- #1
Patioub
- 1
- 0
Hello everybody.
I am currently in a French engineering school, one of the best. The hard part was getting into it; now I am pretty assured to graduate and I just have to follow some very basic courses.
I could be perfectly happy, except...I'm not really sure I want to be an engineer.
Actually, I face quite a difficult choice (which I am sure much of you have been confronted to) : I want to be useful, but I also want to earn money.
Let me rephrase it : a research job seems interesting, challenging and most of all useful; the goal is to make human knowledge progress, what a thrill.
But I have to be realistic though : the useful part is likely not to be very satisfying and kind of disappointing. The chances of me making something significant (and that could not have been made by others) are quite slim.
Plus I am not particularilly interested in teaching (neither are some researchers, I believe) and quite a stranger to the academic world (the French educational system is made in such way that the only time I have set a foot in a university have been for optional fundamental physics courses. And yet I am in one of the best scientific program). Additionally I'd like to (at least) experience some normal work conditions (for example, a place wherein there are more than 10% girls...I may be young and foolish but true love/love whatsoever is not going to find itself).
I could of course cope with these problem. But if I am not that useful for mankind, why bother getting a phd and having a lower salary. I could find plenty of interesting jobs in industry, or even strategy/finance/audit.
But then I think I would feel like I am not even trying and that I kind of sell my soul to the devil.
My main question is about the money part. In France, I would face 2 problems if I were to make a phd :
-- PhD is ******** there and it is practically not recognized. I would almost do better on the job market with my MSc (well, my Diplôme d'Ingénieur) alone than with MSc+PhD.
-- The only thing worth getting a French phd is research. But when I could go with a 40k€ (quite good in France) (starting) salary in industry (or a lot higher if I were to become a quant or something in that fashion), I would get pretty much half of it doing an academical job (even if I were to get past the post-doc parts).
My first question : Is research that much (financially) depreciated in the US ?
Before you answer it, and because, from gossips I have heard, it may be not that bad in the US, I am considering getting an American research job.
But again, I don't really want to do research in Engineering : I am not interested in how to optimize wide-band antennas, but I am interested in why do fast-spinning stars do not emit any magnetic field.
Despite my mainly Engineering education, I do have some good knowledge in both math and physics (in France you have 2 years in undergrad doing practically nothing but math and physics).
I am also currently following additional courses for a bachelor (une licence) in fundamental physics (basically, special relativity and quantum mechanics).
With my school, I have the possibility of getting a double degree in engineering with several Us universities.
Second question : Is it possible to go from an Engineering Msc to a physics, math... PhD ?
I am starting to consider getting a phd in a physics field (because it is one of my main interests) and then, if I am to discover that research is really not the career I want to follow, getting a job in consulting firms (the BCG likes doctors and they offer quite interesting jobs). I may lost a few years (I could do it just after graduating from my school) but at least I would have taste research.
Third question : What are the possibilities of getting an industry/service job after a phd ? If you do so, are you stuck in a technical job, or have you a chance to access managerial position ? (as they teach me in my school, un ingénieur is before anything a manager.)
What are the salaries you can expect, what are the fields (of physics/math) that are the sexier for private companies ?
Fourth question : If you had the courage to read thorough my post, do you have any advice or insight ?
I thank you deeply for reading this message and even more for helping me figure out what I will do with my life.
Please excuse me if I hurted English language in any way. As you might have guessed, it is not my mother tongue.
I am currently in a French engineering school, one of the best. The hard part was getting into it; now I am pretty assured to graduate and I just have to follow some very basic courses.
I could be perfectly happy, except...I'm not really sure I want to be an engineer.
Actually, I face quite a difficult choice (which I am sure much of you have been confronted to) : I want to be useful, but I also want to earn money.
Let me rephrase it : a research job seems interesting, challenging and most of all useful; the goal is to make human knowledge progress, what a thrill.
But I have to be realistic though : the useful part is likely not to be very satisfying and kind of disappointing. The chances of me making something significant (and that could not have been made by others) are quite slim.
Plus I am not particularilly interested in teaching (neither are some researchers, I believe) and quite a stranger to the academic world (the French educational system is made in such way that the only time I have set a foot in a university have been for optional fundamental physics courses. And yet I am in one of the best scientific program). Additionally I'd like to (at least) experience some normal work conditions (for example, a place wherein there are more than 10% girls...I may be young and foolish but true love/love whatsoever is not going to find itself).
I could of course cope with these problem. But if I am not that useful for mankind, why bother getting a phd and having a lower salary. I could find plenty of interesting jobs in industry, or even strategy/finance/audit.
But then I think I would feel like I am not even trying and that I kind of sell my soul to the devil.
My main question is about the money part. In France, I would face 2 problems if I were to make a phd :
-- PhD is ******** there and it is practically not recognized. I would almost do better on the job market with my MSc (well, my Diplôme d'Ingénieur) alone than with MSc+PhD.
-- The only thing worth getting a French phd is research. But when I could go with a 40k€ (quite good in France) (starting) salary in industry (or a lot higher if I were to become a quant or something in that fashion), I would get pretty much half of it doing an academical job (even if I were to get past the post-doc parts).
My first question : Is research that much (financially) depreciated in the US ?
Before you answer it, and because, from gossips I have heard, it may be not that bad in the US, I am considering getting an American research job.
But again, I don't really want to do research in Engineering : I am not interested in how to optimize wide-band antennas, but I am interested in why do fast-spinning stars do not emit any magnetic field.
Despite my mainly Engineering education, I do have some good knowledge in both math and physics (in France you have 2 years in undergrad doing practically nothing but math and physics).
I am also currently following additional courses for a bachelor (une licence) in fundamental physics (basically, special relativity and quantum mechanics).
With my school, I have the possibility of getting a double degree in engineering with several Us universities.
Second question : Is it possible to go from an Engineering Msc to a physics, math... PhD ?
I am starting to consider getting a phd in a physics field (because it is one of my main interests) and then, if I am to discover that research is really not the career I want to follow, getting a job in consulting firms (the BCG likes doctors and they offer quite interesting jobs). I may lost a few years (I could do it just after graduating from my school) but at least I would have taste research.
Third question : What are the possibilities of getting an industry/service job after a phd ? If you do so, are you stuck in a technical job, or have you a chance to access managerial position ? (as they teach me in my school, un ingénieur is before anything a manager.)
What are the salaries you can expect, what are the fields (of physics/math) that are the sexier for private companies ?
Fourth question : If you had the courage to read thorough my post, do you have any advice or insight ?
I thank you deeply for reading this message and even more for helping me figure out what I will do with my life.
Please excuse me if I hurted English language in any way. As you might have guessed, it is not my mother tongue.
!