Master's degree advice to work in the Space Industry

[nirmo]

Hello everyone :)

I’m currently a third-year undergraduate student in Electrical Engineering at a college (not a highly ranked one).
Since my first year, I’ve known that I want to continue to a master’s degree—only at a university—and my long-term goal is to work in research and development in the space industry.

My first preference is pursuing an M.Sc. in Physics. I truly enjoy physics, constantly try to expand my knowledge, and the main reason I even chose Electrical Engineering was because pure physics felt “too big” for me at the time.
My second preference is an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, most likely specializing in RF and electromagnetic waves.

It’s important to mention that I’m not exceptionally gifted; to be average, I usually need to work harder than average.
Because of that, I want to ask for advice from people who are more experienced and knowledgeable than I am.

My question is:
Given that I’m coming from a college-level background, is the academic level of a Physics M.Sc. at a university too high for someone like me? Is it unrealistic and I should go directly for a master’s in Electrical Engineering instead, or is it worth trying?
I would appreciate hearing anything important that I might not have considered—especially the painful truths.

Thank you in advance for your time.

 

[Frabjous]

The problem with Physics M.Sc. is not that it is “too high”, but that you are missing the necessary prerequisites (quantum classical and statistical mechanics). You might try looking for an applied physics program.

 

[CrysPhys]

Since my first year, I’ve known that I want to continue to a master’s degree—only at a university—and my long-term goal is to work in research and development in the space industry.

Your profile lists Israel as your country. Are you attending college there now? Are you planning to complete your master's at a university there? Are you planning to work there afterwards?

"Research and development in the space industry" still covers a large scope of activities. You should investigate the companies and positions that you are interested in, and find out what degrees the tech staff there typically have. E.g., in the US, an MS Physics typically (with some exceptions) will not have much value, but an MSEE would. Some roles, however, might require a PhD.

@Frabjous raises an important point. Should an M.Sc. Physics be appropriate under your circumstances, what undergrad courses and math will you have taken by the time you graduate college? Will you have the prerequisites for an M.Sc. Physics program?

 

[DEvens]

It’s important to mention that I’m not exceptionally gifted; to be average, I usually need to work harder than average.
Because of that, I want to ask for advice from people who are more experienced and knowledgeable than I am.

You should look first inside your own country. If there is nothing interesting to you there then look outside. Lots of countries will be reluctant to let non-citizens work in the space industry.

There is something to be said for somebody who knows how to work hard and does so. Lots of guys think the way to do it is to lazy around until the night before then be "brilliant" and dash it off quickly. Managers usually hate that. They want to see progress.

Whacky suggestion: Be sure to take some interpersonal skills classes, if you have not already. The ability to explain something and get somebody to agree, without pissing them off, would have been very useful to me when I joined industry. Wish I had taken it in undergrad. Being able to work in groups and still get work done is important in just about any technical endeavour these days. It's kind of contrary to how many scientists want to work. Natural introverts to start, and then they want to be the star.

It also refers back to showing progress to your manager. Try to develop habits of recording everything important, keeping excellent notes, and giving reports to those who need them and in a timely manner. Your manager is going to want to know if you are progressing, if you are stuck so he can get you unstuck, if you are falling behind, and so on. And those notes will help you the second time you do a particular kind of analysis. And after 10 or 15 years of careful notes in a technical field, you might have the material to publish a textbook.

Space R&D is huge. There are a very wide variety of areas you could apply. The thing to do is to Google up some companies or labs etc. you might work for. Find out what they do. The ideal is to find something that meets all three of the following: Some organization does it, you find it interesting, and you are good at it.

But the possibilities are huge. Material science, telecom, computers, bio-physics, physical chemistry, and on for many other subjects. The design of each component will have many specialties associated.

Finding something interesting will be a big help in keeping you working on it. If you don't have to keep dragging your sorry butt to the office every day, but instead want to get to work and want to stay late, then you will probably do better work each hour anyway. It's much better to be interested in your work if you can manage it. So get busy Googling companies in your neighborhood.

Then look through the course catalog at your school and pick the classes that seem best suited.

If you have spare time then be busy reading up on the background of the area you have selected.

Managers are going to be looking for people who complete tasks. So some kind of projects, whether for credit or your own amusement, that you can finish, and that relate to the company's work, is going to look spiffy on a resume. You might get that out of an MSc degree, especially if you choose the subject carefully.

 

[Muu9]

Hello everyone :)

I’m currently a third-year undergraduate student in Electrical Engineering at a college (not a highly ranked one).
Since my first year, I’ve known that I want to continue to a master’s degree—only at a university—and my long-term goal is to work in research and development in the space industry.

My first preference is pursuing an M.Sc. in Physics. I truly enjoy physics, constantly try to expand my knowledge, and the main reason I even chose Electrical Engineering was because pure physics felt “too big” for me at the time.
My second preference is an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, most likely specializing in RF and electromagnetic waves.

It’s important to mention that I’m not exceptionally gifted; to be average, I usually need to work harder than average.
Because of that, I want to ask for advice from people who are more experienced and knowledgeable than I am.

My question is:
Given that I’m coming from a college-level background, is the academic level of a Physics M.Sc. at a university too high for someone like me? Is it unrealistic and I should go directly for a master’s in Electrical Engineering instead, or is it worth trying?
I would appreciate hearing anything important that I might not have considered—especially the painful truths.

Thank you in advance for your time.

What do you think you would get out of an MS in physics that you wouldn't get out of an MS in EE?