If you are thinking of undertaking a research degree, it is a qualification that must be considered very carefully before you decide which option to concentrate on. The UK is renowned for its excellence in research qualifications, and the Electronic Engineering sector is no exception. Dr Clive Woods from the University of Sheffield examines why you should consider taking a research degree.

If you will soon have a Bachelor's Degree, why should you consider research?

There are many reasons why you should be aware of employment possibilities in research, and seriously considering them. If you are keenly interested in Electronic and Electrical Engineering you will probably be expecting to become an Engineering, Science or Mathematics graduate shortly (or perhaps you have already graduated). If you have a lively mind, however, you will find that you need an extraordinary technical challenge from your subsequent career - you will want to be free of day-to-day monotony. Unfortunately, the plain fact is that although many graduate-entry-level employment opportunities initially look tempting, very often graduates become discontented in their first real job. Many companies have a high turnover of graduate personnel within one year of entry, because some of their new graduates find that they are bored.

A research career gives you freedom because you work at the frontier of knowledge, and virtually nothing that you do is mere routine. You have the satisfaction of knowing that you are influencing the next generation of technology while it is still on the drawing board.

But why should I take a research degree? Can't I find a position in a company?

Highly qualified researchers in Electronic and Electrical Engineering are in great demand, and all the major employers recognise the potential of candidates who have postgraduate qualifications. This is because a graduate degree involves exposure to a great variety of advanced methods and techniques not usually covered by undergraduates. Moreover, research students learn these techniques by actually using them to solve a real and substantial problem at the frontiers of knowledge, rather than by just reading about them, or hearing about them in lectures, or as part of a short laboratory exercise or project as in an undergraduate course. Independent studies (such as the Institute of Electrical Engineers Salaries Survey in the UK, published annually) have repeatedly confirmed the substantially faster career development and higher salaries of employees holding research degrees compared to those holding only bachelor's degrees.

In many cases, direct recruitment to senior posts (in industrial companies, government research organisations, or independent research bodies) is possible for holders of a research degree, and sometimes (such as when applying for an academic post in a University) holding a research degree is virtually a prerequisite for being considered at all. Holders of a higher degree very often have a major advantage over other applicants for positions outside of their native country, because they have demonstrated that they are experts in their particular field. Many research students from leading academic departments have obtained postdoctoral positions in universities, often leading to permanent academic staff posts; taking a research degree can be the first step along this path for those seeking an academic career.

How do I obtain funding?

In general, there are three main sources of external funding for research degrees. These are: the University to be attended (which may be able to offer scholarships or other support to persons other than its own graduates), Government agencies in the country to be visited (for example, the British Council and the Association of Commonwealth Universities), and students' own home Governments which can sometimes sponsor study abroad. Competition can be difficult, but success is not impossible. The resulting package can be quiet attractive, especially considering that many research students can expect to undertake further foreign travel, perhaps to a Summer School or to an international research conference included as part of their research program.

The normal entrance requirement for a research degree is a good honours degree or equivalent, in a discipline related to the topic for study. You can use a research degree to make a change of direction in your career, or to gain experience in different fields; many physicists undertake a PhD in electronic engineering in order to gain a wider choice of job offers later in the electronics industry. Unfortunately some employers tend to 'categorise' potential young graduate employees according to their previous experience, so that a student whose final year project was on microprocessors will be regarded only as suitable for microprocessor work; by taking a research degree in a different field the student's experience and employment possibilities are increased enormously.

Most research students register for the PhD degree, which takes three years typically in the UK. A few students prefer to take a Master's research degree (MPhil) because it takes typically only two years, but if you are contemplating this you must be sure of your reasons for doing so, as in some circumstances, the MPhil degree can seem like a failed PhD degree. It may also be more difficult to find a research supervisor for study planned over a period of less than three years.

How can I choose where to study?

You should choose a Department that has an international reputation for the quality of a large and active research programme. In recent years there have been a number of UK Government-sponsored surveys of research in UK Universities, and the most recent was published in December 1996 by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the equivalent bodies for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. In this survey, known as the research assessment exercise, each Department was awarded a basic integer rating from 1 to 5, where 1 signifies the lowest attainment and 5 the highest, with an additional subdivision of the 3 rating into 3a and 3b, and the coveted 5* rating above 5 for outstanding Departments where the research is of international excellence in the majority of the Department's research areas, and national excellence in other areas.

A letter from A to F indicates the proportion of research active staff, so that A indicates the highest proportion and F the lowest proportion. Therefore, the best rating is 5* A, awarded to only a small number of Departments in any one field.

The best Departments have now acquired a substantial range of major experimental facilities such as clean-room suites, anechoic chambers, specialist computers and computer-controlled equipment, and VLSI design facilities. The level of external research support from government and industry is also relevant. It is worth considering the reputations of other Departments within the same university faculties in the country giving 'across the board' excellence. Other pointers to look for include the standard of the library and computing services offered by the university.
British universities have traditionally played an important role at the forefront of research and development, and Engineering departments in particular have actively pursued strong ties with industrial collaborators. If you are planning a research career, there is no better preparation than a research degree from a highly regarded research-oriented university department.