Materials Engineering?!?!?

Question

I was wondering, is a degree is Materials Engineering thought of as "below" civil, electronic and mechanical engineering in terms of prestige and job opportunities?

Answer 1

Prestige in engineering comes from real achievements and proven performance on a consistent basis, not from the type of degree one earns. In a field where everyone has a degree, graduating college is just the beginning. If you want a head start, get a graduate degree.

A good materials engineer is a valuable commodity in the manufacturing sector. The key to getting a good job is to be good at what you do. The degree merely opens the door.

Answer 2

Well, I don't know about 'below', but you'd definitely have a lot less flexibility as to who would hire you.  You'd probably need a PhD to be competitive in that field and would likely be working for a large company with a big R&D budget, or a university.

Answer 3

Not at all. In fact, from the various sources I've read (none online unfortunately--they were just in the racks at an MIT library) it ranks equal or higher in terms of the salary new grads usually get.

Because everything is made of SOMETHING, almost every company that deals with civil, electronic, or mechanical engineering needs a materials scientist.

Also, because the major is less common, materials scientists are in great demand, and it is easier to land a job. In addition, materials science and engineering is so broad that it is much easier to switch from that field INTO civil eng, EE, or ME than vice versa.

In terms of "prestige," I'm not exactly sure, but I get a lot of oohs and aahs when I say that I'm majoring in Materials Science and Engineering. It must sound difficult because it's so long! :)

In addition, at my summer internship at Corning I've had a chance to meet and have lunch with various materials engineers working in the company. Of those I asked, all of them (surprisingly) said that it was better to get a masters, but that a PhD might not be the most lucrative choice economically. This contrasts greatly with many other engineering majors, in which you need to get a PhD in order to be of value to a company.

Hope that was helpful!