help in career choice

[charlotta]

Originally Posted by adele123

if you want to do research, i'm sure masters alone is not enough. you say you want to do research using mathematics, but you prefer outdoor. i think that narrows it down A LOT, if not to one or even zero, lol

and why do you think that a maths degree holder have no prospect in 'your Malaysia'?

Thank you for replying.

Master is not enough to go into research field ?
It doesn't have to be always outdoor , just sometimes go outdoor to collect data or sample.
You got any course in mind that can suggest me ?

Well, if you say maths degree in banking, insurance and financial institutions, that would be fine. But I don't think it will be good to be a mathematicians(doing in theoretical work, making new equation or something like that) in Malaysia .

[Sillyboy]

Originally Posted by charlotta

Thank you for the information

2) You are studying geophysics ?

3)ok , but what kind of job(in Malaysia) could I get if I studied pure physics ?
Is Master sufficient to get me a research job ?
I heard that going into research field means you will only involve in teaching too , is it true ?

Nope, but if you want to know more about the course you ought to visit the the website of universities where this particular course is offered. Have a look at their course specifications to get an idea of what the course is about.

To be frank, I have no idea. To me, the Malaysian job market tends to be very skill specific so a Masters in Physics would probably lead you to a teaching job (at most Pre university level) or maybe a researcher in a lab but nowadays if one wants to do research, a PhD is almost certainly a requirement.

Going into the field of research means one will use his or her knowledge to work on something, be it a problem, a theorem or anything that needs to be simplified, discovered and understood. Teaching is as integral a part as research for someone in this field but the amount of teaching done depends totally on the individual or whether he/she is required to do so. I have known academics who devote a huge chunk of their careers to teaching, doing only minimal research while there are others who did exactly the opposite.

Also, I can't help but feel that the statement about Maths/Physics graduate being highly sought after by financial institutions is one that is glorified. In fact, I might have uttered these words a few years back but people who have gotten jobs in finance do many other things apart from having a degree under their belt. In fact, most finance job descriptions states they prefer graduates with high numeracy skills, including Maths, Physics and Engineering graduates so a Maths graduate is in no way more advantageous than the other two. To say that MOST employers hold us Math graduates in high regard is untrue as well! I think the latter only happens overseas but rarely in Malaysia.

Lastly, if you want to do research with some outdoor components and loads of Maths, geophysics is definitely the way to go. You can choose to do the modelling aspects of geophysics and that involves tons of Maths. On a side note a Maths degree is not about calculations at all but rather an exploration of concepts.

[frankchong]

Don't quite know what you mean by office work and non office work. An engineer's work varies a lot depend on which group you are in:
1. If your work is in design and development, moderm complex designs are done with computers, lots of modelling work, complimented by lab/site work to verify the models. As computing power becames cheaper and more powerful over time, design and development using computers will become more pervasive.
2. A field engineer attached to engineering projects will let you stay in the field a lot, the same is mining and mineral/oil and gas exploration. However, developing the algorithms and instruments to improve exploration technology will be done in the office using field data for verification.
3. A field application engineer (FAE), technical support engineer goes to the field a lot, in support of customers.
4. Quantum mechanics is used extensively in semiconductor and optical devices. However, most engineers only require the basic knowledge to know how the devices work. However, if you were responsible engineering the band gap height to get the right frequency emision, then you better know your stuff well. Or a more practical problem of how to grow GaN LEDs on silicon wafer, and yet able to solve the crystal mismatch problem to get good yield.
5. If you want to be an expert in a field (hopefully you are if you want to do research), you need to spend a lot of time in the chosen area to be really good at it. This means that you would not be hopping around from field to field.
6. When you look a your career, you should look at what is needed in the future and beyond Malaysia, if you and Malaysia wants to be competitive.

Yes, it is important you are interested in something, the challenge for you is how to leverage that interest to do something useful. Then look at what it takes to be successful in that field you choose. You do what it takes to be successful, if success is important enough to you.

[charlotta]

Originally Posted by Sillyboy

Nope, but if you want to know more about the course you ought to visit the the website of universities where this particular course is offered. Have a look at their course specifications to get an idea of what the course is about.

To be frank, I have no idea. To me, the Malaysian job market tends to be very skill specific so a Masters in Physics would probably lead you to a teaching job (at most Pre university level) or maybe a researcher in a lab but nowadays if one wants to do research, a PhD is almost certainly a requirement.

Going into the field of research means one will use his or her knowledge to work on something, be it a problem, a theorem or anything that needs to be simplified, discovered and understood. Teaching is as integral a part as research for someone in this field but the amount of teaching done depends totally on the individual or whether he/she is required to do so. I have known academics who devote a huge chunk of their careers to teaching, doing only minimal research while there are others who did exactly the opposite.

