Worth more? Experience vs Name

[deleted558264]

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Hi all,

I could really use your advice.

I was accepted into Emory with a scholarship, and also accepted into the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine - both for infectious disease epi.

With the scholarship, Emory comes out at US$41,000 plus $18,000 in assistant ships (work experience, half through the faculty at Emory and half through their REAL program). It's two years, and I think the assistantships would cover all my living costs

The LSHTM is US$32,700, with likely minimal time for work because the course is 9-5 full time. It is only one year, and from my chats with several people working in the field it has a stronger reputation than Emory. I'm Australian so reputation outside of the US is really important. If I include living costs, the LSHTM for one year comes out at roughly the same amount as Emory for two years. Obviously I'd have a chance to work for the second year if I went to LSHTM, assuming I can get a job...

Emory Pros
- Scholarship including perks of being a scholar and getting to know the faculty members
- tuition paid over 2 years which will help
- guaranteed work experience in the field

Emory Cons
- reputation is secondary
- greater cost overall

LSHTM Pros
- best school in the world
- more international, not US focused
- smaller course size (50 people vs 300)

LSHTM Cons
- $32,700 upfront rather than per semester
- no time for work experience, no way to guarantee I'll have a job at the end of it to pay back loans from my parents (can't get loans through either the US or UK system)
- living costs are ridiculous

So, I think it's coming down to, how important is work experience, and is it going to be more important than the name of the school. Everyone I've looked into that's doing a job I'd want to do at the WHO or in Europe went to LSHTM. But either way it's just so much money!

Any thoughts would be much appreciated, especially from any non-US specific experiences. Thanks very much! Any idea what how the job market would be for someone with less experience but a great education?

 

[BPW1088]

In my honest opinion, I believe that while having a certain name on a degree might open some doors for you, experience is much more important. As a graduate student at Emory, you will have many opportunities to gain hands on experience through internships at the CDC, Carter Center, and other international and health development organizations headquartered in Atlanta (i.e., CARE). In addition, Emory provides its student with great partially funded opportunities to work in foreign countries. I have to disagree with you in the sense that you say LSHTM trumps Emory in reputation. Emory has one of the best public health programs in the world, and it's specifically known for its Global Health department. There are a handful of Rollins graduates who work for USAID, WHO, and other multilateral and government agencies.

With that said, I'd recommend the place that will you allow to gain the skills you need both in the classroom and in the field. Best of luck with your decision!

 

[Solara]

I agree with the above--your work experience is much more important than where you went to school. At major health organizations like the WHO and CDC, for instance, you will see people (whether directors, medical officers, etc) coming from all over the world (like doctors from Bangladesh and India, or nurses from the Philippines), coming from schools which many people have likely never heard of, but they had the necessary work experience to get the job. LSHTM also does have a good reputation, and is well regarded by people at the WHO, but as is Emory. You could do a 1 year degree at LSHTM, and then use the extra year for just work experience. Or, you could do 2 years at Emory and do work part-time. OF course, nothing is guaranteed. You may want to work with the CDC while at Emory, but as will a lot of other students. Nothing is guaranteed. You should also think about networking. IF there's something in infectious disease epi that you want to work with at LSHTM (do research, work with, etc), and if that person can give you good mentorship, that might be better than going to a place like Emory if Emory doesn't have the right person you may want to work with (though I'm sure both schools have great people to work with).