PhD Pros and Cons
It's about time I start writing out the pros and cons of staying at MIT now to get a PhD. I very much welcome your feedback and thoughts! Even if you never comment, now's the time!
Why I ShouldI'm already at MIT, so it's easy to stay
I have partial outside funding
If I go to the MVL, I have been guaranteed full funding for 3 years
I think I want a PhD
If I leave and want a PhD later, it would be hard to come back to school later
I would miss school a little
I would have to leave Boston without having really spent enough time there
What if I need a PhD later in my life?
I might regret not getting a PhD
Why I Shouldn'tI don't know what I really want to focus on - I'm not even sure in what area I would like to do my research
I don't know how getting a PhD will relate to what I want to do with my life (I don't really need a PhD for what I think I want to do with my life)
I'm kind of sick of school
I don't seem to have time to explore Boston anyways while I'm in school
I have multiple good job offers
I could earn a lot more if I get a job
I could get a PhD later if I figure out what I'm really interested in
So I'm studying away each day to prepare for quals and I'm so utterly confused. I'm putting off the decision, but then again, each day that I keep studying, I'm effectively making a decision. People keep telling me I can't make a "wrong" decision, but I certainly feel that I can. I'm just so confused that I want to cry, but I don't, and I don't even know if I can.
Lockheed Martin (Denver) and BAH (old)
I made it back from Denver the day before the airport closed down due to a huge blizzard. Thank goodness! I spent just two days there for my Lockheed Martin interview with the
CEV folks (they are building the next generation space vehicle). The interview went well, and I hope to hear before Christmas, but I doubt that will happen since everyone is disappearing for the holidays.
My one problem with the interview was that most of the CEV people were in a review, so we were interviewed by other people within Lockheed Martin. The Denver location does do a lot of interesting work, including support to JPL for many of their interplanetary missions, national security spacecraft, and the new CEV design.
Most people in Denver are about an hour away from good skiing, and there is great skiing within two hours. The city was pretty sprawling, but apparently the Denver/Boulder area is a great place for singles. I just looked and they have somewhat of a salsa scene in the area.
I also never blogged on my trip to Booz Allen. My job offer there is from a group supporting spacecraft in both the CD area and LA. I'm not sure if BAH is the right place for me to start out given that it's less technical work, but I think it would be an interesting place to work in the future. I still want to find out more about the job from the supervisor, and I'll consider it along with the rest.
Orbital
Today was the last interview that I have scheduled, and it's what, the 6th on-site interview? I went to Orbital just for the day, so that means I had the 6 am flight out and am still up now at 11:20 pm. I met with the Systems Engineering Group there, mostly in National Space Systems, which basically is national security satellite work. This may sound somewhat similar to what Northrup does, but there are some (good and bad) differences. I guess it's time to start making lists, so here it goes:
Orbital
Smaller company, so you get more exposure to different projects and managers
Shorter mission timeframes (2-3 years)
Can be involved in the whole life cycle of a project, meaning concept to building it in the clean room with the techs, to operating it on orbit
Technology demonstration projects
Involved in national security, space science, launch vehicles, etc.
Near my family in VA
Northrup (LA)/Lockheed (Sunnyvale)
Flagship projects (so they're important but also expensive and long-term)
Harder to work a project beginning to end because of the length
Ability to move around a lot in the company (one option is through rotation programs)
Involved in national security, space science, launch vehicles, etc.
In LA or a small office in DC or Sunnyvale
I just realized how tired I am, so I'll put up more thoughts soon on JPL, APL, and Booz, but now I need sleep.
For someone with my brains, I sure don't know what I want to do with my life...
