What type of work are you involved in

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around participants sharing their current work experiences in relation to their fields of study, particularly in engineering and related disciplines. It includes reflections on the relevance of their jobs to their academic backgrounds and the implications of working outside one's original field of study.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express interest in a poll to gauge how many members work in their field of study versus other fields.
  • One participant mentions being unemployed due to medical disability but engages in gardening to supplement their food supply.
  • Another participant works in the restaurant industry, which is unrelated to their academic background.
  • There is a question raised about the absence of a "None" option in the poll, leading to clarification that "Other" was intended as a catch-all category.
  • Multiple participants seek to define what constitutes "in original field of study," with one noting their transition from electrical engineering to control systems engineering, suggesting a connection between the two.
  • Another participant argues that control systems engineering encompasses various engineering disciplines, including chemical and mechanical engineering, and highlights the diversity of knowledge required in the field.
  • There is a discussion about the interpretation of "outside your original field," with some defining it as working in a field unrelated to their dissertation topic.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on what constitutes working "in original field of study," with some arguing for a broader interpretation that includes related fields, while others maintain a stricter definition. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the precise definitions and implications of these terms.

Contextual Notes

Participants' definitions of "original field of study" and "outside your original field" vary, indicating a lack of consensus on these terms. The discussion also reflects personal experiences that may not be representative of broader trends.

Please state the current status of your employment from the following below.

  • Current student (pre-college, undergraduate, graduate)

    Votes: 29 55.8%

  • Postdoctoral fellow/lecturer/visiting or teaching assistant professor in your field

    Votes: 4 7.7%

  • Postdoctoral fellow/lecturer/visiting or teaching assistant professor outside your original field

    Votes: 1 1.9%

  • Tenured professor or tenure-track assistant professor in your field

    Votes: 1 1.9%

  • Tenured professor or tenure-track assistant professor outside your original field

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Bsc/Msc graduate, employed outside of academia in original field of study

    Votes: 8 15.4%

  • Bsc/Msc graduate, employed outside of academia, outside of original field of study

    Votes: 2 3.8%

  • PhD graduate, employed outside of academia in original field of study

    Votes: 1 1.9%

  • PhD graduate, employed outside of academia, outside of original field of study

    Votes: 3 5.8%

  • Unemployed

    Votes: 2 3.8%

  • Retired

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other

    Votes: 1 1.9%
  • Total voters
    52
  • Poll closed .
StatGuy2000
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Hi everyone. I had previously had a poll which identified how many people had worked in an area related to their field of study in graduate school versus those who worked in a different field. I'm starting a new poll which parses this information a little more precisely than previously.

Of course as many of you know, this is by no means a scientific poll, but it would still be interesting to see the results as a snapshot (however imprecise) of the community here at Physics Forums.
 
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Unemployed due to medical disability. I'd rather be working.

I spend my winters clearing snow, etc, and the non-winters (short as they are) tilling, planting, and harvesting vegetables from my garden. We save a LOT on groceries when the garden vegetables are coming in.
 
I work in the restaurant industry as a server, same thing I did before college.
 
How come there is "None" to vote for?
 
Borek said:
How come there is "None" to vote for?

I had intended "Other" to be a catch-all for anything I haven't already listed above.
 
Define "in original field of study."

In my case, I studied electrical engineering but ended up using that education and learning in Control Systems Engineering. I use many of the same things, and the math is very similar.

But it is not precisely what I studied for. Thoughts?
 
JakeBrodskyPE said:
Define "in original field of study."

In my case, I studied electrical engineering but ended up using that education and learning in Control Systems Engineering. I use many of the same things, and the math is very similar.

But it is not precisely what I studied for. Thoughts?

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I have always thought of control systems engineering to be a sub-branch within electrical engineering (in my former alma mater, research in control systems fall under the purview of the electrical engineering department, with some cross-appointed faculty from mechanical engineering).

Therefore, I would think you work in your original field of study.
 
StatGuy2000 said:
Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I have always thought of control systems engineering to be a sub-branch within electrical engineering...

Not really. Control Engineering is sort of an amalgamation of many engineering disciplines. They could include Chemical. Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering as well as significant elements of a Computer Science degree. My Principles and Practices exam included questions regarding the selection of packing material for a high temperature steam valve application, and questions regarding what kinds of materials would NOT be appropriate for using a mag-meter (the answer was kerosine). There were questions regarding practices for potentially explosive environments, Safety Integration Functions, and many more things.

Some things are similar, such as tuning PID loop responses. However, few of these are covered in common Electrical Engineering curricula.
 
JakeBrodskyPE said:
Not really. Control Engineering is sort of an amalgamation of many engineering disciplines. They could include Chemical. Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering as well as significant elements of a Computer Science degree. My Principles and Practices exam included questions regarding the selection of packing material for a high temperature steam valve application, and questions regarding what kinds of materials would NOT be appropriate for using a mag-meter (the answer was kerosine). There were questions regarding practices for potentially explosive environments, Safety Integration Functions, and many more things.

Some things are similar, such as tuning PID loop responses. However, few of these are covered in common Electrical Engineering curricula.

Thanks for clarifying the definition of control engineering; up until this point, I had thought of control engineering in light of the Systems Control research group within the electrical engineering department at my alma mater, whose work include control theory, signals & communications, wavelet transforms, robotics, etc.

Going back to your question about "in original field of study", I consider someone who received an engineering degree working in a field outside of or unrelated to engineering as being "outside of original field" (e.g. an engineer working in finance or management consulting).
 
  • #10
I interpreted "outside your original field" as "completely unrelated to the subject of your dissertation."
 
  • #11
TMFKAN64 said:
I interpreted "outside your original field" as "completely unrelated to the subject of your dissertation."

That pretty much sums up what I had meant.
 

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