Also, I can't help but feel that the statement about Maths/Physics graduate being highly sought after by financial institutions is one that is glorified. In fact, I might have uttered these words a few years back but people who have gotten jobs in finance do many other things apart from having a degree under their belt. In fact, most finance job descriptions states they prefer graduates with high numeracy skills, including Maths, Physics and Engineering graduates so a Maths graduate is in no way more advantageous than the other two. To say that MOST employers hold us Math graduates in high regard is untrue as well! I think the latter only happens overseas but rarely in Malaysia.

Lastly, if you want to do research with some outdoor components and loads of Maths, geophysics is definitely the way to go. You can choose to do the modelling aspects of geophysics and that involves tons of Maths. On a side note a Maths degree is not about calculations at all but rather an exploration of concepts.

Yes, I have look through it. The subject seems to be interesting, but not sure if I develop a career in geophysics. Hope I will love it .

Thank you very much for the advices and information, appreciate it.

Originally Posted by frankchong

Don't quite know what you mean by office work and non office work. An engineer's work varies a lot depend on which group you are in:
1. If your work is in design and development, moderm complex designs are done with computers, lots of modelling work, complimented by lab/site work to verify the models. As computing power becames cheaper and more powerful over time, design and development using computers will become more pervasive.
2. A field engineer attached to engineering projects will let you stay in the field a lot, the same is mining and mineral/oil and gas exploration. However, developing the algorithms and instruments to improve exploration technology will be done in the office using field data for verification.
3. A field application engineer (FAE), technical support engineer goes to the field a lot, in support of customers.
4. Quantum mechanics is used extensively in semiconductor and optical devices. However, most engineers only require the basic knowledge to know how the devices work. However, if you were responsible engineering the band gap height to get the right frequency emision, then you better know your stuff well. Or a more practical problem of how to grow GaN LEDs on silicon wafer, and yet able to solve the crystal mismatch problem to get good yield.
5. If you want to be an expert in a field (hopefully you are if you want to do research), you need to spend a lot of time in the chosen area to be really good at it. This means that you would not be hopping around from field to field.
6. When you look a your career, you should look at what is needed in the future and beyond Malaysia, if you and Malaysia wants to be competitive.

Yes, it is important you are interested in something, the challenge for you is how to leverage that interest to do something useful. Then look at what it takes to be successful in that field you choose. You do what it takes to be successful, if success is important enough to you.

Thank you very much for the advices and information, appreciate it.

[ahboyjosh]

Hi Charlotta,

I am a structural engineer in oil & gas company and I do know a little bit about the work scope of chem eng in my industry.

In Singapore, chemical engineer tops all engineering disciplines, as the prospect for chem engineer is one the best here, in terms of salary.

For our industry, you can either be hired by the oil companies for jobs like quality checking/sampling, products RnD etc, which are more of lab based. But these kind of positions are rare.

Now if you work for process flow design consultant, that will be very different. You will be called process engineer, and from its name, you will know that you will be dealing with the process flow either at upstream (meaning those offshore production/wellhead platforms) or refineries. It is big business, and in fact, the process engineering department is the core of everything when it comes to oil.

Just to give you an example, for upstream, you will deal with designing of mud system for drilling, mud separation system for freshly extracted crude oil, even down to the flaring system, to burn off unwanted gas, is process engineer's job. Recently there is an increasing trend for zero discharged oil platform, so even the draining system, process engineers are involved. After this stage of process, the crude oil will be offloaded by pipelines or vessels to to the onshore facilities.

When the oil reaches the onshore refinery facilities, it will then be separated/distilled, just like what you have studies in your chemistry. Process engineer come into play again, designing the plants according to oil company specifications.

for natural gas, it will be another total different process =) so it is a very interesting profession.

There are plenty of such companies even in Malaysia.

Process engineers are mainly office based, but it is never boring. Attending meetings, discussions, racing with time for completions, entertaining difficult clients, all these are part and parcel of office based engineer jobs. I have been working for 5 years and each day is like a new experience for me =)

An advice for you, loving physics doesn't mean you will do well in pure physics studies in university.

A junior of mine in NTU, suffered from depression after changing course from Environmental Engineering to Pure Physics studies. At the end of the day, she went back to msia because she can't cope with her studies, wasted her time and wasted parent's money. Engineering is practical but pure physics is mainly theoretical.

You also mentioned you like quantum physics right? in bachelor degree, you will study everything and quantum physics may just be part of your studies. Take a look at NTU programme, to get a feel what you will be expecting and judge if you can endure the entire course
http://www.spms.ntu.edu.sg/pap/Under...formation.html

you wont be able to do only quantum physics in your bachelor degree, it is only during post graduate studies, then you can choose your topic of research.

