<p>So, Banjo, in essence are you saying that a physicist with a PhD and an engineer with a PhD pretty much have the same job prospects when it comes to industry? If they both can’t find a company that is interested in their specialization of research, then their only hope for employment is academia?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>At the majority of schools, PhD’s aren’t designated. You receive a “Bachelor of Science in Physics”, but you receive a “Doctor of Philosophy” not a “Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering”. There’s a reason for that. </p>
<p>If a company is looking for a researcher with expertise in X using method Y, it doesn’t matter if you’re a PhD candidate in a Physics department or an Engineering department, it just matters that you researched X using method Y. That said, Engineering and Physics departments research different fields using sometimes different methods. So if an manufacturing firm is looking for R&D researchers, it’s more likely that you’ll be a fit coming out of an Engineering department than a Physics department.</p>
<p>
It’s always hilarious to see how insecure engineering students are when it comes to those vastly intellectually superior ie: physics and math majors. The average physics major is capable of doing anything an engineering major can do and even more. This is the reason why engineers typically love to hate physicists and physics students as evidenced by this thread, which I suppose is a defense mechanism of sorts to respond to people who are clearly their intellectual superiors. </p>
<p>I remember reading somewhere that this insecure bitterness of engineers towards physicists has been going on for so long that a Lockheed Martin hiring manager was quoted to have said that he would always hire the engineer that graduated from an unknown school and lowest GPA possible over a Feynmann or an Oppenheimer, rofl. </p>
<p>Are you trying to tell me some troglodyte who worked through an engineering degree is more capable than Feynmann and Oppenheimer? What’s truly sad is that many fools believe this, and they have engineering degrees. Just goes to show that just about any idiot can get an engineering degree if they try hard enough. </p>
<p>Any physicist who decides to do engineering work is denigrating themselves and their intellect, they don’t belong industry doing intellectually mundane work that a monkey can be trained to do, but instead should be conducting groundbreaking research and contributing to human knowledge.</p>
<p>I don’t personally know any engineers who look down on physicists. If anything I think most that I know view physicists as sort of that second cousin we see at family reunions but would probably pretty cool to hang out with if we gave it the effort.</p>
<p>Seriously though, get over yourself.</p>
<p>Majjestic: You are a sad, sad little person.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, it is.</p>
<p>“Are you trying to tell me some troglodyte who worked through an engineering degree is more capable than Feynmann and Oppenheimer?” - It would depend upon the tasks. Engineers are typically good problem solvers, eager to work on practical problems. Brilliant physicists may or may not like that kind of work.</p>
<p>I don’t really understand why folks “split so many hairs” when it comes to engineering and sciences. I guess there are “circles of folks” who get into all the major-vs-major, school-vs-school, AP credits-vs-no AP credits, but at the end of the day…</p>
<p>Unless that OTHER person is deciding on your employment or paying your AMEX bill, why would you care what they think of your major or program or school or career path?</p>
<p>There are a lot of companies that hire physicists including mine - however all of us have a Ph.D.</p>
<p>Physics versus Engineering…is one superior?..nope…just different…and different is good…</p>
<p>
That is exactly the point. Physics and Engg are different (hence the separate majors in college - including several branches of Engg). So… the jobs are different.</p>
<p>Same with jobs that needs BS versus jobs that look for a Ph.D. Not a question of which is superior… they are just different.</p>
<p>Also…anyone from a non-engineering major should ALREADY KNOW that you won’t be the automatic selection over the engineering major for an ENGINEERING job. Although the hiring process is a little more open in software engineering, employers are going to look at CS majors before Math majors. All of us Math majors know (or should know) this.</p>
<p>
That is because engineering has unfortunately been dumbed down for the past few decades, in order to accommodate more idiots and marginalize those with great intellect. </p>
<p>Back in the 1950’s, the difference was not as apparent as engineering graduates could easily transition into doing physics research while physicists could easily work in industry as engineers. That may explain why the 1950’s and the decades preceded it had the most technological advancements, while the technological advancements today are quite laughable in contrast to those days. But, what can you expect from the engineers of 2011? Perhaps if we didn’t have too many idiots, namely engineers, working in the nanotech and materials science industry and replaced them with physicists, we would actually be making significant progress in these fields.</p>
