Engineering Physics: Research & Job Outlook in Industry

[Feldoh]

Hello,

Currently I'm an undeclared Sophomore at a university. I've taken classes following the curriculum for engineering physics majors at my school, which can be seen here: http://www.phys.cwru.edu/undergrad/programs/bs_engr.php

After this semester I will have taken all of the engineering core and a good portion of the physics core required for the major, so I'll be looking into focusing on a particular concentration from here on.

Currently I'm interested in a lot of different subjects which makes the decision a little hard me to pick so I've been doing some research on potential types of jobs.

At the moment I'm interested in working with solid state applications or perhaps research. My question that I'm wondering is I know there is research being done on such a topic in both the EECS and Physics departments at my school but I'm wondering if there are any opportunities in industry.

To be honest the idea of having to deal with the atmosphere at a research university does not really interest me as far as a career is concerned, which is why I'm inquiring into the possibility of perhaps something like R&D in industry.

What does the job outlook look like for solid state research/application in industry?

 

[kote]

You will be competing against a relatively huge pool of physics phds for industry jobs in that field. In general, engineers have better career outlooks in industry. Physics phds are better qualified for certain jobs if you are looking for something very specific. If you are okay doing the type of work the EECS department is doing, it's easier to get a job in engineering, and on average engineering jobs are higher paying by a significant margin.