[SOLVED] Is RF/microwave design a good choice for physics graduate

[sangeeths]

what are career prospects in RF/ Microwave design for physics graduate. Any suggestions are welcome. many thanks

 

[biff44]

No. RF/Microwave design is an area best served by someone with an engineering training. Design entails taking known information, doing specific experiments if sufficient data is unknown, then using available materials/processes to design something that will be produced. While a physics major touches some of those, it certainly does not concentrate on the whole list.

But there are areas of microwaves that may be very well suited to a physics graduate. There is more work being done on very high frequencies (above 100 GHz). That area is more "science" than "engineering" oriented, with a lot of fundamental research being done. Any sort of radio astronomy work involves complex equations, general astronomy knowledge, and use of highly sophisticated equipment. A fair amount of microwave imaging work involves a physics bent, expecially with optics overlap, over pure engineering of hardware. So, in other words stay away from jobs requiring "design", but seek out those involving multi-disciplines, one of which is microwaves.

Just my two cents worth.

 

[budder8818]

In response to the above, one area that he is talking about (HIGH frequency) would be meta-materials and peridoic structures arrays.

 

[Phytech]

what are career prospects in RF/ Microwave design for physics graduate. Any suggestions are welcome. many thanks

With physics background, there is no difficulty to learn RF/microwave designs. I know many RF/microwave experts who were graduated from physics major.

 

[tallface65]

I have a physics undergrad and finished later with a Ph.D. in Optics. I now work as a RF/microwave engineer and i can tell you that I am fine You will need to go back and learn a lot of jargon, such as the fact that RF engineers almost always work in impedance while a physics major tends to know and understand admittance (refractive index). You will also need to brush up on antenna engineering, but this is not terribly difficult if you already understand the fundamentals of Maxwell's equations and the mathematics thereof.