Graduate Studies
Masters Degree Job Opportunities
A masters degree is regarded by most employers as at least one year of experience beyond the bachelors degree. Typically, an engineer with a masters will generally receive a higher level of decision making and engineering responsibility than an engineer with a bachelors (and should earn a proprotionally higher first year salary). An engineer with an M.S. is expected to have a deeper level of knowledge and may be assigned more open-ended or more technically complex problems to solve. While some people continue on to a masters degree immediately after a bachelors, others may delay plans for graduate school. Some engineers employed in industry work on masters degrees part time (which can be a long process) while others may return to school full time. This could be desirable as a way to advance within one's current field, or as a way to develop expertise in a new field.
Ph.D. Degree Job Opportunities
It takes a fairly long-term commitment to obtain a doctoral degree or Ph.D. In the AEM department, the Ph.D. normally requires 3-5 years of study beyond the masters. The nature of study is also different from the masters. A Ph.D. student spends a low percentage of time in class and a high percentage of time doing independent research. Typically, the Ph.D. program trains an engineer to be able to initiate, perform, and direct independent research. Usually, Ph.D. students collaborate closely with an advisor on the research direction and progress.
Job opportunities for engineers with Ph.D.'s are often quite specialized. Graduates of the AEM program go on to work at universities, research laboratories, and start-up companies. In general, a new Ph.D. is given a high degree of responsibility. In industry or at a government research lab, the Ph.D. graduate might work independently, as part of a team of Ph.D.'s, or as a leader of other engineers and technicians. At a university, the new Ph.D. would probably be involved in both research and teaching.
Our graduates go on to careers in industry, academia, and government research
Some of the companies and educational institutions that employ our recent graduates are listed below:
| Industry/Government Laboratories | |
|---|---|
| 3M | Hughes Missile Systems Division |
| Algor, Incorporated | Intel |
| Amoco Company | Intevep, Venezuela |
| Asea Brown Boveri | Kachin Technologies |
| Bell Helicopters | Lockheed Martin |
| Boeing | NASA/ Dryden Research Center |
| CFD Research (CFDRC) | NASA/ Ames |
| Control Data | NASA/ Edwards |
| Coulter Corporation | Paranetics Parachute Compoany |
| Daimler Benz | Petrobras, Brazil |
| Engineering Technology Associates | Praxiar |
| Exxon | Rocketdyne |
| Flexmedics | Rockewell |
| Flomerics | Sandia National Labs |
| FMC | Science Applications International (SAIC) |
| Ford Motor Company | The Aerospace Corporation |
| General Dynamics | TRW |
| General Electric | TSI, Incorporated |
| Gillette Children's Hospital | United Technologies Research Center |
| Honeywell | |
| Universities | |
| Arizona State University | Universidad Del Valle, Columbia |
| Baylor College of Medicine | Univerista De Padova |
| California Institute of Technology | University of Californai, Davis |
| Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences | University of Chicago |
| Institut de Mechanique de Grenoble | University of Kuwait |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | University of New Mexico |
| Nanyang Technological Institute, Singapore | University of Pennsylvania |
| Technion, Israel | University of Wisconsin |
| Princeton University | |
Last Modified: 2007-07-18 at 09:45:32 -- this is in International Standard Date and Time Notation