Is a master's in professional engineering a good path from a physics bachelor's degree?

  • Topic: Engineering 
  • Thread starter Thread starter elabed haidar
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Engineer professional
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
Sign up Log in
27 replies · 8K views
elabed haidar
Messages
133
Reaction score
1
is having a master degree in professional engineer the newest way in becoming an engineer with a bahcelor degree in physics and which major is better these days in your own opinion and thanks
 
Physics news on Phys.org

Discussion

Firstly, it depends on the country. In Canada (I'm pretty sure), you'll need a masters in engineering to go along with your physics bachelors plus a bunch of years working as an engineer, to become a Professional Engineer. I'm not sure about other countries, although I think the US is not as strict about their P.E. laws. And I'm not really sure what you mean at the end of that sentence but the best way to become a Professional Engineer is to get your bachelors in engineering (in some countries it's not a big deal if you have a B.Sc in Physics, in others it will be much more difficult).
 
"Professional Engineer" is still subject to strict laws in the US. In some states, even having an MS in some branch of engineering isn't enough... you have to have a BS. (There are also exams to be passed and apprenticeships to be served.)

"Engineer", however, isn't subject to controls. If you do engineering work, you can call yourself an engineer in the US and no one will contradict you.
 
I don't know if you really need to worry about the PE certification, it depends on what you want to do. In some fields it isn't seen as important at all like IC design or PCB design, no point in having it since it won't benefit your employer. However, if you want to build roads, buildings, airplanes, etc then you do need one. PE essentially means you can sign off on plans what require a PE signature for approval by regulatory agencies, these are usually things that if not properly could cause loss of life like a power plant of a freeway, not a cellphone or a chip.
 
I'm not entirely sure what you are asking.

For being a "professional engineer" i.e. being an engineer as your profession, you do not need a masters in engineering for that, although it does help. With just a physics bachelor's you may have a hard time finding an engineering job, but it depends on what sort of jobs you're looking at.

For being a "Professional Engineer" i.e. having a certified Professional Engineer license, in the U.S. you do need a masters in engineering.
 
rhombusjr said:
For being a "Professional Engineer" i.e. having a certified Professional Engineer license, in the U.S. you do need a masters in engineering.

No, sorry, that's just wrong. A bachelors degree in engineering is more than sufficient. And in some states, I'm given to understand that a masters degree is insufficient, and you really *do* need a bachelors degree.
 
rhombusjr said:
I'm not entirely sure what you are asking.

For being a "professional engineer" i.e. being an engineer as your profession, you do not need a masters in engineering for that, although it does help. With just a physics bachelor's you may have a hard time finding an engineering job, but it depends on what sort of jobs you're looking at.

For being a "Professional Engineer" i.e. having a certified Professional Engineer license, in the U.S. you do need a masters in engineering.

TMFKAN64 said:
No, sorry, that's just wrong. A bachelors degree in engineering is more than sufficient. And in some states, I'm given to understand that a masters degree is insufficient, and you really *do* need a bachelors degree.

I think Rhombus means starting from the B.Sc. in Physics.

Incidentally, this is the same in most provinces in Canada--friends with B.Sc. (and even M.Sc. and Ph.D.) degrees in physics / CS / whatever have gone into graduate school, taken additional 'soft' courses that all the engineers took in undergrad and been accepted as EITs (Engineers in Training).

Actually, a number of the faculty in my department had to do the same in order to receive their P.Eng. designations. Somewhere along the line, the engineering accreditation societies collectively thought that engineering students should be taught engineering courses by actual engineers--in reality, it just meant that existing faculty got P.Eng. designations.

EDIT: I should clarify that you start out as an EIT, and after gaining enough experience (I think it's around 4 years now) under the direction of other P.Eng holders (and taking a test), you become a P.Eng.
 
i want to contiune my studies in australlia and I am sure my bahcelor degree in pure physics will allow me to become a professional engineer but my question is this which major is the best these days??
 
elabed haidar said:
i want to contiune my studies in australlia and I am sure my bahcelor degree in pure physics will allow me to become a professional engineer but my question is this which major is the best these days??

