<p>I'm a senior in high school who is still trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the next few years of my life. Early on, I was planning on going for the all to frequently debated PhD in physics until I realized I would like to keep my sanity not to mention get a job. I just recently discovered my interest in optics. It's probably because it involves a fair amount of physics. I haven't quite figured out what path of optical engineering interests me most but probably something involving telescopes because I enjoy astronomy but who doesn't nowadays? I am considering two paths for my undergrad degree: Either EE and emphasize in optics or Engineering Physics and emphasize in either optical physics or optical engineering. Or possibly I could try a double major with EE (optics) and physics, but I'm not sure if it would be worth it. Which of these would best prepare me for grad school in optical engineering? Would an MS in optical engineering or optical physics be best job/pay wise (is that a dumb question?)? Also, what would optical engineering involving telescopes be classified as and how could I prepare for that as an undergrad? I'm also just interested in the field in general and would like to know more about different emphasis of the field.</p>
<p>Caveat: I am an electro-optical engineer. All my degrees are some variation of electrical engineering. I do not personally design optical components or telescopes, but I work with EE’s and physicists who do.</p>
<p>There are many fields related to telescopes and optical engineering - electrical engineering, physics, and astronomy being the most common, although there are a few dedicated optical engineering undergraduate programs. Pursuing any one of these fields (at most schools, and with appropriate course selections) would give you the opportunity to work designing telescopes, but each of them has their own spin - engineering is mostly concerned with the telescopes themselves, while astronomy looks at them primarily as a tool and is most interested in the things that can be seen through them.</p>
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Going from undergrad to grad school there is a fair amount of leeway in undergraduate major, provided the “essential” coursework for the intended research area has been covered. An astronomy major would have trouble getting into an EE program if their coursework was entirely about cosmology, but would not have a problem if they had a lot of optics and physics work as well.</p>
<p>Likewise, a double major does not really mean much in grad applications - a double major usually makes your knowledge broader, not deeper, and depth is what grad school is all about. I would only recommend a double major for those genuinely and personally interested in that kind of breadth, because it will not help you much professionally or in academia, and may hurt you if heavy courseloads drag down your GPA or inhibit your participation in research or similar activities.</p>
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In general, an engineering degree outpays a physics degree, but not always and not necessarily by much. For that matter, I know physicists working as engineers and vice versa, so the distinction can be meaningless in some cases.</p>
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Well, it would usually be classified as optical engineering, and you can get there through any program which offers a strong optics concentration - electrical engineering, physics, engineering physics, astronomy and astrophysics, etc.</p>
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<p>I agree with the fact that maintaining a high GPA and doing research and internships arre important and that double majorring is not advantagious in most situations but I think undergrad is supposed to be to some degree about breadth. Undergrard is the only time in life that you can learn a lot about differrent things and you have a lifetime left to focus very deeply on a single topic.</p>
<p>I think that people should pursue breadth (within the major) for at least for the first 2 years to find out what different areas entail and what they are really interrested in. And more and more, scientists who are have specialized in very specific topics have to interact with others with different backgrounds and specializations and must at least understand some of the vocabulary and basic concepts.</p>
<p>@Indian - I agree with your statements, but most people neither need nor want the level of breadth provided by a double major.</p>