Is a PhD necessary for success in engineering?

[tatiana]

As of now I am debating what I will be happy doing as a career in the furture, I am not sure if I were to follow through with engineering should i get a PhD? What enginnering is best? Also if anyone could fill me in on how it is to be one, that would help so much!

 

[Ben Espen]

PhDs are less useful in engineering unless you wish to teach. I am not saying that PhDs in engineering are of no value, they open the door to different kinds of opportunities than Bachelors and Masters degrees do. However, it is relatively easier to be an engineer without postgraduate degrees.

Asking which kind of engineering is best is a question that probably cannot be answered, but a field that is worth pursuing is one you enjoy tackling. If you like getting your hands dirty working on your car, ME may be a good choice. If you like coding and logical problems, EE may be good.

 

[Shaun_W]

As of now I am debating what I will be happy doing as a career in the furture, I am not sure if I were to follow through with engineering should i get a PhD? What enginnering is best? Also if anyone could fill me in on how it is to be one, that would help so much!

From what I've observed, PhD's aren't necessary for a career in engineering, apart from a select few research jobs. But I'm still a student, so take that for what it's worth.

 

[tatiana]

Really? So i shouldn't be too concerned with working to get a Phd if engineering unless i wish to each it?

Why would it be easier to get a job if i didnt continue onto a Phd? A Masters degree is still important too right?

 

[tatiana]

Also, if you are still a student, which type of engineering are you working towards?

 

[Ben Espen]

Really? So i shouldn't be too concerned with working to get a Phd if engineering unless i wish to each it?

Why would it be easier to get a job if i didnt continue onto a Phd? A Masters degree is still important too right?

I'm not sure I would say that you shouldn't get a PhD, or that it is easier to get a job if you don't have a PhD. I would say it is easier to not get a PhD, and that you can get a job in the engineering field without one. In engineering there are a large variety of 1-year Masters programs available. I recommend those, because it is a good way to gain the credential in a short time.

I am not a student, I work as a process engineer in the medical device field. I do not have a Masters or a PhD, so I know that you can be successful without those credentials, but if you have the interest they can be useful. I avoided graduate degrees because I am unsuited to the school environment, I prefer the on-the-job learning. Your mileage may differ.

 

[AlephZero]

In industry, "engineering" covers the whole range from research and developoment of new products or concepts, through design and manufacturing (process engineering, etc). to product support.

You would tend to find a higher proportion of engineers with PhDs working at the "R & D" end of the spectrum in high tech companies and industries. In an engineering consultancy company that does mainly R&D type work, 50% or more more of the engineers might have PhDs. In other companies or industries, the proportion with PhDs may be close to zero. But it doesn't make much sense to argue that one type of company or job is "better" than the other (or even that one is better paid than the other) - they are just different.

 

[tatiana]

OkAy that actually helps me understand a lot better. I ultimately just was to be sucessdull and make a good sum if money much like everyone else, and I want to be sure to do it in the most beneficial way possible. But now I can see that I can be just as sucessfull by attaing a masters degree and beginning my career without a PhD