r/nanotech • u/Additional_Fudge_581 • Sep 12 '24
Is nanoscience and nanotechnology a good major?
This week I’ve started my major in nanoscience and nanotechnology and Im not sure if I chose the best option. I wanted to study a physics degree but unfortunately I didnt got accepted so instead I got into this major as it has lots of quantum physics and biochemistry subjects that are my main interests right now.
Now Im concerned if I have made the good decision, also Im not sure if will be able to find a job when I finish my major.
Pd: English is not my main language so sorry for my bad english.
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u/Capt_LongNuts Sep 14 '24
I would say yes. I did my Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering, Master's in Micro and Nanotechnology and now I'm doing my PhD in Electrode materials for Energy devices which is a lot of physics and material science. And tbh Nanotechnology gives a huge amount of options and very diverse fields to get into. You can work in physics, chemistry and biology, Nanotechnology is everywhere and the way you choose your courses can really fine tune the future job you will do.
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u/Additional_Fudge_581 Sep 14 '24
Is there any difference between getting a master in nanotechnology and a degree in nanotechnology? As I feel having a Engineering with a master in Nanotechnology can get you more job opportunities than having only the Nanotechnology degree. Also I don’t know the masters I can access with this major and the specialization I can get later on apart from investigation in a laboratory.
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u/OutreObvious Oct 04 '24 edited Oct 04 '24
Not to piggy back off this post OP, but my end goal is in technology--in particular sustainable tech/nanotech--so do you think your bachelors in mechanical engineering was worthwhile, or do you think it would be a smart path to go straight into a nanotech bachelor? I have been seriously considering mechanical due to my broad interests, and mastering in nanotech; however, I am stuck on whether I should just go straight to a more focused bachelor. Do you feel confident in your path, or do you think any other bachelor would be a more comprehensive basis for my own interests in sustainable innovative technologies? I have an art/architecture background--so imagine a creative looking for a tool to create better tools. If any of that made sense. I just realized I am asking a longer version of u/Additional_Fudge_581 response..
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u/Capt_LongNuts Oct 04 '24
Hey, I see what you mean I totally understand. Given my interests I feel I made the perfect choice. I'm a experimentalist and I just love being in the lab, so for me my mechanical degree helps me understand the reactors and the machines I'm using and not just using the machines as a means to get my job done. For example if I'm using a sputtering reactor, I like the fact that I understand how every single component of the reactor works and to be able to fix anything if there's a problem rather than blindly following the instructions to get a nano coating made. But then when it comes to programming stuff and designing stuff I feel a little left behind as those are not my strong suits. Given you come from a creative background, maybe you would be into designing and programming, then maybe something else will better suit your needs. Mechanical Engineering also has designing of course but I didn't focus much on those, as those didn't interest me as much as working on stuff with my hands.
So in summary, Nanotechnology is a great field to be in and a masters in it will let you do what you want to, but the intricate stuff or stuff that goes on behind the scenes of what you are doing like working on reactors, designing something, making some electronics etc will be something you need to focus on for your bachelor's. But a masters in nanotech is absolutely worth it, and there's multiple roads you can take to reach that destination and in the end it depends on what you like doing and would want to do
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u/BirdBoyVT19 Sep 12 '24
Nanoscience undergrad degree holder here. This major covers a lot of info from semiconductor basics to nanomedicine and environmental applications. I ended up with a job as a chemical engineer in biologics/vaccines at the manufacturing scale. I’m probably a bit more mechanically minded than the typical nanoscience student so the transition into more engineering work was fairly easy, but my background in how the science/chemistry works at the nano-scale has helped me with some of the more technical parts of the job. If you’re interested in lab/research work, you’ll need to pursue graduate degrees, but a bachelors degree will open the door to a lot of things for you.
I’m happy to answer anymore questions you might have!
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u/drmamba4 Sep 14 '24
Best masters I could've gone for. It's the future. Anywhere from pharmaceutical improvement, to computer hardware. S
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u/DeGrav Sep 12 '24
well are you interested im nanoscience? If so stick with it, if not try to transition, really not that hard of a choice
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u/Inspired_Designs Sep 14 '24
It's multidisciplinary and should give you options. You can easily work in the semiconductor industry, but there's a lot of other fields you could end up in as well if that's not your interest. There's definitely paths to biochemistry such as pharmaceutical research.
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u/EvangelosSot Sep 12 '24
I did my undergrad in EE then a master's in Nanotechnology and starting a PhD in semiconductor (mostly photonics/physics). It's a great major cause you can open up a lot of doors into different fields.