Ivie replies: Many skilled physics bachelors choose not to obtain graduate degrees for various reasons. And 60% of the physics bachelors who earned master’s degrees did so in fields other than physics.
I suggest that Laurette Tuckerman read the full report, available at http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/reports/masters.pdf. It details our multiple measures of physics bachelors’ evaluations of their undergraduate experiences. As the report shows, those with graduate degrees in any field are more satisfied with undergraduate advising, supportiveness of professors, and working relationships with professors and students than are those without graduate degrees. However, those who earned master’s degrees and work in scientific fields actually rate their undergraduate physics preparation lower than those who did not earn graduate degrees and who work in scientific fields. So at least retrospectively, physics bachelors without graduate degrees felt more prepared in physics than those who earned master’s degrees in any field.
