Do I really need Engineering degree to get job in renewable-energy industry ?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the necessity of an engineering degree for securing a job in the renewable energy industry, particularly in relation to the qualifications of a participant pursuing a Master's degree in Mathematical Modelling and a Bachelor's in General Physics. The scope includes considerations of academic background, potential career paths, and the relevance of theoretical versus applied knowledge in the field of renewable energy.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses enthusiasm for working in renewable energy but questions the feasibility of obtaining a job without an engineering degree, given their background in Mathematical Modelling and General Physics.
  • Another participant suggests that while it is not impossible to find a job without an engineering degree, having one would significantly aid in the job search, especially in alternative energy technologies.
  • A different viewpoint highlights the importance of applied mathematics and numerical analysis, noting that many applications in renewable energy, such as photovoltaics and computational fluid dynamics, require practical knowledge that may not be covered in a purely theoretical program.
  • One participant mentions their experience with fluid mechanics and thermodynamics, indicating that while they have some relevant coursework, the focus has been more on theoretical aspects rather than practical applications.
  • Concerns are raised about the lack of experience in specific fields like ocean wave or tidal energy, which often require prior experience for job candidates.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that an engineering degree could be beneficial for entering the renewable energy sector, but there is no consensus on whether it is strictly necessary. The discussion reflects multiple competing views on the relevance of theoretical versus practical knowledge and the importance of prior experience in specific areas.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge limitations in their current educational paths, such as a focus on theoretical studies over applied engineering concepts, which may affect their job prospects in the renewable energy industry.

sesinka
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Hi, in 1.5 year I'll finish my M.S. (more precisely - it's equvalent) in Mathematical modelling. These studies connect math and physics and numerics - this is what propagation papers are trying to fool you. In reality there is lot of Functional analysis and pure math and you have lectures concerning almost only existence of solutions. (Solutions of Navier-Stokes system eqs.)
I'm enthusiastic about environmental stuff like clean energy sources - I'd like to work for some company which builds renewable energy power plants or construct components for them.
On every website I've checked there was requirement to have engineering degree.

Do you think it would be possible to get desired job only with my "pure" M.S. ?
I have B.S. in General Physics so it's not enough applied either.
 
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Yes, I think about PhD. However now my studies tend to PDEs theory rather than applied physics or engineering. My supervisor is well known in his field and expect from me to continue in this direction. About severeral next PhD... You know - I have lack of funds so I hope I can handle one PhD.
 
It's certainly not impossible but a degree in engineering will be a big help. Usually the pure theoretical stuff doesn't apply much to most alternative energy development technologies. Your best bet I would imagine would be in the area of photovoltaics.
 
sesinka said:
Yes, I think about PhD. However now my studies tend to PDEs theory rather than applied physics or engineering. My supervisor is well known in his field and expect from me to continue in this direction. About severeral next PhD... You know - I have lack of funds so I hope I can handle one PhD.
From your posts, it appears you do applied mathematics and numerical analysis, which now includes computational physics.

There are many applications of numerical analysis/computational physics. A lot of analysis/simulation is done in conjunction with design.

Wind turbines, thermodynamic systems (concentrated solar power (CSP)) and hydrodynamic systems use computational fluid dynamics with applications like CFX, Star-CD, Comsol, etc.

Having an engineering degree, or at least some classes (e.g. fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, mechanics of structures / materials) would be beneficial.
 
I had several classes of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics and we also have class where we are working with Comsol. We just have much more subjects about PDE theory then classes that can be considered as useful in practice. The most advanced numerics class was FEM for eliptic problems and yes this surely will be useful.
I'm thinking about job concerning energy of ocean waves or tidal energy but there they usually want previous experience in that field which I cannot offer now.
 

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