<p>I am about to start my third year in my BSEE at the University of Central Florida. I am not sure about what specialty I would like to move into but I know I want to work in R&D so I would need to get a PhD. I also know that I would be most likely to get my PhD if I apply directly after finishing my BS because I won't want to go back to school after working for a while. So I want to pick my specialty soon so I can take some electives in it. I have been doing research in a nanotechnology lab and it seems interesting but I don't really want to make a career out of designing new nanostructures. I think I am interested in electromagnetics most and recently I have been reading about quantum mechanics. I would like to get a PhD in something with applications in technology because I want to work in industry as opposed to academia.</p>
<p>Can anyone shed some light on some field of EE that involve a lot of physics (preferably quantum mechanics/solid state but maybe a field I may not have heard of)? I'm pretty much trying to find my passion because I enjoy EE but I don't want to design circuits for a living and I am not that interested in programming/embedded.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. I looked into the fields you mentioned but I didn’t have an apifany on any of them. I feel like I should be inspired when I find my calling. Am I trying too hard? Should I just pick something?</p>
<p>I think my issue is that my interests are very diverse. It makes it so that everything sounds a bit interesting but nothing jumps out as an obvious choice.</p>
<p>Well, what EE courses have you taken? Most EE programs have a core set of breadth courses as well as some number of technical electives. My advice would depend on where you fall in the grand scheme of things.</p>
<p>I have taken some programming classes and will be taking some semiconductor and control system classes in the fall in addition to the core electronics classes. i am taking more physics in the spring.</p>
<p>First of all, if you have only taken “some programming classes” then you are missing the fact that you are about to be taken on an academic tour of the field. You are going to take classes in every field in which you have interest, and as a start I would eliminate any areas which bore you or in which you significantly struggle.</p>
<p>Secondly, I would look at the relative standings of the professors at UCF and see who offers the exceptional opportunities. If you have nothing else tipping your fancy, and need to decide between a subject taught/researched by a top innovator and one taught/researched by someone who is just “okay”, I would go with the top innovator.</p>
<p>By this point you should have narrowed the field to a handful of areas. You may find that several of them overlap - for example, I was interested in both E&M and Remote Sensing, which share a lot of preparatory elective coursework. Spend your 10 elective credits getting in some of those broadly (for you) applicable courses.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, you are still going to just have to make some decisions with inadequate information - no one makes decisions knowing everything, and there are many avenues available to steer your career into a new specialty if you want to later.</p>
<p>I think i misrepresented the classes i have taken. I was only referring to the electives i had taken. i am almost done with my major courses and I am about to really focus on my Physics minor. I think I have an idea of what my options are but I just can’t pick one. </p>
<p>I find that I most enjoy physics intensive subjects and I don’t necessarily enjoy working “hands-on”. </p>
<p>Cosmicfish you said you were interested in two fields. What field are you in now?</p>
What do you enjoy about EE? Not designing circuits, not academia, not programming… what DO you like? Perhaps you should have been a physicist…</p>
<p>
So you have been there for two years, and have completed what, exactly? Per the UCF EE website, there are 39 credits of supporting courses, 33 credits of “basic” core courses, 17 credits of “upper division” core courses, and 10 credits of electives. If I take you at your word, you have completed all of these in just two years.</p>
<p>I started with a lot of ap credit so i began an ee and ce double major and decided i didn’t like programming. From the semiconductor class I took last spring and the research I am doing I am leaning towards solid state physics for graduate school but I don’t know much about the job opportunities in that field.</p>
<p>I enjoyed my E&M and semiconductors classes. I completed the basic circuits classes and the physics/math core. Now I am starting the upper division classes so I have completed everything under that.</p>