Engineering Physics degree: any tips, hints, or cautions?

[elegantlion]

Ds is looking at this degree, it seems a happy medium between his interests in physics and engineering. Here's a bit about the degree. He would have to transfer, but that has been the plan anyway. 

 

Is this a degree that requires graduate level work to be successful? What cautions to look at when researching programs? There are some additional schools on Stanford page I listed and ds found a few more too. 

[Joules]

The degree looks similar to a B.S. in Applied Physics at some universities.  Those may be worth adding to his search.

This is just the first one on my google search:

https://science.iit.edu/programs/undergraduate/bachelor-science-applied-physics

 

With Applied or Engineering Physics, I would say that it would be easier to get a job with just a B.S., though as with engineering, a master's is desirable.  A more theoretical physics B.S. mostly prepares you for graduate school, though I've found that often physics degrees do provide for many free electives which allow you to choose to take more career-type classes and tailor your degree.

[Pegasus]

I agree with the need to tailor the degree to the career goals of the student.  If he wants to pursue academia and/or research, he should plan to ultimately pursue a PhD.  If he wants to seek a career in the commercial industry, then a B.S. is fine - he should be sure to use any course choices to select the more applied/engineering type, which it sounds like this degree is tailored for anyway.

 

I'd also encourage the student to hit the career center early and often as well as talk to professors/admin in the physics department.  Who is hiring the graduates and what level is their degree? 

 

I wish him the best of luck.

 

 

[MarkT]

Whatever BS degree he gets,  I recommend that he gets a job with a company that helps pay for Master's degrees if that is the desired path. That's what I did and I don't regret it.

[elegantlion]

The degree looks similar to a B.S. in Applied Physics at some universities.  Those may be worth adding to his search.

This is just the first one on my google search:

https://science.iit.edu/programs/undergraduate/bachelor-science-applied-physics

 

With Applied or Engineering Physics, I would say that it would be easier to get a job with just a B.S., though as with engineering, a master's is desirable.  A more theoretical physics B.S. mostly prepares you for graduate school, though I've found that often physics degrees do provide for many free electives which allow you to choose to take more career-type classes and tailor your degree.

 

I passed this information on to him. Thank you. 

 

I agree with the need to tailor the degree to the career goals of the student.  If he wants to pursue academia and/or research, he should plan to ultimately pursue a PhD.  If he wants to seek a career in the commercial industry, then a B.S. is fine - he should be sure to use any course choices to select the more applied/engineering type, which it sounds like this degree is tailored for anyway.

 

I'd also encourage the student to hit the career center early and often as well as talk to professors/admin in the physics department.  Who is hiring the graduates and what level is their degree? 

 

I wish him the best of luck.

 

He does not want to work in academia I know that. I'll make sure he checks on placement, thank you. 

 

Whatever BS degree he gets,  I recommend that he gets a job with a company that helps pay for Master's degrees if that is the desired path. That's what I did and I don't regret it.

 

That's one thing I have suggested. He did find a few combined Bachelor's/Master's programs, but has not researched too much yet. 

[Grantmom]

This sounds really interesting.  Thank you for sharing.  I had not heard of this before.  I do have a question though.  I have son interested in both physics and engineering.  So far, he seems more interested in the hands-on, engineering side of things.  However, he hasn't taken more advanced physics classes yet, so who knows what will happen.  In reading about engineering degrees and choosing a school, there was a thread here about being sure to choose a school that was certified in the particular sub-specialty of engineering that you want to ultimately work in, and that you can't get a job say, as an electrical engineer with a degree in mechanical engineering.  This point is sort of stressing me out, because how in the world can they know, until they really get to engineering school, what kind of engineering they want to specialize in?  Also, what about all these schools that seem to just have general engineering degrees?  What are those graduates doing for work when they graduate?

 

[MarkT]

This sounds really interesting.  Thank you for sharing.  I had not heard of this before.  I do have a question though.  I have son interested in both physics and engineering.  So far, he seems more interested in the hands-on, engineering side of things.  However, he hasn't taken more advanced physics classes yet, so who knows what will happen.  In reading about engineering degrees and choosing a school, there was a thread here about being sure to choose a school that was certified in the particular sub-specialty of engineering that you want to ultimately work in, and that you can't get a job say, as an electrical engineer with a degree in mechanical engineering.  This point is sort of stressing me out, because how in the world can they know, until they really get to engineering school, what kind of engineering they want to specialize in?  Also, what about all these schools that seem to just have general engineering degrees?  What are those graduates doing for work when they graduate?

Your student may have some ideas now but probably will change when exposed to coursework.

 

I don't really recommend the general engineering degree. If  pursuing do make sure you have plenty of computer programming skills so you have a "marketable" skill-set to work in areas such as simulation.

[Grantmom]

It seems like that is what this would fall under though, more of a general engineering degree, because if you got this degree, you wouldn't be able to certified as a certain "type."  Or am I misunderstanding?

[Grantmom]

I just looked up Va Tech, for example, and there are 14 different engineering departments.  From what I just read on the website, it seems to me like you start out just in the college of engineering, and then once you complete certain course requirements, you pick a major, one of those 14.  But then it looked like you still have to apply to that department or major.  So does that mean you might not get the one you want?  I don't know.  It all just seems very worrisome, that you could end up somewhere not really being able to get what you want, but that once you figure that out, you might be too far along to do much about it. 

[scoutingmom]

Well, when I took Engineering (years ago mind you), the first year you took Engineering, then the rest of the degree you specialized. I think there might have been some limits to the specialties, I don't remember for sure.... but I think it was mostly based on the related classes.... so for example, they might not accept you into Chemical Engineering if you just barely passed the first year chemistry course.

 

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