Masters/Phd???

[MickFlynn]

I recently graduated in Mechanical Engineering and I am currently employed for 1 year in research of intra-operative forces during spine surgery. I want to get into the bioengineering area and am considering returning to school to do either a Masters or a Phd. However I am unsure as to which is more beneficial. I would like to get into research in the biomedical industry but have no information as to what level of qualification is required. I have heard from some sources that I would need at least a masters to do this, but the opportunity has arisen for me whereby I can do either a Masters or Phd. Any ideas would be grateful.

Thanks in advance

MF

 

[melone]

Are you saying that you can get your PHD without having getting your Masters first?

 

[whyun]

Pursuit of knowledge should be of primary concern in whether to continue with post-graduate studies. From my experience and other's experiences around me, there is no correlation between money (success) and higher degrees.

 

[GregLocock]

In the land of the Poms it was possible (indeed common) to do a PhD without a Masters, or to transfer to a PhD after doing most of the year as a Masters student.

As an engineer who occasionally gets to interview applicants I very rarely find a PhD who would not have been better off financially, and, frankly, career-wise, working rather than staying at uni. There are exceptions.

I can see the point in doing a Masters if you are moving into an area that your original degree missed, if you are not confident of being able to pick it up on the fly. (as a mechie with more electrical and electronic stuff in production than mechanical bits I for one would be tempted to wing it).





Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[corus]

The benefit of a PhD is in its snob value. In your early years there will be no financial difference between a Masters and a Doctorate. Later though it appears that those with a doctorate get promoted quicker, usually by other snobs.

Yours,
Disgruntled Masters

 

[plasgears]

I would take the first step of pursuing biology as the second part of a dual specialty. This could be on a bachelor level or masters level. Biomed demands engineering and bio concentrations. Your mech eng background could help in the area of SLA modeling of bone structure, whether healthy or damaged. I visited an SLA facility, and an engineer was putting the finishing touches on a replication of damaged skull for the purposes of visualization prior to surgery.

Biomed would have been my choice many years ago if I weren't so impatient to get on with my career.

 

[HamishMcTavish]

It must depend on your geographical location. GregLocock is correct that you can study for MSc in the UK and (if you are any good and can secure funding) carry the project further to a PhD. This might be a good way of testing the water and to network for job opportunities.

Try to decide whether the areas of work that you are interested in will actually receive enough funding to make it worth your while. I completed the Bioengineering MSc at the University of Strathclyde in the UK (1991) but didn't follow through to work in the field because work in the bioengineering field was more limited than I had thought.

I certainly think that you have gone the right way about it (ie engineering before the bio side) Doctors who took the same course I did struggled with the maths/structures and fluid flow requirements. Courses that you look at should include material on biocompatability / biomaterials since this is the main thing you will not have picked up in your mech eng course. The flow/structures/biomechanics problems should be reasonably accessible to you.

Regarding whether to study a PhD or MSc...probably won't make a lot of difference to salary but then the people that I know who have finished their doctorates were generally altruistic about money etc. No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary - William of Occam

 

[EngineerDave]

I just completed an MS in Biomechanics. Right now I would say a PhD is the best route to get one of the limited jobs in this field. There is also alot to learn so the more classes and research completed the better. My undergraduate was in materials engineering, and that is actually what I will be working in again for the meantime as I recently accepted a new job.

What would I suggest? Work on the PhD but if it is possible to obtain a masters along the way do so. Apply for jobs and see what happens. The economy should be improving soon I would hope.

 

[Maui]

When I was a grad student in Materials Science, I had a number of discussions with a variety of people in both academia and industry regarding the value of obtaining an M.S. versus a Ph.D. There were two general points of view that I found I could divide their responses into. The academic group all believed that the Ph.D. was worth pursuing. I believe that this was the case because they each had one. The group of people outside of academia generally all believed that getting the Ph.D. was not worthwhile. I think thhis was the case because none of them had one, and they couldn't see the point in spending all of that time and money pursuing something so specific.

In the end the M.S. is definitely worth obtaining because it will make you stand out from the rest of the hiring pool, and it will provide you with a substantial increase in salary over someone with just a B.S. degree. Unless you are certain that you want to pursue a career in pure research or want to teach at the college level, the Ph.D. is probably not worth earning. I have a Ph.D., and the comment that I hear more than 90% of the time from potential employers is, "You're overqualified for the job". The Ph.D. will close many more doors than it will open, so you will have far fewer job opportunities than you will have with a Masters. It will also not increase your earning power very much over a Masters Degree, and unless you have some contacts that can get you in the door with your Ph.D., you'll end up like a starving artist wondering where you went wrong.

Fortunately, I hope to teach at the college level on a full time basis at some point in my career. But finding that job is difficult too because of Affirmative Action policies. And if you plan on getting a research position in an academic setting, you will likely run into that problem as well. Good luck.



maui

 

[MickFlynn]

I am still at the stage where I can do either a masters in one university or a masters progressing onto a PhD in another university (in Computer Assisted Surgery). I do not see myself teaching in a university in the future. This is the main reason why I wouldn't do a PhD. Also, I realise a PhD will make me "overqualifed" for certain jobs. My main reason for doing a PhD is to gain more knowledge in the bioengineering area. At the moment i am working in bioengieering research and enjoy the fact that I am learning more and more each day. I feel if I do a PhD it will provide me with the opportunity to expand my knowledge. But maybe I could obtain this from gaining a maters and then go into industry. My main aim is to gain as much information as possible - whichever route I take. I would like to hear from both sides - people with PhDs and those without....

 

[Maui]

My suggestion would be to earn the Masters, and then go to work. If you find that you enjoy the work and you believe that obtaining a Ph.D. is necessary to achieve your career goals, then return to school and earn the degree. If you don't actually need the Ph.D., but want to learn more about a specific area of study, then you will do yourself the most good by taking some classes and/or working in that area as part of your career. Actually working in an area can be far more enlightening than studying it in an academic setting where practical restrictions and limitations are generally not observed. And those limitations are what Ph.D.'s have the most difficulty adjusting to when they enter the workforce.

 

[kikithomas]

If you want to enter the research field then you should obtain a PhD since it will train your writing and communication skill as well. If you want to further study for your work then a master is already enough since its syllabus will cover the most updated information.

I m currently applying the part time MSc now as I am currently working. I will decide to study the PhD or not later after I obtain a MSc first. Good luck to you.