If you want to be a professional engineer, the best degree to do so is an engineering degree. There is still lots of physics involved, and if you really want to learn about the subjects you miss out on (quantum mechanics, etc.) then study them on your own.
 
i in two years i will have a bachelor degree in physics in lebanon engineering isn't so good in lebanon so i want to contiune my studies in australlia and there is the sydney university which has the faculty of engineering which has this major of professional engineer so which major in professional engineer ( power ,elecrical ...) is best these days?
 
elabed haidar said:
i in two years i will have a bachelor degree in physics in lebanon engineering isn't so good in lebanon so i want to contiune my studies in australlia and there is the sydney university which has the faculty of engineering which has this major of professional engineer so which major in professional engineer ( power ,elecrical ...) is best these days?

Best for what? Job growth? Salary? Your interests? Working hours? Travel? Details please.
 
TMFKAN64 said:
No, sorry, that's just wrong. A bachelors degree in engineering is more than sufficient. And in some states, I'm given to understand that a masters degree is insufficient, and you really *do* need a bachelors degree.

Maybe I don't remember correctly, but I seem to recall there being a change recently that made a MS a requirement to obtain a P.E. License.

http://www.ncees.org/About_NCEES/News/News_Pages/NCEES_continues_to_address_additional_education_requirements.php
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"At its 2009 Annual Meeting in Louisville, NCEES delegates continued to address issues related to the additional education requirement for engineering licensure that, upon adoption by any specific state-level jurisdiction, could go into effect as early as 2020."

I wouldn't worry. Unless you are 12. :smile:
 
DrummingAtom said:
Best for what? Job growth? Salary? Your interests? Working hours? Travel? Details please.

money comes first and second anything that doesn't have to do with civil engineering
 
well about the hours well it will be good to be able to visit my mother country twice or more a year and about the interests either mechanical or electrical working hours to tell you the truth money is my second prioritiy after my interest so i don't care if i have to work all day to have a very good salary
 
to be leacr money and interests come in first especially we come from a normal family(not rich) so we are in need in money
 
You need to figure out what you are the most passionate about before making that choice, and this is often something you learn while getting a bachelors in engineering. Since you already have a B.S. in physics that may be hard.

A B.S. in physics CAN get you an engineering job as a EE or ME (mechanical engineering), but it is not easy since most places want to see the EE (electrical engineering), CpE (computer engineering), or ECE (electrical and computer engineering) degree title for EEs, and similar for MEs.

The best thing for you to do right now is to first pick a major based on what kinds of subjects you like.

There are some groups of engineering majors that are similar
1: electrical, computer, computer science
2: mechanical, civil, manufacturing, aerospace
3: biological, chemical
4: ?

Once you narrow down to a major start talking to people who work in that field, there are always diverse sub fields of each, electrical I can say from experience is incredibly diverse and I'm sure the same is true for the others. So once you find a subject your passionate about and enjoy talking about then you know what to do for a masters.

You also need to look at where you want to sit in the design phase when you get a job, or you may want to go into research (typically at a university).

Don't worry about the money, if you find a subject you really like then the skill will come with practice and then finding a job will not be so hard and most masters in engineering make plenty to support a family even in the US where living costs are higher than elsewhere. (that last sentence is not meant to start a social-political debate)
 
what about my friend he has finished his first year in physics and next year he has to choose between bachelor degree in pure physics or electronics physics he likes pure but he is afraid that pure physics may not be the key to become an engineer what are your thoughts??
as for me i would like to work in australlia but also visit my country that i love so much and as a major i think it will be probably mechanical since i chosed pure but what is exactly mechanical engineering ?? how useful can he be towars his society??
thank you my friend for your remarkable results their where very useful
 
elabed haidar said:
what about my friend he has finished his first year in physics and next year he has to choose between bachelor degree in pure physics or electronics physics he likes pure but he is afraid that pure physics may not be the key to become an engineer what are your thoughts??

