I have a (research/thesis) master's in mechanical engineering and currently work as a research assistant in a university research lab that works on many topics, some of which related to robotics.
It's fun, interesting work with many upsides, like working with very smart people, flexible work week, possibility of teaching classes as a contract lecturer and making many contacts in industry, especially with R&D departments, since I work on many projects with industry funding. Not to mention, on campus daycare.
The downside is salaries don't compare to industry engineer salaries since, at the institution I work at, all RAs are unionized and on the same pay scale, no matter if your topic is law, biology, english or engineering. Moreover, it's a dead end internally: to become a PI/professor, I'd have to get a PhD and complete at least 1 postdoc, most likely in a different institution that is considered elite, and even then it's a crapshoot.
It's fun, interesting work with many upsides, like working with very smart people, flexible work week, possibility of teaching classes as a contract lecturer and making many contacts in industry, especially with R&D departments, since I work on many projects with industry funding. Not to mention, on campus daycare.
The downside is salaries don't compare to industry engineer salaries since, at the institution I work at, all RAs are unionized and on the same pay scale, no matter if your topic is law, biology, english or engineering. Moreover, it's a dead end internally: to become a PI/professor, I'd have to get a PhD and complete at least 1 postdoc, most likely in a different institution that is considered elite, and even then it's a crapshoot.