Future Plans for an Aspiring Engineer

[rgoreb18]

Hi all,

I am currently a rising Junior in college on track for a BS in MSE and loving it so far. This summer I am doing a remote internship for a National Lab and ever since day one, I have loved it. I also have been doing undergrad research for the past year and find it incredibly interesting. Being a rising junior, I have definitely started to think about my future and what I would like to do. What are some of the main differences between the PhD and Masters track in Material Science? Also, I have put a lot of thought into potentially going to Law School to become a Patent Attorney, and I was wondering if anyone had experience going along that track.

Thanks!

-R

 

[Dale]

I don't know about material science engineering, and this question really needs to be informed by someone specifically to your branch of engineering. For example, biomedical engineering is pretty graduate-heavy so an advanced degree makes a difference and opens up many career opportunities and is economically favorable. In contrast, for civil engineers an advanced degree does very little for you and you never recover the economic opportunity cost of those missed years of working.

 

[berkeman]

Also, I have put a lot of thought into potentially going to Law School to become a Patent Attorney, and I was wondering if anyone had experience going along that track.

We just happen to have a long thread about this question...

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/anyone-considering-a-career-as-a-patent-attorney.577550/