Thinking about dropping out of grad school..

[Special K]

OP I can relate because I am in a similar position as you. I am currently in my second year of EE grad school and shortly after entering my first semester, I realized I really didn't like it that much, although not entirely for the same reasons you are describing. My degree + living stipend is entirely paid for by the university, although I have a job as a TA. I just rationalized it like this - it's only a 2 year program for the MS, you will make more and have more opportunities coming out, and they are paying you to do it. There's really no reason not to finish.

As for the PhD, you should think long and hard before deciding to go down that route. That could be 3+ years of wasted work if you decide that research isn't your thing.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: Mwilding
With a PhD under your belt, you will be able to apply that theory and work on REAL projects and do REAL engineering at a level above what you will EVER get to do with a BS.

This is not generally true in EE. A PhD is a research degree - it teaches you how to conduct and lead experiments and publish/present your results. The PhD is pretty much required if you want to be a professor or career scientist, but for design engineering, it's not really going to give you any advantage over people with a BS or MS. My school had its career fair this past week and I spoke to a number of EE companies and they all told me the same thing - if you want to do design, a PhD is not going to help you, and in some cases might actually work against you.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: Connoisseur
Heh heh your first mistake was going EE. I graduated as an ECE from Rutgers and I couldn't WAIT to get out of that major and start working. Personally...I love working. I generally don't take crap home with me and I don't have to worry about further tuition. And my pay isn't half bad either. That being said, since you DO have a full ride, definitely take some time to consider it. If all your classes are going to be theoretical and you're sure you won't enjoy them, then by all means enter the working world. Otherwise, if there ARE going to be classes in the future you think will be useful, then suck up the theory stuff for now. A PhD is definitely a good bolster for the resume.

Further education (besides an MBA) is just not for me. Personally, I'm working towards more managerial/administration level work. I don't want to be a computer monkey forever. I wanna run companies.

That is only true if you want to do research, or become a professor. It can work against you for design positions.

 

[SludgeFactory]

Are you required to take the class you're hating the most right now? Is it just the coursework that's bothering you? How's your advisor and your research?