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Offline random_soldier1337

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So, I have a Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communications (outside of US) and I wanted to pursue work in nuclear fusion so I had applied for an MS in nuclear engineering in the US. I have gotten admission in the University of Florida.



Anyway, I was sharing this information elsewhere on the internet and one participant of the discussion said that with my background, I would be suited to instrumentation and control.


I want to know will I be able to pursue a career in nuclear fusion or would it be wiser to do as that person suggested and go into instrumentation and control?
 
Personally, I love being within STEM and I would love to just be able to innovate to produce something helpful to people. That is the most important to me. I believe a career within the nuclear fusion field would allow this greatly. But at the same time I do want some measure of job security. Not a great measure. I can be frugal, live with only the absolute bare necessities, but that is better than being unemployed which is why just a a little bit of advice on this matter would be nice.

Offline Marlin

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2017, 12:52 »
May have been better to have applied at one of the universities with a fusion program or have an association with one of the national labs. Fusion is still many years off of commercial application (if ever).

https://science.energy.gov/fes/facilities/user-facilities/

Offline random_soldier1337

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2017, 01:23 »
Well what now? How do I make the best of this opportunity?

Offline Marlin

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2017, 01:53 »
Well what now? How do I make the best of this opportunity?

Does the MS have an emphasis on fusion option? Not going to one of the above mentioned universities does not exclude you from a career in fusion but you will have a harder time as fusion is in an experimentation phase not a developmental phase. Fusion facilities at this time are pure science as much as practical none of them are expected to produce a practical amount of power in the near future.

Offline random_soldier1337

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2017, 02:28 »
Well it is an area of specialization for the college of engineering itself. However, I can not find for myself the MS showing an emphasis on fusion option.

Offline Marlin

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2017, 03:16 »
Well it is an area of specialization for the college of engineering itself. However, I can not find for myself the MS showing an emphasis on fusion option.

Another option would be a physics degree as the base of fusion is plasma and magnetic bottles for the most part. Hopefully someone with more direct knowledge will chime in but most of our posters are commercial power and DOE remediation.

Offline random_soldier1337

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2017, 05:24 »
I tried for the physics degree as well. Didn't get accepted anywhere.

Anyway, I noticed most of the posters were involved more in the industry. It was a bit much to ask for advice on secondary education. Still the more opinions, the more possible solutions.

Offline Red Gold

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2017, 05:32 »
First, you must know what it is you want to actually do in the world of fusion. In big experimental facilities of almost all kinds, engineers design, analyze and sometimes build hardware, equipment and facilities. Meanwhile, scientists usually collect and analyze the data and design/build some of the equipment, and technicians maintain / work on the facilities. (On larger facilities there are sometimes also dedicated operators, like at a power plant.) There's quite a bit of overlap depending on other stuff, but those are the rough division of tasks. So, first and foremost, make sure you are most enthused about the actual engineering work if you want an MS Nuclear Engineering! Do some homework into what all the various groups that work on the big facilities actually do. Find out which of those things you are most enthusiastic about. Then plan your future accordingly. Now with all that said, Florida is a decent school and you will have quite a few options with an MS NE from there. It may be a good idea to look more closely at the engineering department and see which professors' interests most align with your own. Good luck!
« Last Edit: May 02, 2017, 05:34 by Red Gold »

Offline random_soldier1337

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #8 on: May 03, 2017, 07:36 »
I want to work on Fusion power plants. Perhaps on the reactor design/physics.

Also I've been asking the same questions elsewhere and it seems that they suggest instrumentation might be better for a stable career and that fusion might not take off given it's been some 80 years since the conception of the idea but no strong outcomes.

What should I do? I want to do something big and helpful but don't want to live in a cardboard box if things don't turn out well.

Offline Marlin

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2017, 10:05 »
What should I do? I want to do something big and helpful but don't want to live in a cardboard box if things don't turn out well.

A base degree with an emphasis on nuclear may be what you are looking for. Mechanical, or electronics would be good degrees. I did a quick search on line, it did not take long to find a few applicable sites.

Nuclear Energy Training & Education Programs


https://www.nei.org/Careers-Education/Education-Resources/Nuclear-Energy-Training-Education-Programs

How to become a nuclear engineer

Reference https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/how-to-become-a-nuclear-engineer.340040/

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/how-to-become-a-nuclear-engineer.340040/

What is a master degree where one can study nuclear fusion theory and/or nuclear fusion engineering?

https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-master-degree-where-one-can-study-nuclear-fusion-theory-and-or-nuclear-fusion-engineering

The University of Illinois is in the "corn desert" in central Illinois, in High School I spent some weekends on campus with the U of I Chess Club. If you want more civilization you may want to look at other universities.

Offline random_soldier1337

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #10 on: May 03, 2017, 03:42 »
Actually I already have a Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communications. The curriculum was fixed, though.

And I already have been accepted into the University of Florida. I don't know if I can change or apply elsewhere now.

Offline random_soldier1337

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #11 on: May 09, 2017, 06:27 »
So, another question came about while discussing elsewhere. Assuming I don't go into academia but want to either work in the industry or, more desirably, go into industrial research, what path would be better in that case and would I benefit from a P.hD?

The place I was discussing at earlier, it was said that academic experience reflects more negatively if one moves towards industry. Unsure if that is for both work as well as research or just work. Either way, it made it sound like going for a P.hD may not necessarily be the best idea.
« Last Edit: May 09, 2017, 06:29 by random_soldier1337 »

Offline Marlin

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #12 on: May 09, 2017, 09:00 »
So, another question came about while discussing elsewhere. Assuming I don't go into academia but want to either work in the industry or, more desirably, go into industrial research, what path would be better in that case and would I benefit from a P.hD?

The place I was discussing at earlier, it was said that academic experience reflects more negatively if one moves towards industry. Unsure if that is for both work as well as research or just work. Either way, it made it sound like going for a P.hD may not necessarily be the best idea.

The largest consumer of PHDs would be the DOE.

Offline random_soldier1337

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #13 on: May 09, 2017, 09:22 »
Is the environment more industrial or academic?

Offline Marlin

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #14 on: May 09, 2017, 11:06 »
Is the environment more industrial or academic?

   Yes, maintaining facilities is industrial but use of the facilities are academic. The be fair the work environment is more academic, at ORNL here in Tennessee it has what it calls a campus. I have not been to the other National labs so I cannot speak about them but the ORNL campus has a college quad feel to it.

https://www.ornl.gov/ornl/visiting-ornl

Offline Red Gold

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #15 on: May 10, 2017, 02:15 »
OP, you are asking questions that lead me to believe that you haven't done any real background research on the fields you say you're interested in. A "career in nuclear fusion" is a hell of a broad net to cast. Asking people on forums is one thing, but my strong advice to you is to hit up Wikipedia and the websites of the kind of facilities you think you might be interested in, really dig down into the details of the various subpages of those sites, and just put in a good amount of reading and learning. Then you'll be much more prepared to ask the kind of questions that fairly specialist forums are set up to answer.

Offline SloGlo

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #16 on: May 13, 2017, 09:16 »
yew want steady work in nukes, go fission, knot fusion. their is no career in fusion at this time.
quando omni flunkus moritati

dubble eye, dubble yew, dubble aye!

dew the best ya kin, wit watt ya have, ware yinze are!

Offline CDRForever

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Re: Had a few questions regarding MS in Nuclear Engineering
« Reply #17 on: Jun 11, 2017, 11:41 »
yew want steady work in nukes, go fission, knot fusion. their is no career in fusion at this time.


haha, not even cold fusion? isn't it coming back?

 


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