Will a Masters in Physics Broaden or Narrow Job Possibilities?

If it were me, I would secure a job now and get one (if possible) that pays a tuition reimbursement.

If you've got a solid foundation in CAD, you might want to look at doing some post grad work in optics engineering. You wouldn't even need the MS to get a job, just enough to understand geometrical optics, wave optics and radiometry. An MS in physics is going to require classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, electrodynamics and thermodynamics just to get caught up with the Physics grads going for a PhD; same with Astronomy.

I see lots of jobs out there for optics engineers and most of them want someone with optical CAD or mechanical CAD knowledge - which the typical Physics grad does not have. Look at the job pages at SPIE.org, SID.org, or workinoptics.com, for example. It pays well, but be aware it is a 'niche' field, meaning unless you're with a large company there may not be much room for advancement. In my experience most engineers who get older and become project engineers come from EE.

I second AH's comment about getting with a company that does tuition reimbursement to finish your MS. You can get a Masters in some other field, even an MBA, that will help you move into a management position as you get older.

Oh by the way, I have an MS in Physics and in 25+ years of working as an engineer I've never met anyone with a PE license. Seldom is it necessary.

What type of thing does an optics engineer do?

A wide variety of things: fiber optics, lenses, optical instruments (telescopes to microscopes and anything in between), LCDs and vehicle lighting, TV and other kinds of industrial displays, cameras, industrial lighting, roadway lighting, movie/studio/theater lighting and related equipment, various kinds of spectroscopy, toys, lasers and all kinds of equipment that use lasers (laser scanners, printers, laser cutters), LEDs, quantum dots, equipment and components on satellites...

Look at the websites I mentioned. Look at OSA.org. Google 'optical engineering', 'electro-optics', opto-mechanics', etc.

"We don't employ people with 'firsts'. They're not the sort of people we want." - an interviewer in the past.

People with firsts?

Highly-qualified people who can do stuff-all in the real world and don't know how to work with mortals.

I'm confused!

Between your posts and another from the UK, I get the impression that in the UK, the term 'first' refers to a person who has just received their first college/university degree. Here in the US, many people earn an Associate Degree in two to three years of post-secondary education. This is a lower-level degree than the Bachelor's Degree, which normally requires four years, but commonly takes five. The Master's degree commonly takes six to seven years, and of course a Doctorate takes longer.

Which, if any, of these would compare to a 'First'?

"Highly-qualified people who can do stuff-all in the real world..." Did you intend to say "-all in the theoretical world', or something similar?

Fortunately for me, I've only rarely come across a person who was highly qualified and could do stuff in the real world, but was sorely lacking in 'people skills'.

It will (IMO) narrow the job oportunities when compared with actual work experience which could be obtained in the same time scale.
It will however broaden job prospects compared to drinking beer, playing computer games and surfing the web.
Del

I asked if it will broaden job prospects compared to a master's in Mechanical Engineering.

Simple. Check-out some recruitment web-sites and determine how many are asking for a master's in Mechanical Engineering. One might suspect, very few.

Is there a job description for, "drinking beer, playing computer games and surfing the web."?

Finally, something I'm qualified to do.

It might be better than a Master's in art history, but you never know. Sometimes museums are hiring, but techno firms aren't.

Look at it this way:

One respective field like Mechanical Engineer is thousands of people.

Parts of Physics is Mechanic. Knowledge is needed for Finite Element Analysis.

If you can establish yourself in between two respective fields of say Physics and Mechanical Engineering you specialise yourself and only a few dozens of people will compete with your job. Those jobs are more rare but better paid and better rewarded.

If it was me I would look into doing what you are trying to do. Make sure you never lose sight of Mechanical Engineering. This is the entry ticket to a good paid job in combination with Physics. Ever thought to specialise in building telescopes or observatories?

Not sure about the license tough. Might as well go the Engineering path and add a physics little exam on the way. Let your interests lead you (be the force with you - of some sort :-)

Thanks IdeaSmith, that's some really interesting advice, so you are saying that if I go with physics instead of ME for my masters, then I will be somewhat in-between and have less variety of career paths but the job possibilities I will have will have little competition and be very rewarding?

Yes, but be careful in how you design this. Some work will require you to have a Master in Mechanical engineering and companies can be picky about this. But in gerneral if you have two legs to stand upon it will be better than only one.

Most development is being made in between fields of work. You can hardly come up with a new building materila if you look at it simply from the Civil engineering standpoint. But I am pretty sure that if you mix it with Biology you can spec out something entirly new.

If you go with Physics you probably do what not many people do, but with the Mechanical Engineering background you may stumble accross something or into something that is worth exploring.

If you feel confident that you can pass Physics and you can employ all the Mathematics it needs you can become a specialist in between Mechanical Engieering and Physics. There is room for development. Think about it and whether and where you can see yourself in it!

I hope you make the right decision and good luck!

What is your ultimate goal? Do you want to teach? Do you want to work for a company? Do you want to start your own business? What are you interested in? Can you relocate? Your "possibilities" depend on many factors. The bottom line is that you must have a skill set that is needed to fill a void in the marketplace. If your question is "where is that void?", then take a look at who is hiring or doing research and for what. You must also possess some of the interpersonal skills needed to do well in an interview and work with others. I would agree that the acquisition of actual job experience is much more valuable than an advanced degree when you are starting out. If you want to move up into management eventually, you might consider taking some business courses. The "possibilities" depend on what interests you and where your talents lie ;).

