Grad School After Working?

[noname]

Has anyone here done it (other than for MBA) ?
If so, how long did you work for before going back to school?

Who wrote recommendations for you when you applied? That's a big question for me, cuz unfortunately I didn't get to know any of my college profs well, and the ones I knew (i.e. took classes with) probably don't remember me.

[Craig]

Worked for 5.5 years after finishing my undergraduate degree before starting graduate school.

For recommendation letters, you can try to get former TAs to write your recommendation letter, also co-workers, etc. I remember when one of my friends tried to get a recommendation letter from one of the lecturers, well, he finally got an affirmative reply like over 4 months after he made his request.

[lethal]

I worked 3 years before going to law school. My recommendations were from my boss (an attorney) and one residual from college.

For law school, I think the applications say they want academic references, but if you've been out of school for some period of time, employer references can be substituted.

[enygma]

i'm planning on teaching for a couple of years in the teach for america program before i go to grad school to earn my masters in english. after that, i hope to get a nice teaching job somewhere in the suburbs. although i wouldn't mind working at a nice private school. :P

[artsfartsyjanet]

I'm not sure if i should dive into grad school right after being an undergrad. I was thinking of studying abroad and then going.... I guess that doesn't really mean I'm working before I get into grad school... but I can always find some link between going to a new country/culture and relating it to psychology. *shrug* ah, I don't know anymore. Can grad schools defer your enrollment if you decide to study abroad?

[AliBabaIncorporated]

desperately in need of research experience to get into grad school. can't get any research experience in the working world without an advanced degree. ah, the delicate balance of nature.

[SunWuKong]

yeah if the schools i'm going to apply to actually accept me, then i'll be going to law school in 2 years. which would make it about 5.5 years that i would be out of undergrad. i think i should probably have done it sooner because i'm going to feel really old by the time i actually go.

for recommendations letters, seriously i don't think anybody at my school remembers me. engineers/computer scientists don't really get much one-on-one attention. at least not as an undergrad at my school. so i guess i'll be getting them from bosses. luckily my boss has a PhD so his recommendation letter should carry a bit of weight.