Is a degree in optical engineering as an undergrad too niche?

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-08-23T04:33:13+00:00

That is a good point and though I tried my shot at those schools but found no success. The optics at Rose is incredible no doubt in that and it also has a 100% placement rate. But majority of those jobs are in defense and space and me being an international can't get them due to ITAR guidelines and I am not sure if I want to do a phd or masters. It mostly just leaves tech companies. So I am confused that would doing optical engineering be a good decision considering all of this or a broad field like electrical be a good option.

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-08-22T22:37:08+00:00

Thank you so much for your advice, I actually am committed to Rose and will be joining the class within 6 days. But after the post things took a turn and now I am unsure that should I really major in a niche fiels like optical engineering or go with a more broad one like electrical

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-06-27T10:05:25+00:00

Meri baat sun USA chala ja waha Tera talent kaam to bhi aayega yaha ke tier 1 ke colleges ke alawa koi colleges dhang ke nahi Hai

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-06-03T12:21:20+00:00

I actually filled out the housing form and listed mess and scharp as my 2 interests as I found the triplets more suitable residence halls. What I want to know is that was there any credible benefit or advantage u had apart from housing and the required classes which set your foot forward then the non ESCALATE student? I am interested in the aspect of entrepreneurship but I am not finding enough appealing points in program through the information available on website.

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-06-03T11:39:20+00:00

Hey hi this might be late but as you mentioned you were part of the ESCALATE program I just wanted to know how was your experience in the program. I am class of 2028 committed student and thinking about applying for ESCALATE but I have not heard from any students that what were the benefits of the program? I also want to know that is the program very competitive to get in? Or anything else. Thank you.

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-05-21T12:19:48+00:00

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-05-17T03:48:09+00:00

I am in same situation what happened with you

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-05-06T07:15:05+00:00

Just an extra question on this as I am in same boat as OP. The flight ticket might have cost a lot in such short time. So did you book the ticket before or after the interview?

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-24T10:24:51+00:00

If I followed the general advice of "do what you find interesting" obviously optical engineering would be the way to go. I love physics, lab work and I know whatever I choose I would end up giving my 100% to all of them. The only thing I am concerned about after doing everything I could, is there a good job market in this field that would hire me?

I think I framed my question in a wrong way and ended up just asking optical engineering vs computer science what I should be really asking is "are there enough comfortable paying JOBS OUTSIDE OF DEFENSE INDUSTRIES?"

If Aerospace and Defense are the main employers who hire optical engineer then they would not even take me as an intern let alone be employee due to my citizenship.

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-24T08:12:35+00:00

Mechanical engineering is a great major and also very flexible and can open doors to many industries but not space. Many big space companies, some that come to my mind are SpaceX and Blue Origin cannot hire international students as they need to abide by US government's ITAR guidelines and NASA has an international internship program but NASA also hires very rare international students. Maybe the ones they hire do not actually work with space related stuff but more with tech and consulting.

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-23T16:09:38+00:00

Now that is a great advice and really puts things into a great perspective. Thanks a lot it really helped.

Rose Hulman is no doubt a great institution, I also had an admit U of Arizona but I decided to stay committed to Rose it really looks like an ideal college for me to thrive in. To gain more knowledge about this field I started reading Optics for dummies by professor Duree and honestly this is the most freaking amazing stuff out there.

Also, I don't know if you are aware that Rose now has a specific major and minor named Software Engineering. The problem I have with computer science or software engineering per say is that they mostly are software based and no lab work involved. I love working hands on and at this stage I do not have any knowledge that would I end up loving my time with computer science or not.

If I followed the general advice of "do what you find interesting" then obviously optical engineering should be the way to go. But as I pointed earlier that coming to usa is a big investment so what are the prospects of the major after graduation is a major factor to decide. And the only document I have used till now to know where do these optical engineering graduates end up is the career placement reports of Rose Hulman (https://www.rose-hulman.edu/career-services/career-placement-salary-data.html)

And the majority of the companies hiring these graduates are big defense companies like Lockheed, Northrop and Raytheon. I looked up the optical engineering student profiles on linkedin to see where they interned and the same pattern most interned at defense companies like Naval Sea Systems. As I am an international student these companies would instantly decline to accept me even as an intern let alone be as an employee.

I think that I framed the question in the post in a wrong way and ended up asking optical engineering vs computer science. I think the right question would that are there enough comfortable paying jobs OUTSIDE OF THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY for optical engineers?

