About to graduate, unsure what to go with my life

I will be graduating with a MSc from a Top 10 University in the Engineering/Technology field in the spring.

I have greatly enjoyed the collegial interactions between students and in some lucky cases, TAs, and the enthusiasm exhibited by everyone involved in learning. However, the level of desperation and depression and daily drag on the research side cemented my decision not to further pursue my career at the university (i.e. a PhD position).

I have been involved in Software Engineering and Computer Graphics topics throughout the last 5 years, but I am definitely not in the top 15% of students who somehow manage to build voxel rendering engines while simultaneously working on their thesis. I'm just a decent student, with decent grades.

Now everyone tells me that I really have the whole gamut of jobs to reach out for with my MSc, but I still feel rather lost due to my past experiences at university. I can follow current research topics, but I definitely don't have the mathematical insight to develop them. I can implement methods in a way which I might even describe as somewhat fun, but I certainly don't thrive on programming like I see others do. Programming is something that has to be done, and I am not the quickest or most efficient programmer.

I have been thinking of either joining the plain Software Engineering sector (at any of the handful of companies willing to employ fresh grads around here), or fighting my way into the video games sector, where I might rekindle my passions, but where employment opportunities are certainly more sparse, and a MSc is already somewhat of an overqualification (compared to 2-3 years industry experience).

I would appreciate the input of any fresh grads around :).

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gjmulhol 12y ago ↗

I've been out for about 5 years. Graduated with my MPhil in Materials Science in 2008 (after having done my undergrad in Electrical and Computer Engineering) and went to work for a few years. I am now back in school getting my MBA.

My advice is this: go and try something with a company that you think does good things for the world and has people you think you can connect with. Spend 2-3 years there, then evaluate how you feel about what you are doing. You are 23 or 24? Look at your first job as an opportunity to learn and a way to meet and work with smart, good people. Be happy in your work and do a good job. Then use that experience as a springboard to something that fits you even better.

For me, I was really happy to be a technical guy. I still am. In fact, I am starting a company that is extremely technical. With that said, I wanted to get my MBA because I wanted to learn how to solve problems on the other side of management. I have had 2 real jobs (not counting internships), and with every change I try to get 50% closer to my ideal. This way, I figure by the time I am 40, I will be somewhere that I am happy for a long time.

Pithy advice: don't stress about finding the perfect job right now. You are supposed to be new at this. Take advantage of that, find a team you like (even if the job is only a so-so fit, the people will make it better), and do some looking inward.