Laser Related Career Options

[Meatball]

Hello all, I am a Freshman at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. I am going for a Major in Telecommunications Management, a Major in Physics, and a Minor in Mathematics.

Our Telecomm program here is top notch, but our physics program isn't as good. I can only take up to 2 optics classes, and 2 electricity/magnetism classes, before I go to do 12 hours of research for someone, somewhere.

I can't really seem to find a specific career that I want to do someday. All I know is, is that I want to work with lasers everyday.

Whether its with small diode based circuits, show systems, fiber optic networks, gas or DPSS systems, I just want to be able to work with them everyday. I just don't know what kind of jobs I should be looking for. I don't know what some you here do, or how you got there, but if you have any advice, I'll gladly take it!

I do plan on applying at Creol for graduate school after I graduate here, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll get a laser related job someday. What are some of the titles I should be aiming for? Positions? Companies that hire out of graduate school? What options can I pursue for a laser- based career?

Thank you for all/any advice, I do appreciate it.

-Tyler

[buffo]

Hello Tyler;

Does your school offer any engineering degrees? Because an electrical engineering degree would compliment your interest in lasers quite nicely. Majoring in pure Physics is only useful if you plan to teach. It's otherwise not very practical. A graduate degree, especially one in electrical or optical engineering, would be very nice, assuming you've got the drive (and the funds) to stick it out after you get your BS.

As for career options, there are some limited opportunities with the large names in lasers here in the US (Mells-Griot, Coherent, etc), but you probably have better luck finding laser-related work with telecom companies (AT&T, Verizon, Alcatel-Lucent, etc) or military / government contract firms (Ratheon, Northop-Grumman, TRW, etc). You'll need to actively look for those jobs though, as it's unlikely that anyone from those companies will be coming to your school looking for laser specialists.

Most of these jobs will be engineering-type jobs, though there are also some technician-level positions that you might be interested in. It really depends on whether you want to be working in a lab, designing things, or working in the field, installing and repairing things. Figure out which is more appealing to you now, because there's no need for a masters degree if you're aiming for a technician-type position.

As for careers in the laser show industry, those are even harder to come by, and for the most part you won't make nearly as much money doing that as you will working for one of the other companies listed above. Also, having your degree probably won't help you very much if you're just doing shows. But if you're still interested, you might try contacting some of the larger show companies (just go down the list on the ILDA website) and see if any of them have any openings for an entry-level position...

In short, you're going to have to do a lot of leg work to land a job like this. You'll need to cast your resume far and wide, and for sure you'll need to be willing to relocate. I'd suggest you start making contacts now, so that as the economy turns around in the coming years and people start hiring, you'll already know which companies to talk to and whom to speak to about laser-related jobs. Note that attending graduate school at CREOL in Florida will vastly increase your chances of landing a job in the field, since that's one of the few universities where the companies above will recruit from directly...

Good luck!

Adam

[The_Doctor]

Oh the irony... They expect people to do all the legwork and relocate on demand, yet they only recruit from one place where they expect to be spoonfed the best people? I can't help thinking you'd be better off just finding a niche and living in it, making something, making yourself indispensible. At least that way you get to set terms yourself.

[mixedgas]

One thing, if you have your heart set on grad school, you should call the Associate Dean of Recruiting at CREOL and somewhere in the University of California System, Like the college that hosts Shugi Nakamura's lab and ask if he/rarely she wants physics or engineering types.

Grad schools can be funny that way, because I will agree that ENG pays the bills and gets the work, but sometimes the brain trust sees it in a different way... Its the same math, about the same courses, and most quantum mechanics types can do any branch of ENG if they set their mind to it, but they get peanuts unless they score a breakthrough or a really, really, good dozen patents..

ENG really pays, physics pays big time the few times it does pay.. But unless you are at a national/military lab, the pay is very much fixed plus small COLA unless you are a very, very, lucky physicist..

ENG profs usually get 200-250K lab startup money at a decent research II school. Physics profs have to beg for 40-50K.

For example, at my old place,big public university with beaucoup research, long term physics prof with tenure was fixing his own late 80s rust heaps in 2005, while the chem guys and engineers were driving Lexus or new minivans.....

Signed, former Graduate School Technical Employee......

Steve

[Meatball]

Hey thank you for your replies! I really appreciate it.

UNK does not currently offer any engineering courses. I went with physics because of the personal knowledge, the math skills, and the programming skills I can gain. I also saw that physics on one of the 3 majors that schools like CREOL like to have: EE, Mathematics, Physics. I would have to go to Lincoln (UNL), for some darned good engineering courses. UNL is not an option for me at this point, physics is what I have to work with.

I have thought lots about looking at telecomm companies since they are all going to fibers. I've completely electrically "passive" switchers that are now being called optical switchers since they only consist of optics and filters. Very cool stuff that is. I would be game for some kind of engineering.