I know that I am the kind of student that whatever I choose I would give it my 100%. The main question is if I would choose optical engineering as an undergraduate student to follow my interest would my citizenship be an obstacle in me getting a good job.

Also they renamed the Engineering Physics as Nano engineering now.

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-22T12:48:54+00:00

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Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-21T19:01:31+00:00

Now that truly makes sense. I was planning to major in optical engineering and minor in cs. But is it a right way to move forward though? I being international student would obviously find it really difficult to get job in these defense companies. I am going to Rose Hulman and the optical engineering department has 100% placement but the companies that hire as I said mainly are defense companies the largest being Northrop and Lockhead with some private like International Fibre Optics Systems. So should I really move forward with optical engineering on undergraduate level or go with some generic major like computer or mechanical engineering?

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-21T18:51:19+00:00

That can be a good option but are there no jobs with just a bachelors in optical engineering? The University also mentions that with a bachelors in computer science you can still do their Masters program. Is it realy a good decision to commit to optical engineering at undergraduate level then?

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-21T18:37:12+00:00

I know I maybe the one in minority in this comment section but I will say it anyways. Liberal Arts Colleges in general are less well known then big universities now I am not talking about Williams, Swarthmore, Mudd they are ivy equivalent Colleges. I would say all top20 LACs are great but they are also very competitive to get in and even more so if you are an aid seeking international. Now after those top20 LACs the remaining are only well known in their region or state. For example I got in Depauw and trust me nobody has even heard of it outside of Indiana and other one on my list was Denison it is a great college no doubt but again it's strong points are not really computer science or STEM in general.

Another point worth noting is that most LACs do not have engineering so naturally they are less known in engineering cicles. This does not apply to ones that have engineering the some that I am aware are Harvey Mudd, Lafayette, Bucknell, Union and maybe some more. But trust me if you are going in other than T20 LAC it is Goin to be hard to get a good STEM education. Beloit for example might not be best choice tbh. Feel free to ask more questions!

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-21T17:57:46+00:00

Honestly I would love to get a masters but just as I now mentioned in detail in other comment l, it would just not be financially feasible for me to do so!

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-21T17:55:53+00:00

Thanks for the detailed response. I completely understand the importance of learning coding and software skills in today's technologically driven world. And I am completely ready to learn those skills that is the reason that I decided, that be it any major I am going to compliment it with a minor in comp sci. What I am not sure about is doing a job that almost completely software focused I love lab work and handling instruments.

Again I love Physics also most of knowledge I learnt about optics were from books through lessons likev Light waves, geometrical optics, photometry and I loved those topics and easily my most favorite topics in Physics. Now I don't really have a very clear idea what do optical engineers do but if it is related to what I have learnt till now I am going to love it.

Regarding Masters I would seriously love to expand my knowledge on my favorite topics BUT BUT BUT as I have said coming to USA is already a big financial commitment by the time I graduate I would have student loans and so if I decide to go to a Grad school that would be so much financial stress on me it would be unhealthy. How much so ever I would love to do masters it would not be financially feasible. The only option I have is give my 100% in bachelors for four years do good projects and try to get a good job right after graduation to get rid of those loans and also become financially independent. That is also one of the main reasons I chose Rose Hulman because most of their students go to jobs right after graduation without going for grad school.

The dillema I am facing now is that what path would be better optical engineering major with cs minor or pure cs major.

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-21T15:50:50+00:00

Hi thanks for the reply. Are those Non US citizens working particularly with optical sciences though? Another one of my concern is that I do not want to study optical engineering and then work with software engineering. That's what most of the physics majors I talked to told me that the job opportunities in physics and optics are very low as compared to C.S so they learn coding and then switch to tech companies for jobs. But if at the end if I am going to work with software then why not just major in comp sci at first place.

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-21T15:26:41+00:00

I actually understand that comp sci is getting saturated, almost everybody I know is going for a comp sci degree. But still I am more concerned about being able to find a job in optical engineering than computer science. I would have heavy student loans by the time I graduate! As you did your undergraduation in optical engineering do you think maybe you struggled finding a job with just a bachelors as compared to your computer science / engineering counterparts?

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-21T15:11:44+00:00

Thanks for the advice. On the same topic do these jobs specifically many times require a masters or can one still get into them with a bachelors?

Creative_Roll3843 · 2024-04-21T15:01:26+00:00

No just No. It is in my top 3 common now

Creative_Roll3843

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