Engineering PhDs

<p>Hello friends. I have a few questions for anyone who may know something(s) about this topic. I am interested in getting a PhD one day. It is one of my life goals. Unfortunately, many of the areas I am interested in have bad job prospects. While of course I won't be doing the PhD for the money, I'd still like to have a light at the end of the tunnel. I want to actually be able to get a job in my field doing what I learned while being able to pay my bills.</p>

<p>I have become more interested in certain engineering fields like optical engineering, biomedical engineering. After some limited research I know that many employers in engineering fields prefer master's degree holders to PhD students because they are often looking for tenure or something of that sort.</p>

<p>Is the research availability and limited job outlook the same in engineering as it is science? Are there viable careers for engineers that earn a PhD.</p>

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<p>Tenure is a concept that applies pretty much exclusively to academe and does not play into hiring decisions for engineering PhDs out in industry.</p>

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<p>There are quite a few engineering positions at various companies and national labs and government agencies. The thing about a PhD is that it tends to close more doors than it opens in terms of jobs, but the doors that it opens are usually exciting jobs that you simply cannot get without a PhD and almost invariably involve performing research. The best advice you can follow is that if you want to do research as a career and the job you want requires or greatly benefits from earning a doctorate, a PhD is something to seriously consider. If you basically just want to have a job similar to a BS engineer with a little bit higher starting pay and a little bit better shot at getting into some of the more technical branches of the company, then a MS may be all you need.</p>

<p>Thank you for your response. I’m only 17 and a junior so I am really not sure what my plans on life will be. I don’t know if I like pure science or engineering or anything of that sort, but I know I have an affinity for math and science. Research, in its self and from what I’ve heard appeals to me, but perhaps I have a misjudgment of that and that could possibly change in the future. It probably will.</p>

<p>But, in any scenario, do you think that a PhD in an engineering discipline would be able to likely find stable employment in industry?</p>

<p>Like I said, there are lots of employment opportunities out in industry for engineering PhDs. It’s fine to have that goal in your mind but don’t get overly attached to it. A PhD is anhuge undertaking and you never know if you may finish your BS and just want some money. Certainly work toward your goal but don’t get so attached to it that you are sorely disappointed if you end up changing your mind.</p>

<p>Alrighty, thanks for the help. Probably really is best I just figure things out later, I’m spending too much time thinking about it now and getting excited about it.</p>

<p>Well it’s great to have a goal. I encourage and respect that, and looking forward to the future is how we all move forward as individuals and as a species. Just don’t get too ahead of yourself. You have several steps to go before you need to make the highly personal decision on whether to pursue a PhD and what to study for that degree.</p>

<p>Basically, by all means set a goal for te future. Just make sure you do well and are enjoying the path you are currently on rather than getting so fixated on an end goal that you hate what you’re doing. In reality, you have until your junior or senior year of college to decide on a PhD. Just make sure that you try to find a path you enjoy up to that point and keep the ultimate goal in the back of your mind in the meantime.</p>