What Kind of jobs are Engineering Physicists currently in?

[aOe]

Hello All, I'ma recently graduated physicist engineer (or physical engineer, I'm not sure how to say it in English) from Colombia,

right now I'm looking for a job in order to save some money for my master degree and I would like to know the experiences of more experimented physicist engineers or by physicist that are currently working as engineers.

I would like to know what kind of jobs are you doing, in what type of companies, what kind of studies you take after your bachelor (if any) and what was your motivation to choose it, what skills that didn't teach you in college you acquire in order to succeed in your career and basically anything you want to tell me.
Thanks for taking the time to answer :)

 

[berkeman]

Hello All, I'ma recently graduated physicist engineer (or physical engineer, I'm not sure how to say it in English) from Colombia,

right now I'm looking for a job in order to save some money for my master degree and I would like to know the experiences of more experimented physicist engineers or by physicist that are currently working as engineers.

I would like to know what kind of jobs are you doing, in what type of companies, what kind of studies you take after your bachelor (if any) and what was your motivation to choose it, what skills that didn't teach you in college you acquire in order to succeed in your career and basically anything you want to tell me.
Thanks for taking the time to answer :)

Welcome to the PF.

Are these links of any help?

https://www.google.com/webhp?source...=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Engineering+Physics+jobs

 

[aOe]

Welcome to the PF.

Are these links of any help?

https://www.google.com/webhp?source...=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Engineering+Physics+jobs

Yes, those are, thank you. Still, I hope to read the stories from graduates more experienced than me

 

[whiteknight]

I am graduated from engineering physics too.
Let's see where some of my friends work..

- Oil and gas companies
- Oil and gas engineering companies
- Oil and gas supporting companies
- Power company (Hydro power plant, Geothermal power plant, Coal power plant,...)
- Construction contractors companies
- Iron and steel companies
- Energy Management companies

The best answer is to ask your senior. My main export of my country is oil and gas--which is exploited by foreigners--so those foreign companies pay very good. Those who have no interest in oil and gas (and pursue their passion) tend to go for the energy path. Mainly they take master degree in such paths.

But in oil and gas, you will be simply a support. Not a core, which is sad.
Though if you just graduated and have no idea where to work, i got to ask, did you get in engineering physics by accident?
Btw what master?

 

[aOe]

I am graduated from engineering physics too.
Let's see where some of my friends work..

- Oil and gas companies
- Oil and gas engineering companies
- Oil and gas supporting companies
- Power company (Hydro power plant, Geothermal power plant, Coal power plant,...)
- Construction contractors companies
- Iron and steel companies
- Energy Management companies

The best answer is to ask your senior. My main export of my country is oil and gas--which is exploited by foreigners--so those foreign companies pay very good. Those who have no interest in oil and gas (and pursue their passion) tend to go for the energy path. Mainly they take master degree in such paths.

But in oil and gas, you will be simply a support. Not a core, which is sad.
Though if you just graduated and have no idea where to work, i got to ask, did you get in engineering physics by accident?
Btw what master?

Haha, not by accident, I like physics but in my city the physics program does not exist so that's why I studied engineering physics. While I was in colleague many carrer paths where show to me and since all of them where interesting I haven't decide which I like the most, (I have some "favorites" though). Also, in my country most of the graduates in engineering physics ends up in academia and the positions for people of our degree are not very common, despite the many carrer paths the university show to us, companies prefer "tradicional" engineergs for that positions, I think is because engineering physics is relative new in our country (just 14 years in my city), so that's why I want to know what graduates are doing in other places. About the master, I like solid state electronics, computer science and computational physics (In the last topic I made my thesis).

 

[infinitebubble]

As a Senior Scientist/Engineer at NASA/Boeing I started out with an Electrical Eng. degree with emphasis on solid state physics... and later got a Masters in Mech. just to get by in the turbine/rocket engine field at Pratt & Whitney early in my years... I would say if you can get an early start at some company and get a higher degree and move up the ranks... my nephew did just that with a Bach. of Computer Science and started at NASA Langley and got three Masters degrees in each of different fields and now is the lead scientist/engineer for some interesting projects there.

 

[aOe]

As a Senior Scientist/Engineer at NASA/Boeing I started out with an Electrical Eng. degree with emphasis on solid state physics... and later got a Masters in Mech. just to get by in the turbine/rocket engine field at Pratt & Whitney early in my years... I would say if you can get an early start at some company and get a higher degree and move up the ranks... my nephew did just that with a Bach. of Computer Science and started at NASA Langley and got three Masters degrees in each of different fields and now is the lead scientist/engineer for some interesting projects there.

Thank you for sharing your story!

 

[Rika]

In my country positions for engineering physicists are rare. People from my class ended up as:

- software testers
- an actuary (junior position after MSc in applied mathematics)
- fitness instructor
- illustrator

More than half of us are still during their PhD and many of us went for different master - materials, mech or cs)

 

[aOe]

Thanks for sharing... Fitness instructor? It seems odd. I guess that postgraduate studies are as necesary in your country as in mine, Where are you from?

 

[Rika]

Poland.
That person was interested in medical and health physics and was doing instructor license during BSc. Health&fitness industry is blooming nowadays so you can make decent living. Tbh the easiest way to find a job for eng phys graduate (in my country) is to either get marketable master (business, applied math, cs, MechE, EE) or learn something that does not require training in academia and can be self-taught like programming, art&design and so on. Tbh in high-tech countries such as US Physics graduates can have trouble with finding proper job. In countries without big tech industry it's even worse.

In my case BSc in eng phys was like better high school in science. It was more or less pen, paper, books and power point physics so I haven't learn any useful "engineering" skills during that time. Many of my peers regreted that they didn't choose "proper" engineering degree for better job prospect or "pure" physics at elite university for an easy ride for PhD in another country. I went for art&design route afterwards so it has nothing to do with my previous degree.

 

[aOe]

Poland.
That person was interested in medical and health physics and was doing instructor license during BSc. Health&fitness industry is blooming nowadays so you can make decent living. Tbh the easiest way to find a job for eng phys graduate (in my country) is to either get marketable master (business, applied math, cs, MechE, EE) or learn something that does not require training in academia and can be self-taught like programming, art&design and so on. Tbh in high-tech countries such as US Physics graduates can have trouble with finding proper job. In countries without big tech industry it's even worse.

In my case BSc in eng phys was like better high school in science. It was more or less pen, paper, books and power point physics so I haven't learn any useful "engineering" skills during that time. Many of my peers regreted that they didn't choose "proper" engineering degree for better job prospect or "pure" physics at elite university for an easy ride for PhD in another country. I went for art&design route afterwards so it has nothing to do with my previous degree.

Interesting to know, Good luck in the new route you chose