What do people think about students going to work for a year or two and then applying to graduate school? Or applying but then deferring to work for a year or two?
It's that time of year when seniors are thinking about graduate school. (I have multiple requests for NSF letters pending...) So, naturally, the other day I talked with a student who, essentially, had the question, "Should I go to graduate school?"
In this case, the question wasn't one of talent; the student would, I'm sure, do very well in graduate school. But he also has a job offer from a top company in computing where he could do interesting work and, I'm sure, also do very well.
In these tough situations, I try my best not to give direct advice, but instead try to get a student to talk about their own concerns and issues to help them realize which way they really want to go. While I feel positive about the outcomes from my having gone to graduate school, I'm a very biased sample, and I know lots of others -- very bright, talented, capable people -- who found it wasn't worth it for them. I don't think I would attempt to give advice even if I thought I could perfectly distinguish those who would find great personal success from graduate school from those who won't, and it's perfectly clear to me that I'm far from a perfect distinguisher.
Where possible, I try to give facts. Inevitably, people who find both work and graduate school compelling options want to know how difficult it would be to switch from working back to school. My take was that at the application level, a year or two working generally, at worst, does minimal harm to an application. Your professors still remember who you are well enough to write useful and informative letters, and your academic skills are assumed to have not gotten rusty. Coming back after an extended period, however, might make the application harder to judge.
The greater difficulty in switching is that the longer you work, the harder it can become. You get used to a real paycheck instead of a subsistence wage. Who wants to move again, uprooting their life (friends, relationships, etc.)? And you probably start to become attached to your job and your co-workers in various ways. [Interestingly, the same sorts of issues can arise for people who are thinking about academic jobs vs. research labs/other jobs after their PhD.]
Happily, the student seemed to not need my most important advice -- that both possibilities offered him great opportunities for success and happiness, so he should not stress about making a choice that was "wrong".
Does anyone have further, general advice for those facing this decision?