moving from physics under grad to engineering grad

[furyshade]

i know its a bit far off for someone applying to college for the first time to think about grad school, but it seems it is something i need to consider now.

i am applying to most but not all engineering schools with the intent to go into electrical engineer. the exception is at least one school without an engineering program that i like a lot, university of chicago.

i really would like to go into engineering, and im wondering should i be accepted and decide to go to u of c if not being an engineering undergrad and instead majoring in physics is going to limit my ability to go to grad school for engineering should i choose to do so, any help and insight is appreciated.

[surftheiop]

This is coming from someone who has been in engineering school for less than a semester so far so its not like i completly know what im talking about.

Im in ChemE and i know that very few engineers go to grad school in engineering unless they plan on go in to academia or maybe really advanced research. It seems like the meat of engineering comes in undergrad. I think there are many more engineers going to Physics grad school than physicists going to engineering grad school.

[furyshade]

really? i heard that you pretty much have to get some graduate degree to do anything other than base level engineering, not sure where i read that though

[Xanta]

It depends what flavor of engineering you choose. I know that you pretty much have to do grad school for electrical and any applied physics, beyond that i'm not sure.

[furyshade]

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It depends what flavor of engineering you choose. I know that you pretty much have to do grad school for electrical and any applied physics, beyond that i'm not sure.

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yeah, but im wondering if it would be problematic to not do engineering undergrad and do EE in grad school

[Ganjasaurus Rex]

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It depends what flavor of engineering you choose. I know that you pretty much have to do grad school for electrical and any applied physics, beyond that i'm not sure.

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yeah, but im wondering if it would be problematic to not do engineering undergrad and do EE in grad school

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Unfortunately, the answer here is that it depends. You should call each school that you are interested in applying to and ask their graduate adviser these questions. Just be candid with them about your goals and see what they say.

[relativity_x]

surftheiop is correct. Most engineers only get advanced degrees to pursue academia or to specialize in a specific design engineering field.

Although it's not uncommon for non-engineering majors to go to grad school for engineering, you'll have to take some of the higher level undergraduate classes before starting your graduate work in EE.

My advice is if you want to end up in EE, start in EE.

Other issues to consider:
(1)From my personal experience, research is very boring and time consuming. If you want to go to grad school, be sure you like doing research by pursuing undergraduate research opportunities.

(2) Generally, the lost wages forfeited to obtain a PhD will never be offset.

[Hobbs.]

I know multiple people that went from physics undergrad programs to elite PhD programs in engineering, you'll be fine