years, I have to assume that my professors' estimate is reasonable for most cases. (shrug)

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TomB

TomB

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I agree with you that you should put more stock into what your instructors have told you than what you may read somewhere else. Additionally, please keep in mind that my PhD is in molecular and cellular biology and biochemistry, which certainly can change the timeline for graduation. Lastly, I was writing about the length of time quoted for Ivy League schools, which are not necessarily any better or worse than your institution, they are simply the schools that I attended.

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jtryka

jtryka

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Congrats on the degrees all! Technically, this one has a date ending in X, but I think it falls within the spirit of what you are asking!

 

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