<p>@Majjestic</p>
<p>Idiots wouldn’t be working as engineers. “Breakthrough” discoveries only happen once in a while, not every decade.</p>
<p>
Then you must be pretty out of touch with reality. I remember doing a program with my high school that places you in different job settings. Two of which were in an engineering company and a research laboratory. I could easily tell the engineers were far from being the sharpest tools in the shed just by how they approached their work and inability to be more efficient, while the few physicists I had honor to meet were such bright people. Of course, that’s one experience, but this has also been the experience of many of my peers who have noticed the great difference in intelligence between physicists and engineers.</p>
<p>I guarantee if you replaced every engineer in industry with a physicist, we would have breakthroughs every other year. Due to politics that caused this stark division between physics and engineering and even greater idiots with MBA’s as hiring managers and the rise of HR departments, physicists are mostly restricted to academia and have limited funds to come up with breakthroughs these days. Back in the 1950’s, the majority of physicists were working in industry, and now they are mostly restricted to academia with limited funds and there have been no great breakthroughs for the past few decades, except for the software industry. Coincidence? I think not. </p>
<p>This is why China and India will soon surpass the U.S as superpowers that will soon be militarily superior in terms of technology and R&D, while R&D in the U.S is collapsing thanks for promoting idiocy that is rampant amongst American engineers and marginalizing and restricting the great minds that this country has no shortage of.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You’re a first semester college student and you’re lecturing people on the entire field of engineering, without so much as even taking an engineering course. </p>
<p>Plain and simple, you’re trying to ■■■■■ this board. But that’s nothing new. Looking over your past threads, you’ve ■■■■■■■ other sections of this website and have been repeatedly called out for it. I’m placing you on my ignore list, and I advice others to report your post them block you as well.</p>
<p>
Instead of attempting to refute the facts I present, you instead choose to browse my post history and turn this personal. </p>
<p>FYI, I’ve sat in lectures for second and third year engineering courses in fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, engineering thermodynamics, and mechanics of solids. These classes were pretty much a joke when compared to their equivalents in the physics department. I just couldn’t believe the class averages were in the C range, which indicates that the majority of the class aren’t that bright. Another thing I found to be sad and funny at the same time was engineering students would often use the help center designed for physics students which is staffed by physics TA’s, the reason being because their engineering TA’s just couldn’t help them with the problems that a physics TA would solve in a few seconds/minutes. </p>
<p>
We all know what it means for one to be called a ■■■■■ on this website: their opinion is disliked by the majority. As far as I can tell, I’m not breaking any of the rules listed in the terms of service of CC, and thus have no reason to be sanctioned by a moderator. You are free to place me on your ignore list. I’d much rather have users who can debate the facts I bring up in my post rather than turning this into a personal argument, anyways.</p>
<p>Majjestic has a point. Given some of the same courses, physics students are stronger in MATHEMATICAL ability. But what about say, designing and building a race car? I doubt a physicist will outdo the mechanical engineering in that regard… </p>
<p>Your historical account is kinda funny in a way. If you think about it, physicists and mathematicians INVENTED a lot of what current engineering programs teaches. </p>
<p>But back to the original question, I think it depends. If applicants furnish transcripts and someone took a few extra courses like circuits or image processing, classes that are relevant to industry, then by all means they should be considered. If you look at job ads, rarely will they say EE only. They will list a range of degrees that will be considered.</p>
<p>Here’s the thing Majjestic, most engineering firms aren’t in the business of “Breakthroughs”. You can’t fault engineers for doing what they are paid for rather than coming up with breakthroughs every 20 seconds…</p>
<p>As a matter of fact, pretty sure its the physicists and the like at research labs that are supposed to be doing that. So perhaps your vitriol would be better directed at those in research and those in charge of research funding. </p>
<p>But what do I know, I’m just one of those troglodytes…</p>
<p>Lookin4ward makes a good point. I would enjoy seeing a physicist try to design a skyscraper! He/she would figure out the calculations without much trouble, and could even master the building code after awhile, but all the “nuts and bolts” details aren’t so easy to pick up without an engineering education. Understanding all the fine points of fasteners and welds is pretty challenging.</p>