Engineering Grad School – Why I Decided to Go

One of my most asked questions is “Why on EARTH did you decide to go to grad school when it’s not required to enter your career field?” There are lots of reasons that I’m doing so. Some make sense and some that are just personal convictions. For starters, I have always wanted a masters degree. Both of my parents are first generation college students and I was inspired by their higher education. In addition, going to graduate school gave me the opportunity to have an internship. I was unable to have one previously due to my full time job.

Another opportunity given to me by grad school was that it gives me a little bit more time to figure out what I want to do after school. I am both lucky and unlucky that mechanical engineering is a painfully broad degree. This means I can go in so many directions. Part of applying to graduate school is deciding a) if you want to do a thesis or not and b) what professor you would like to do research with. This led me down a path of talking with many different professors about their research, what they thought my be a good fit, and ultimately just learning even more about my options as a mechanical engineer.

So what did I choose?

As far as writing a thesis goes, this one was a no-brainer for me. I knew I was going to do the thesis option. The non-thesis option also required writing a large paper and I knew I wanted to do research. Now for the second part: what on earth was I going to research? As part of my undergrad degree, I decided I would pursue a minor in robotics. I really enjoyed the entry level class I took in Fall 2024. My professor for this course has several research projects in the field of robotics and after speaking with her more in depth, I knew this was the direction I wanted to go. I’m excited to pursue this research more and learn as much as possible.

All that to say, I’m excited to pursue my MS in Mechanical Engineering at LSU starting Fall 2025! I will be working as a graduate assistant and a student worker for the state. Want to hear more about my tips and tricks for working while in school? Read here.