Engineering & Physics Degrees: Salary Overview

[roy31]

Hello,
I'm currently in college and getting a bachelors degree in physics and engineering, I also might get a bachelors in math too. I was wondering how much money I would start off getting with those degrees together? I've seen how much engineers get and physicist but what if you have both?
Thanks

 

[Orodruin]

There is no way of answering your question without a lot more information. It depends on where you live, who you are working for, and what you chose to work with after your degree.

 

[Moezeus]

in physics you can learn basics of engineering, for example, learning about electronics. and then, of course you must solve many mathematic problem in physics, so you learn math, too in physics.However, Orodruin comment is right, it depends on many thing.
sorry if there are mistake on my sentences

 

[Choppy]

Hello,
I'm currently in college and getting a bachelors degree in physics and engineering, I also might get a bachelors in math too. I was wondering how much money I would start off getting with those degrees together? I've seen how much engineers get and physicist but what if you have both?
Thanks

It's important to understand that you don't earn a salary because of your education. Education will help you get a job and it's that job that will give you a salary. Your education may qualify you for certain professions, such as an engineering degree being a component of the qualifications for employment as a professional engineer. But your post seems to imply that a degree in a certain field entitles you to a salary and that's a common fallacy.

It's also important to understand that you're not doing two degrees. I realize that some schools market this as such and may even hand out two separate diplomas. But unless you're spending eight years in school instead of four, what you're actually doing is double majoring. This will enable you to take the courses that will afford you all the privileges that come with a degree in each respective discipline - such as qualifying you for graduate school. But it comes at the cost of not exploring other subjects outside your field of study to the same extent. Electives in an array of other disciplines have been replaced by core courses in one or two other disciplines.

In terms of a career, you get paid for what you do. So, if you're double majoring in engineering and physics, you may have the opportunity to work as an engineer. In that case, you will earn the same as an engineer. Sometimes, you get a bonus for additional education if you have, say, a graduate degree. But no one is going to pay you more because you double-majored.

 

[clope023]

It's important to understand that you don't earn a salary because of your education. Education will help you get a job and it's that job that will give you a salary. Your education may qualify you for certain professions, such as an engineering degree being a component of the qualifications for employment as a professional engineer. But your post seems to imply that a degree in a certain field entitles you to a salary and that's a common fallacy.

It's also important to understand that you're not doing two degrees. I realize that some schools market this as such and may even hand out two separate diplomas. But unless you're spending eight years in school instead of four, what you're actually doing is double majoring. This will enable you to take the courses that will afford you all the privileges that come with a degree in each respective discipline - such as qualifying you for graduate school. But it comes at the cost of not exploring other subjects outside your field of study to the same extent. Electives in an array of other disciplines have been replaced by core courses in one or two other disciplines.

In terms of a career, you get paid for what you do. So, if you're double majoring in engineering and physics, you may have the opportunity to work as an engineer. In that case, you will earn the same as an engineer. Sometimes, you get a bonus for additional education if you have, say, a graduate degree. But no one is going to pay you more because you double-majored.

That isn't necessarily true. I did TWO degrees (physics and engineering), was given two separate diplomas, AND paid slightly more because I double majored (made up for a lack of professional experience in my case). There's plenty of exploration to be done in a double major.

 

[Choppy]

That isn't necessarily true. I did TWO degrees (physics and engineering), was given two separate diplomas, AND paid slightly more because I double majored (made up for a lack of professional experience in my case). There's plenty of exploration to be done in a double major.

So you took eight years worth of undergraduate classes?

 

[clope023]

So you took eight years worth of undergraduate classes?

Not exactly. There was obviously overlap with the chemistry, physics, and math sequence along with general education requirements. I was also allowed to be excused from certain courses due to either overlap with the material or the class was deemed unnecessary for me. I would say around 6ish years worth of classes though, and I earned one degree before the other. I'm just arguing against this case that double majoring only means one thing and that it doesn't have it's benefits even in terms of salary. Strangely enough I don't recommend it because of the added time/money, if one wants to do a combo of engineering and physics than there are already 4 year degree programs set up like that such as engineering physics, engineering science, applied physics, etc.