Glog

Grad School

I've come to the realization that as a very unskilled hardware engineer, my job is in danger of being shipped overseas to India, where brighter, cheaper engineers are in huge supply. The fact that my company has a legacy of working on US government contracts has probably kept our engineering jobs onshore for the time being. If I were ever to leave and be forced to work in silicon again, I'd be more likely to be hired as a janitor than as a designer.

So, G, it's time to make a bold move in your career. Vivek is my hero, so I will follow his footsteps - I will propose to my roommate and move to NYC to do grad school!! No, wait a minute. My roommate is a 45 year old black man. Ok. then I'll just go to grad school! But I have a mortgage and don't have $30K for tuition lying around. Hmmmm, I have to be more cost effective. Ok, what are my local semi-good reputation schools abailable to me? There's the University of Caucasians Lost among Asians, also known as UCLA. And there's the University of Spoiled Children, or USC, a private school in downtown LA.

I researched some programs available to me, and USC offers course based masters in engineering all through distance ed - all the lectures are webcast. Yes! No commute! Ok, now for a program. I was thinking of the Masters of Science in Engineering Management (MSEMT) program. Why? I like bossing other people around, that's why. And I hate being a pion. I want to be a king and yell at people who don't code fast enough. That, and the business side of engineering could really complement my sub-par engineering skills (damn you, POETS, and your 4 hour epic movies every afternoon!)

Tuioton is $3500 per course. Ouch. I think that was my whole first two years of tuition back at Waterloo. That's what you get for going to an American private school, I guess. My company will reimburse 75% of my tuition or $5000, which ever is cheapest. It takes 10 courses to graduate. That's pricey, mates. I have more thinking to do......