Expert: Daniel Mazur - 9/9/2008

Question
Mr. Mazur,

Hello. My name is Sam, I’m 14 years old, and am in my sophomore year at a community college; I plan to apply to a university this fall with the expectation of eventually getting a PhD degree. I’m looking towards a major that will provide a stimulating mathematical and intellectual challenge, and good career opportunities in the private sector. I have narrowed my selection to electrical engineering, physics, or applied mathematics but I’m unsure which to chose and therefore would like to ask some questions regarding the nature of these fields.

With regards to electrical engineering, I ask whether there exist opportunities within the field that require a high-level knowledge of math, physics, and chemistry. I have talked to an electrical engineer working in the private sector and he recommended a book to me called The Art of Electronics. When I scanned through it, I noticed that the book was mostly based on the methods of placing and connecting electrical devices and parts; there was little that involved mathematics or the actual physical nature of these individual pieces. So I now ask, do there exist enough private sector job opportunities in the more challenging specializations in electrical engineering, such as solid-state electronics, microelectronics, or nanotechnology, or will I be mostly be stuck with connecting electrical parts and having computers run a slew of calculations? Also, are there a wide range of research opportunities? Would a person with a PhD be highly useful in this field?

Another option would be physics. I am certain that this field offers mathematical challenge; the question, however, is whether there is sufficient demand for physicists in the private sector. Are physicists needed in research or engineering teams in these companies? If so, do they make comparable money to electrical engineers?

A final possibility would be applied mathematics. Is the industry interested in people with a PhD in this field, or would I be limited to teaching at a university if I chose this route?

Lastly, to help me further research this topic, do you have any suggestions on who I might contact at the university or private sector level? Do you know anyone in particular involved with one of these aforementioned fields?

Thanks for your time.


Answer
Hello Sam,
allow me to give you a brief answer now and follow up later, if you ask.
If your intention is to work in the industry, you should be told that Masters degree is quite satisfactory for most positions there. A PhD becomes good maybe 5 years after graduation, because you will be able to apply for the top engineering jobs (like head of a workgroup, project leader engineer...), after you have enough experience in industry. Some get a Masters in engineering, go to work in the industry and after 3 years go "back to school" in parallel with their job to get the PhD.
In any case, the engineering jobs are not very demanding on math skills as a rule. They need to manage some calculations by hand to get estimates of values before they run a computer calculations. The mathematical challenge is not very high, just like it is not high in my field, which is experimental physics. However the intelectual challenge is quite high: To have the right "feel" for the physical systems, what they can and cannot do, that is a skill acquired by experience. Sometimes it looks like common sense, but sometimes it also looks like magic...
Engineering has a broad job market in the industry. Applied mathematics has many jobs in banking, stock trading, insurance, and network security systems. Physics has probably the lowest number of industry jobs. I mean, you can get a lot of jobs in industry with a physics degree, but most of them are not primarily physics jobs. In the same positions physicists make the same money as engineers, but that is not so relevant... So if your priority is to work in the industry, physics is not the best choice. Now if you like mathematical challenges, I think applied maths is somewhat better candidate than engineering.
Who to contact? I think the best is to look around internet sites like allexperts.com and try to find some people. Other than that you could contact companies whose products interest you that you'd like to visit them to help with career choices. The human resources departments are the best place to start. If they are willing, ask them for a contact to one of their engineers and follow the line. It is otherwise very hard to contact someone you haven't met and without "recommendation".
Bye for now, ask again if you feel like it.
Cheers!
Daniel