Need some help from physics and engineering grads.

I think we need more information about his/her future goals

I would say mechanical engineering, but I honestly don't know shite about physics or engineering

I'm not really equipped to answer this, but it probably depends on what career this person wants.

I think mech Es have a bigger salary overall.

Coming from a Petroleum Engineering grad, I wish I would have done Mechanical or Chemical Engineering. ME and CE's have degrees that are applicable to a wide array of industries, where Petroleum Engineering is very restricted to the Oil and Gas industry, with job security at the whims of commodity prices. I imagine a Physics Master's Degree would be similar without a PHD, but I could definitely be wrong.

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The skills you’d gain from a masters in ME would be invaluable

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Yeah I was thinking the same thing. You will definitely get exposed to more engineering topics as a masters student.

I agree that they don't need a PhD unless they want a research gig.

My brother in law had degree in physics,worked for Exxon -Mobil as geophysicist.Made pretty big bucks.

Master in Geology.

I graduated in Physics with a minor in MechE, currently in grad school for a masters in applied physics.

No doubt you would have more job opportunities with a masters in MechE. The issue is that someone may have trouble getting into a MechE grad program without taking any engineering classes in undergrad. A program would be reluctant to admit someone that didn't take fludis, thermo, mechanics of materials, machine design, etc. Sure, plenty of physics classes are closely related to these, but without taking the actual classes you would be vastly behind other students in the program.

I probably could have gotten into an ME grad program with my minor, but I'm much more interested in physics and I would like to get a research job after I graduate. If someone is interested in both physics and engineering I would recommend an applied physics graduate program. Applied physics is sort of a combination of both experimental physics and engineering. I've gotten a lot of laboratory experience in my program and I've taken several classes and learned several new skills that are useful for both physicists and engineers.

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So Volod?

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I guess the description painted a picture.

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Say you have a Bachelor's in physics. Would it be better to get a master's in physics or mechanical engineering? Not planning on a phd in either right now. This isn't for me but someone very close to me.

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This is a no-brainer.