If you want to be an engineer then do engineering. Chances are if you do physics then change and want to go into engineering you'll take a pay cut.

http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/highlite/emp2/figure1a.htm

http://www.doe.mtu.edu/news/degree_worth.html

Compare 2006-2007 salaries and you'll see what I'm talking about. This is comparing *bachelors* degrees. But if an engineering firm would want to hire a physics bachelors they most likely know that you don't have the engineering "skill set" from a physics degree and thus can offer you less money.
 
i have no choice but to do engineering with a bachlor degree in physics but what about i said in my last post can you help me out ??
i have read in sydney university that a person with a bachlor degree in physics can become in three years a professional engineer so that is my goal i would like to hear your comments
 
elabed haidar said:
i have no choice but to do engineering with a bachlor degree in physics but what about i said in my last post can you help me out ??
i have read in sydney university that a person with a bachlor degree in physics can become in three years a professional engineer so that is my goal i would like to hear your comments

Well if you heard that from a friend I would question it. If it's in print and stated in a document then I guess you can get away with physics. In my state, you need a degree in engineering to be a P.E. so I would be a little hesitant to trust anyone that says that. You' re going to have to check it for sure by yourself. Good luck.
 
thank you very much and i am sure i checked the website of the university
 
elabed haidar said:
thank you very much and i am sure i checked the website of the university

There seem to be two issues here that I can't distinguish:

1) When you say you want to "continue your studies" in Australia, do you mean that you plan to enroll in an undergraduate program in engineering? If so, then you should have little problem becoming a professional engineer, whether you choose mechanical or electrical. Unless there are dynamics in the engineering profession in Australia that I'm not aware of, (starting) salary will not differ substantially (no more than 10-15%) between the two.

2) Alternately, are you attempting to become an engineer in Australia with JUST your physics degree (from Lebanon)? You will probably have a harder time of it, since not only do you NOT have an engineering degree, it also isn't Australian.

If the second (2) is the case, you should really contact Australia's national accreditation board (they would establish the criteria and licensure requirements). Based on a quick Google search, that would appear to be Engineers Australia, who accredit undergraduate programs and license chartered professional engineers:
http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/
 
but here is the thing i did read the Curriculum and i figured out that my physics bachelor degree agrees with the australlian bachelor degree in physics so if i apply they would want to see my degree and they will see by themselves that they are almost the same and also the lebanese university i study is admitted in the whole world
 
elabed haidar said:
but here is the thing i did read the Curriculum and i figured out that my physics bachelor degree agrees with the australlian bachelor degree in physics so if i apply they would want to see my degree and they will see by themselves that they are almost the same and also the lebanese university i study is admitted in the whole world

I fully agree with what MATLABdude said. Your situation is a special case so it would probably be best for you to contact Australia directly and ask them. This is a big life decision and I don't understand why you're putting so much value into random online people. If what we are saying isn't true then who will you blame when things don't turn out right?

I'll give an example of what happened to one of my friends moms. She was a nurse from another a country and had a bachelor's degree in it. They moved to the US and she applied for nursing jobs (which she already had 10 years experience). After not getting call backs for interviews she started asking questions. She found out that the board of nursing doesn't approve her country's nursing degree. She had to take all 4 years of college over again in the US.

The systems like this are tough to crack with special cases and I know I've had my fights even with colleges to approve transfer classes. I personally can't stand this stuff so if I can avoid it I do. I feel you're really gambling on if this situation and if it will work just from asking people on here. I have to ask: why don't you email an Australian university directly?
 

Similar threads

Programs Can I go from a Physics Bachelor's degree to a Comp Sci Master's?
  • SirLog
  • · Replies 4 ·
  • STEM Academic Advising
Replies
4
Programs Picking an engineering program with a Physics bachelor's degree
  • ajlapanta
  • · Replies 8 ·
  • STEM Academic Advising
Replies
8
Can I Find a Job with an Engineering Physics Bachelor's Degree?
  • Coletrain12
  • · Replies 7 ·
  • STEM Career Guidance
Replies
7
Programs Physics vs Technical Physics (Bachelor's degree)
  • Savipats
  • · Replies 4 ·
  • STEM Academic Advising
Replies
4