I have a BA in Physics and a master's in education. I taught Physics for 32 years before becoming a de facto engineer 18 years ago. The things that increased my possibilities were having machining skills and knowledge and experience in electronics. I only went job-hunting once; all the other jobs found me...

GA Hilton,

The correct question is bigger than "what" to do. The proper question is "why" you want to do something.

If you only answer the "what" question, you wind up like, I think it was Benjamin Franklin, who said, "most men die at 25 and wait till 65 to be buried." People end up getting stuck and then go the rest of their lives feeling trapped, miserable and apathetic. They live lives of obligation rather than priority.

It depends on how you see yourself in 5 or 10 years time! Your first answer is for me the one closer to the point, while the others are great answers, they offer you all sorts of different paths to follow IMHO.

Yes get a job.... that is your biggest hurdle and the most important of your career, and look for a company that will encourage (and pay for) your self development. I would suggest Schlumberger, or Haliburton, or Baker Hughes and even GE. They spend millions of $USD's per year on training and education of their staff. They also offer expert advice on your career path, because once they got you, they will invest in you and want to keep you, and as I've worked for Schlumberger, they will want to make you feel part of the team and a contributor to that team.

A few years ago a friend's daughter got a first in Zoology. Applied to a large oil company and now travels the world for them advising on issues involving environment, wildlife etc.. she was trained in all sorts of things by the company.

Get a job, earn money and then look to the future.... you'll not do without a buck in your pocket! And the best of luck!!

I will be honest, I don't know exactly what I want to do (who does?) but I do know a few things:

I don't want to be stuck with a technology degree and a glass ceiling over my head and I don't want to work as a drafter or technician for the rest of my life.

I don't want to try and get a master's while working full time and I value the on campus experience.

I want to be able to make as much money as I can.

That's why I want a master's right after my bachelors. I could be making a big mistake for all I know or it could pay off

What do you do when you are not studying? Look at your hobby(-ies). Whatever it is that you enjoy doing, THAT is what should guide you toward your future. If you enjoy your work, it will seldom be tedious to go to work!

I have a lawyer friend who for several years complained that I was not getting adequate compensation for the work I was doing. Finally, one day he said: "You'd do this for free, wouldn't you?". I answered: "Yep". Since then, he stopped bugging me, the compensation has increased significantly, and is about to increase again...

Of course there are days when I get frustrated, but in general I go to work because I want to, not because I have to. I'm approaching 73, so obviously I could quit working any time I choose, but I enjoy solving problems and designing machines, so I keep on working... If you can say the same when you are 73, you will have done well!

Thanks DK, I guess I have an idea of what I'd like to do I just don't know for sure if I'd enjoy it once I'm doing it. Automotive sounds great and matches my hobbies, even better if it was designing forced induction or performance vehicles or something like that. I think that a Masters is the right route for that kind of direction. Now that I think about it there is a local company called ProCharger aka Accessible Technologies that does just that. I don't know what their requirements are for their engineers and what not.

Another thing that has interested me is Jet Engines

That's a great start!

In fact, Jet engines is the principal field I'm involved with..

Well go ahead and share more :) They are very closely related to automotive turbochargers. Is it tons of math and fluid mechanics and heat transfer or what? Do you design or test them? I'm assuming gas-turbine jet engines. I used to make pulse jet engines with old glass jars and anti-freeze as fuel.

Actually, I have two main functions: one is analyzing machines that have failed (commonly older machines whose components are no longer available in standard channels) to get them operating again, and the other is designing and building machines that create jet engine components. The former is electronic/electrical/mechanical detective work, while the latter involves combining electronic, pneumatic, and hydraulic components to form or join parts.

I use trig almost daily, and algebra commonly; nearly all the serious math (calculus, FEI, etc.) I leave to others, although I'd love to do it myself if I knew how and had the appropriate software. I do LOTS of CAD, and generally enjoy it, but I've never learned any but the very basics of 3D CAD, and that is a serious limitation!

If it feels good, you're happy with it, then do it! After all it's your life and while we offer sound and solid advice... only you can decide. I wish you all the luck you deserve!

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130528135012-11281694-please-think-twice-before-getting-your-master-s

Quote (self explaining):

Our research says the top-earning, non-MBA master's degrees accelerate the career advancement of degree holders by approximately 15 percent above the average. They include:

• Economics
• Marketing
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Industrial Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering

What's also interesting - if you hold an undergraduate degree in that field or a closely related subject, the 15 percent gain you see from a master's in the same area is significantly reduced on average, which means if the master's is discernibly different from your undergrad (let's say, an Economics master's on top of a bachelor's in Biology), the value actually goes up.

There are companies that stress experience over higher education. These companies are more progressive and ones that would be good to grow with. Masters and PHD's are great for a companies resume. In some companies, it's the title that is important, not the job done. A company that hires a retired admiral because of the contacts he brings with him and spends his day sharpening pencils in his lush office not forgeting the long lunches, is not too far from plausibility.