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So, I've come to the end of my undergraduate education, and am a bit stuck on the next step to take. Quick background: I'm a physics major with a math minor, and have but one semester to go until I graduate in December 2013 (will be done with physics and math by spring 2013 but due to a technicality on my degree won't be graduating till December). My grades aren't stellar, but they aren't terrible either. I have a 3.1 GPA; should be in that neighborhood, (hopefully a little higher but we'll see) when I graduate.
After doing some research, I think going to graduate school for a master's is the track that best suits me for several reasons. One is that I really still have no clue what I want to do with my life, and this will give me a little more time to explore various options. Also, from the research I've done, it seems a Master's is required for entry into fields that interest me.
My main question is this: Would it be advisable for me to go for a master's in physics or engineering? My advisors (physics professors from a small liberal arts college) seem to hold the view that a master's in physics is an oddball degree that limits employability in all realms (industry, academia, etc.) and that the only thing you could do with it would be teach physics at a community college (which I have no intention of doing). I really don't have any insight into a master's of engineering degree. The college I attend has a very small physics department, and most of our graduating physics majors each year are on the physics PhD track, so this is what advisement is geared towards. Our engineering majors leave after their junior year to complete their degree at a nearby famous technical school. But I've had all (and more) of the classes that our engineering transfers take, so I should be able to go into an engineering track with little catchup to do.
Okay sorry I'm rambling, here are my interests:
Alternative energy research (solar, hydrogen, geothermal, anything really)
Automotive industry (design, mainly around vehicles that utilize new energy sources and making them practical)
Aerospace industry
Scientific support / field research (I found a position advertised for one of the antarctic bases that does physics, astronomy, and geology resarch, but of course they wanted at least a master's degree)
And my dream job, if I could do anything in the world, would be an astronaut of course :) (something at the intersection of aviation, research, and current exploration)
So, Physics or Engineering master's. Which do you think? (thanks in advance for all insight and suggestions!)
After doing some research, I think going to graduate school for a master's is the track that best suits me for several reasons. One is that I really still have no clue what I want to do with my life, and this will give me a little more time to explore various options. Also, from the research I've done, it seems a Master's is required for entry into fields that interest me.
My main question is this: Would it be advisable for me to go for a master's in physics or engineering? My advisors (physics professors from a small liberal arts college) seem to hold the view that a master's in physics is an oddball degree that limits employability in all realms (industry, academia, etc.) and that the only thing you could do with it would be teach physics at a community college (which I have no intention of doing). I really don't have any insight into a master's of engineering degree. The college I attend has a very small physics department, and most of our graduating physics majors each year are on the physics PhD track, so this is what advisement is geared towards. Our engineering majors leave after their junior year to complete their degree at a nearby famous technical school. But I've had all (and more) of the classes that our engineering transfers take, so I should be able to go into an engineering track with little catchup to do.
Okay sorry I'm rambling, here are my interests:
Alternative energy research (solar, hydrogen, geothermal, anything really)
Automotive industry (design, mainly around vehicles that utilize new energy sources and making them practical)
Aerospace industry
Scientific support / field research (I found a position advertised for one of the antarctic bases that does physics, astronomy, and geology resarch, but of course they wanted at least a master's degree)
And my dream job, if I could do anything in the world, would be an astronaut of course :) (something at the intersection of aviation, research, and current exploration)
So, Physics or Engineering master's. Which do you think? (thanks in advance for all insight and suggestions!)