Some thoughts hoping to clear up

[wukunlin]

Hi Everyone,

I'm doing the final year of my bachelors and I'm going to have to make some important decisions. There are things I have observed but I'm not sure whether they are true in general.

At the moment I am majoring in optoelectronics (laser physics + electrical engineering). I enjoy both research and troubleshooting (technical?) type of work. So I think these job fields are what I will be aiming for.

-From the job openings I seen from looking around on the web (not finding many research positions available in private companies, especially in Australasia), most of the prefer to have at least done masters. Does that mean in order to have a decent chance of getting a job in commercial R&D, postgrad research is almost necessary? I can't see myself spending 3+ years on a PhD thesis (due to financial reasons and opportunity costs). A masters degree in my university will take 1 year which will put a lot less time at stake.

-research jobs in private companies tend to have higher salaries than troubleshooting technicians right? Or is that just a misconception?

all input appreciated :)

 

[fss]

-research jobs in private companies tend to have higher salaries than troubleshooting technicians right?

Correct.