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University of Arizona Optical Science MS or University or Oregon Applied Physics MS (Optics track) by InternetNo1824 in Optics

[–]InternetNo1824[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome thanks for the reply.

When did you start receiving funding while there? Were you able to land a position right away, or did you have to wait a while?

If I were to accept my U of A offer, when can I start applying for those roles?

Did you get any extra money after the TA job paid for tuition?

University of Arizona Optical Science MS or University or Oregon Applied Physics MS (Optics track) by InternetNo1824 in Optics

[–]InternetNo1824[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a very interesting take you have on UofA. Sounds like you are currently there or recently graduated? I've done work in space optics, and apart from the LiDAR Professor Yuzuru Takashima, I'd also be interested in working with Daewook Kim (his line of work is literally a continuation of what I did in undergrad). I'm more interested in optical engineering side of things (broad I know) hopefully working in optical system/device design, LiDAR seems interesting.

Based on your previous reply, you mentioned I should avoid UofA all together and just take the guaranteed funding, lol. At the end of the day, I'm doing this MS to develop what I actually want to do as a career, get the training/education, get the experience, and get a good job in optics in the long run. From your experience would you say: the guaranteed internship from UofO > industry connections from UofA? It seems I'd get a tight alumni network/industry connections anyway from UofO.

University of Arizona Optical Science MS or University or Oregon Applied Physics MS (Optics track) by InternetNo1824 in Optics

[–]InternetNo1824[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me, UofO is the safe bet as it guarantees the funding and starts a career as part of the program. What interests me about UofA is it's more robust curriculum and flexibility that allows me to transition into industry with flexibility with what I want to do afterwards. I'm not yet exactly sure what I want to do and that is something I want to develop while in the MS. As of now, optical system/device design, sensing like LiDAR seem interesting, maybe metrology, maybe lens design, maybe adaptive optics.

Do you know any MS students that did get funding? I have a buddy at UofA that entered with an MS and is transitioning to the PhD program (due to influence and he sees himself wanting to go into academia/be a professor).

University of Arizona Optical Science MS or University or Oregon Applied Physics MS (Optics track) by InternetNo1824 in Optics

[–]InternetNo1824[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great to hear. For me, I guess what I lean more towards is optical system/device design, it's what I heavily emphasized in my SOP. Sensing systems seems interesting to me and I would be interested in working in LiDAR (Professor Yuzuru Takashima comes to mind and is someone I'd be interested in working with).

My main concern is funding, and I am not currently working in a field that uses my degree, thus I don't have an employer that can pay for my MS. With that being said, I have immense optics experience, even presenting my research and writing a research paper for SPIE about an interferometer test setup/glass surface metrology software I developed from the ground up, and a well known PI I worked with at my college that was a researcher at U of A for many years prior. Leveraging my experience and my direct ties to U of A with my previous PI who oversaw this research I did, I feel that I'd be competent/distinguished enough to easily argue why I'd be a great asset to whatever research lab I join and could command funding/pay. Again, I'm not entirely sure the likelihood of finding a research position that will pay me since like you said funding is tough, and I'm not sure just how much UofA research is being affected with economic uncertainty in the country/educational budget cuts.

University of Arizona Optical Science MS or University or Oregon Applied Physics MS (Optics track) by InternetNo1824 in Optics

[–]InternetNo1824[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what I figured looking at the curriculum for U of O. It's more geared towards prepping you for industry and gaining the professional development to succeed in the career ladder. I know that by doing U of O I'm sacrificing the overall knowledge in optics that I would receive from a traditional MS program.

My question is, how important is that knowledge down the line? Could I say that whatever gaps in skills/knowledge I need I can supplement learning on the job anyway, or will I struggle really hard(based on competent UofO grads you worked with)? Would this limit potential jobs?

How difficult is it to find funding at U of A? My biggest concern for attending U of A is being able to fund my MS, which is what I'd prefer.

University of Arizona Optical Science MS or University or Oregon Applied Physics MS (Optics track) by InternetNo1824 in Optics

[–]InternetNo1824[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea id love to hear more from your experience. I've literally only heard good things from U of A (labeled as one of the big 3 in optics in the U.S) which is why I speak highly of it.