I have one in physics, but I have also taken a rather a lot (given the degree) in biology, chemistry, civil engineering, and electrical engineering. Went some places also not usual in math. And I've worked in IT since forever. There's a lot of stuff where I take a glance at it and realize I'm just looking at a single hull plate on a battleship.

What I am getting at is that if you have just intermediate knowledge in a bunch of places, I think it lends itself to sensing that you're just a paramecium stuck to the side of some N-dimensional construct. There's so much. I had a professor who was the expert in the second excited state of Helium-3. That was his thing. Just a single needle in the whale-sized blowfish of physics.

> I feel like saying my science knowledge is anything beyond intermediate is a bit of an overstatement personally

That's not overconfident, I'm lead to conclude that you have advanced science knowledge.

Absolutely advance. No question. At least in this context.

> Like I have a bachelors degree in engineering

I do to and unquestionably I am beginner level.

Each scientific field has specialised and become so dense with knowledge that even new graduates in that field would barely be classed as intermediate.

I didnt find out what standard they use, but personally I'd say intermediate sounds about right. I also have an engineering degree and while I know more than the average bear in many scientific disciplines I couldn't say that any of it is advanced.

I'm thinking of times where I went to the library to dig deeper on a topic and discovered a huge and complex topic just laying in wait.

In my view, bachelor's degree is beginner, especially if you haven't got any further knowledge than that from work experience or anything.