Be responsible for your own future =) if finding a job is your main concern upon graduation, I think engineering should be the path to go as jobs can be easily found.

Research job basically requires master degree and above. ask yourself if you can sit down in the lab, doing the same experiment 10 overtimes or perhaps a few hundred times just to calibrate your results. Sometimes even after spending weeks and months, you make no progress. That's the life of researcher. Unless you climb all your way to become a professor, then you use those students under you to perform experiments. Haha, then you can relax in your office, and read off the experiment data that those poor students have obtained.

all the best to you

Originally Posted by charlotta

hello,

I really need some advice on my study
I am actually at a cross road to choose my course for my undergraduate study. But , I can't seems to make up my mind .
I love mathematics and physics , but would prefer to do more calculations than physics question, love chemistry too. However, being a mathematicians is not that prospect in my Malaysia.

So I am going for pure physics or engineering course. But I can't differentiate the different between these two. I think I am only interest in chemical/environmental engineering.
I am a person that always want changes, so I don't want my future job to be always doing the same old thing again and again, I also don't like to work in an office, it is very boring. How is the working environment for chemical/environmental engineer ? and what is the job prospect for it ?

The chapter I love the most in physics is the quantum mechanics(especially about quarks, photon, radioactive and so on.. ) So, if take physics course how can I branch into this ?
I also like nanotechnology but my Malaysia don't have this course, so by taking physics can I branch into that ? I like to do research , but not sure about teaching.

My mum suggest me to do geology/geohysics(can't differentiate this both) . I never touch geology subject before, not sure if I love it or not . It just that my mum said it got a very good job prospect in the future. What does geology/geohysics study ? and what kind of research can I go into ? what is the working environment like ?

Thank you very much .

[charlotta]

Originally Posted by ahboyjosh

Hi Charlotta,

I am a structural engineer in oil & gas company and I do know a little bit about the work scope of chem eng in my industry.

In Singapore, chemical engineer tops all engineering disciplines, as the prospect for chem engineer is one the best here, in terms of salary.

For our industry, you can either be hired by the oil companies for jobs like quality checking/sampling, products RnD etc, which are more of lab based. But these kind of positions are rare.

Now if you work for process flow design consultant, that will be very different. You will be called process engineer, and from its name, you will know that you will be dealing with the process flow either at upstream (meaning those offshore production/wellhead platforms) or refineries. It is big business, and in fact, the process engineering department is the core of everything when it comes to oil.

Just to give you an example, for upstream, you will deal with designing of mud system for drilling, mud separation system for freshly extracted crude oil, even down to the flaring system, to burn off unwanted gas, is process engineer's job. Recently there is an increasing trend for zero discharged oil platform, so even the draining system, process engineers are involved. After this stage of process, the crude oil will be offloaded by pipelines or vessels to to the onshore facilities.

When the oil reaches the onshore refinery facilities, it will then be separated/distilled, just like what you have studies in your chemistry. Process engineer come into play again, designing the plants according to oil company specifications.

for natural gas, it will be another total different process =) so it is a very interesting profession.

There are plenty of such companies even in Malaysia.

Process engineers are mainly office based, but it is never boring. Attending meetings, discussions, racing with time for completions, entertaining difficult clients, all these are part and parcel of office based engineer jobs. I have been working for 5 years and each day is like a new experience for me =)

An advice for you, loving physics doesn't mean you will do well in pure physics studies in university.

A junior of mine in NTU, suffered from depression after changing course from Environmental Engineering to Pure Physics studies. At the end of the day, she went back to msia because she can't cope with her studies, wasted her time and wasted parent's money. Engineering is practical but pure physics is mainly theoretical.

You also mentioned you like quantum physics right? in bachelor degree, you will study everything and quantum physics may just be part of your studies. Take a look at NTU programme, to get a feel what you will be expecting and judge if you can endure the entire course
http://www.spms.ntu.edu.sg/pap/Under...formation.html

you wont be able to do only quantum physics in your bachelor degree, it is only during post graduate studies, then you can choose your topic of research.

Be responsible for your own future =) if finding a job is your main concern upon graduation, I think engineering should be the path to go as jobs can be easily found.

Research job basically requires master degree and above. ask yourself if you can sit down in the lab, doing the same experiment 10 overtimes or perhaps a few hundred times just to calibrate your results. Sometimes even after spending weeks and months, you make no progress. That's the life of researcher. Unless you climb all your way to become a professor, then you use those students under you to perform experiments. Haha, then you can relax in your office, and read off the experiment data that those poor students have obtained.

all the best to you

Hi, thank you very much for the sharing and information, really appreciate.
There are just too many engineering course which really confuse me

Am I able to do pure science for degree course then master in engineering ?
Are you currently working in an oil & gas company ?

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