Being in a lab, or out in the field both sound very interesting. I'm very hands on, but I'm also a builder. (I grew up eating Legos for breakfast every morning)

The show industry does sound like it would be something that I would have to start up on my own, with my own business. I like scanners, but not as much as the laser systems themselves.

I think I like DPSS systems the most. Would that correspond best with a Non Linnear Optics major? I suppose I should also look more into fiber technology since that would allow me to integrate some telecomm into the mix.

I'll definitely look at contacting the Recruiting department at CREOL, and ask about what they look for in incoming Grad students. Was that USC that hosts Nakamura's lab?

It appears like quantum mechanics classes are also very advantageous.

I don't think I've really considered teaching before... I bet ENG profs get paid lots though... just to get their programs rolling.

Any suggestions from here? I'm getting closer to making some final decisions. I found out that I can add an "emphasis" to my major. It helps me build my own major from scratch..

Thanks guys

-Tyler

[buffo]

A few more things:

1) General non-linear optics knowledge will serve you well, particularly with DPSS laser work. Take all the classes you can in this particular field (along with optics in general).

2) Quantum Mechanics is nice to have, but I wouldn't *major* in it unless you really want to do research. A QM major would be very helpful if you end up working in a lab with a bunch of PHD's developing new non-linear optics, but any other job probably won't benefit from much more than a couple courses at best. So take a few just to satisfy your own curiosity, but don't major in it unless your plan is to be a researcher.

3) if you can't major in EE, at least take as many electrical classes as you can. Consider taking a summer course on the other (non-accredited) side of the college (the continuing education side) in commercial electrical distribution too. (It really helps to understand 3 phase power if you end up working with ion lasers!)

Finally, start thinking about internships - paid or unpaid. That can really broaden your experience (and make you more marketable when you graduate).

Adam

[mixedgas]

These days, with fiber, anything with semiconductor structures, crystal structures, optics, electromagnetics I and electromagnetics II plus some QM related to calculating bandgaps in semiconductors will serve you well.
So will internships and field trips, and applied work.

Computing and everything else is moving to light. After that it will move to biological materials.

Really, really, pay attention to instrumentation and measurement, and if you have a lab machinist and and/or a glassblower, hang out in the shops, get your hands dirty. C and C++ are a major benefit. Soak up as much as you can, while you can. It gets really hard and expensive to learn in the work atmosphere, what you can get for relatively free now.

Don't forget along the way to pick a good candidate for a MRS degree. Ed majors and Nursing types make slow but steady money that increases over time.Good ones make their choice of guy early. Get in the habit of exercising too... I can make a direct connection between old PhDs who are still sharp and funded at 70-80 and continued exercise , started while young.

Also grab all the decent student edition software packages you can, and watch the loading dock for old instruments. One can NEVER have a big enough junk pile, unless your a theory guy for life.

Most employers will Kill fora person that shows any hands on tech skills these days. Applied problem solving, software, and modeling skills will get you hired faster, but hands on is gaining in popularity.

Also the ability to model something in software and then translate it to the physical world is important. Few can do it. Language skills fall off at 24 or so, so picking up a language for those lib arts credits might be a good idea.

And before you leave campus, scan/photocopy any document you ever found useful. Its difficult and expensive to get academic grade materials after you are no longer a student...

Good Luck, Steve

[Meatball]

Great! I have 4 total electronics/magnetism classes available. I am set up to work with Southwestern for 4 summers, I'm scheduled a 12 hour internship for equipment research for Cisco, and I have 12 hours of internship research to do for physics. These give me some good ideas.

I'll definitely do some hunting for some more quantum mechanical and electrical knowledge resources. It sounds like being marketable is key if I plan to go anywhere.

Steve:

I think I have a few computer science classes here that teach C and C++. The physics program here is also around to teach me everything about MATLAB. So hopefully those two can compliment each other?

I'm a junk pack rat. I collect every bit of whatever I can get my hands on. I'll admit that my workspace is not very organized, but so much of the stuff I work with is what I work with at one time.

Yeah... I work out. But only started recently!

Thanks for your advice Steve, that's valuable stuff you just gave me.

And thank you for your advice buffo! I REALLY appreciate it. Lets hope lasers can become a part of what I do someday..

-Tyler

[Lazerjock]

I work for military defense company in Orlando. We build laser range finders and designators for military and civilian apps. I can't go into detail, but I can tell you that lasers in the military are a big deal they love them. We are developing some really amazing things and it keeps getting better/smaller.

Orlando Fl has one of the biggest collection of laser companys in the US. Anything you want from military/defense to light show companys to eye surgery laser manufacturers.

Be careful not to over qualify yourself and bury yourself in school loans. We've not interviewed people that were over qualified because we knew they were going to want more money than the job paid.

I graduated in 1995 with my BS in Electronics Engineering and am still paying on my school loans. Let me tell you it sucks writing that check every month.

This is just my opinion.