Engineer Vs Physicist (DEATHMATCH )

[marlon]

Now, I somehow agree with Marlon that after having completed a physics curriculum, you have all the potential knowledge you need to pick up a book on a specific engineering discipline and to work your way through it. However, most physicists I know never do that. I don't know why.
The other way around is a bit harder (but I did it, so it can be done).

I also don't understand why physicists don't get involved in engineering much much more. Of my class i am the only one that started a study in egineering instead of a PhD, though i had the necessary scores for it. To be honest i would defend the engineers more then the physicists to some extent although physiscs is more difficult and challenging to study and discover...at least that is my opinion.

marlon

 

[JasonRox]

I pay for school so I don't have those problems. :)

Business is boring **** you know.

 

[marlon]

humanino is another member here that first got his engineering degree and is now getting his PhD in physics. I think it is a good path.

Well that depends,...you cannot study for electronical engineering and then start a PhD in QFT or QCD-related topics. For these matters you need to be a real physicist in your heart and brain. Experimental and applied physiscs is much more accessible for some engineers then theoretical physics will ever be...
marlon

 

[Evo]

Well that depends,...you cannot study for electronical engineering and then start a PhD in QFT or QCD-related topics. For these matters you need to be a real physicist in your heart and brain. Experimental and applied physiscs is much more accessible for some engineers then theoretical physics will ever be...
marlon

True. I just meant that if you want to be a physicist, getting an engineering degree first is not a bad idea. humanino is definitely a physicist in heart, mind and soul.

 

[russ_watters]

Not true. The majority of physicists are experimentalists. And even among theorists, most work in accord with experiment, but a few are very poor at relating theory to reality.

Could you explain that a little: what is the purpose of the experiments if not to test theories? Do you mean that a lot of the experiments are meant to push technology, not theory?

I hope you are not basing your generalization on this one data-point.

Its a generalization I've heard elsewhere that I have verified with one data point. Obviously its a limited set of data though.

 

[Maxwell]

I'm an engineering student, and though most of my friends are engineers, I have a few that are physicists. As a whole, engineers have it much harder! We need to understand MORE. Physicists may need a deeper understanding of some topics, but we have the job of taking the theory and APPLYING it to something. Yes, there are constraints. But there are constraints in EVERYTHING you do. We are practical people.

Physicists discover what is already there. Engineers create something using a combination of the math and science tools they learned in school, plus a creative mind that is able to solve the problem efficiently and within the bounds set for them. I can't think of any job that is harder.

It may be easier for a physicist to turn into an engineer...IN THEORY. But understanding what the tools do does not mean you can USE them.

And on the topic of mathematics majors, well that is much easier! For people who are mathematically inclined (including physicists and engineers), learning more math is not so daunting. When I joke about changing my major because I have 4 tests in one week, I always say I will change my major to mathematics. It would be fun, relaxed and most importantly...NO LABS!

In summary, all 3 majors/occupations are INCREDIBLY important and fulfilling. It depends on how you view life. Do you want a deeper understanding of a certain topic or do you want a broad range of tools and fuse that with your creativity to give birth to something new.

 

[marlon]

Physicists discover what is already there.

You really mean that ? Why ?

It may be easier for a physicist to turn into an engineer...IN THEORY. But understanding what the tools do does not mean you can USE them.

I am a physicist who is studying engineering now (photonica). I can tell you that a profound knowledge of physics makes the practice a lot more easy. Personally, i found it much more difficult to learn QFT and QM or General Relativity then courses on electronics and photonics...

regards
marlon

 

[JasonRox]

And on the topic of mathematics majors, well that is much easier! For people who are mathematically inclined (including physicists and engineers), learning more math is not so daunting. When I joke about changing my major because I have 4 tests in one week, I always say I will change my major to mathematics.

Assuming this is applied mathematics, which is what engineers take.

Try pure mathematics.

 

[vanesch]

Well that depends,...you cannot study for electronical engineering and then start a PhD in QFT or QCD-related topics.

No, you have to get your masters first of course !
Which makes people look upon you as a nutcracker: you have your engineering diploma and you go back to the license years.

 

[urhere2]

I think one of the big differences is that an engineer learns a formula and when to apply it. A physicist learns to understand where the formula comes from, what each part means, and how to apply it in new ways to solve bigger problems. Also, there seems to be more analytic training to teach the physicist to look at the world in a different way than most people.

As a disclaimer, I have a B.S. in physics and took some EE courses.

It does seem much easier to get work with an engineering degree. It is almost a must to get a PhD as a physicist to find a job. Of the 6 students that graduated around the time I did that I know, only one has work using his degree. 3 of us went on to graduate school right away, 1, 2 years after graduation because he couldn't find work. I left graduate school after a year, and have been unable to get but 2 interviews in 2 years.

 

[marlon]

I think one of the big differences is that an engineer learns a formula and when to apply it. A physicist learns to understand where the formula comes from, what each part means, and how to apply it in new ways to solve bigger problems. Also, there seems to be more analytic training to teach the physicist to look at the world in a different way than most people.

As a disclaimer, I have a B.S. in physics and took some EE courses.

It does seem much easier to get work with an engineering degree. It is almost a must to get a PhD as a physicist to find a job. Of the 6 students that graduated around the time I did that I know, only one has work using his degree. 3 of us went on to graduate school right away, 1, 2 years after graduation because he couldn't find work. I left graduate school after a year, and have been unable to get but 2 interviews in 2 years.

In my senior year in physics we were with 12 students. 5 of them started a PhD, one started to study engineering (that's me) and all the other six started to look for jobs in the industry. All of them are currently working in high-technological industries. To name some companies : Sony, Philips(In the Netherlands), nettech(optical fibre communication)...


IT IS NOT DIFFICULT TO FIND A GOOD JOB WITH A PHYSICS DEGREE

regards
marlon