ICL Postgraduate Course VS Graduate Job?

Test1999

I have recently received an offer to study a reasonably competitive postgraduate course at Imperial College London, starting in October. Whilst applying for the MSc course I also applied to a semi-related graduate job, and now there is a high chance I will get it (according to a friend who works there – the same friend I applied through). The postgraduate course provides an opportunity to transition into a subject area with better employment prospects (with larger salaries); I am not particularly interested in pursuing a career relating to the graduate job, however, it would pay relatively well considering I finished my BSc last year, and I would still find it very interesting.

I have no related work experience in my undergraduate subject, so I will be incredibly grateful if they offer me the job, especially considering they usually hire people with postgraduate degrees. On the other hand, Imperial College is a world-renowned university (10^th/8^th in the world according to several ranking websites), the course looks extremely interesting (and challenging), and I don’t think I could forgive myself if I declined the offer and ended up stuck in a career with little prospect of progression. My BSc was completed at a lesser-known university (40^th-50^th in the UK rankings) so the course would improve my CV drastically (or so I’m told).

Currently, the course and accommodation will be covered by my personal savings, the work I plan to continue to do over the next few months, a student loan, and a loan from my parents (I’ve estimated it’ll cost around £30k in total). Ideally, I could defer the course for a year, accept the job, earn enough from working over the next year and a half to require no loans (or at least no loan from my parents), and live comfortably through the following year whilst attending ICL. Unfortunately, a deferral is “not guaranteed”, the process to defer may be problematic too, considering I have to accept/decline the MSc offer by June 13^th and I’m getting the call about the graduate job next week (supposedly).

I never expected to receive an offer from ICL and the graduate job, for the past few weeks I thought I wouldn’t get either, and I understand I’m extremely fortunate to receive both. I don’t want to let my family, my friend, or myself down by choosing one over the other. Maybe I could ask the company for some short-term work experience instead if I can’t defer? Any advice/opinions/experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading 😊

Reply 1

ZYXABC

See if the company will let you do a summer internship - like any good scientist, test the hypothesis that it would be a good fit and try before you buy. I think they'll recognise that's a pragmatic approach and if there's any element of client interaction they'll appreciate you having the extra prestige of an Imperial MSc.

Don't turn down Imperial in your case, you'll very much regret it IMO. It would be somewhat different if you did your undergrad at a good RG university or equivalent, but for you it would be invaluable to have that network.