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11-19-2009, 08:30 PM
| | | | Physics Major (Your Opinion?)
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Hey TB,
After over a year of hesitation on being a chiropractor, I've recently started to notice my great interest in physics.
I've always been interested in it, but the thought of actually taking that interest to the next level has never come across. However, now, I'm really thinking of pursuing a physics degree.
There are many options after getting the degree, and plus, it won't be a field that I dislike (for now, that is).
Thing is, I don't know much in life at all. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. I'll be talking to advisers and continue thinking (as I have over a year before I transfer), but it's just nice to hear other peoples opinions.
Thanks in advance!
-Don
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11-19-2009, 08:45 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: berkeley, ca | | | i'm a physics grad student at berkeley. what would you like to know? |
11-19-2009, 08:49 PM
| | | | Just essentially your views on it, words of wisdom, etc.
How are you liking it?
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11-19-2009, 08:51 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: berkeley, ca | | | it's difficult but worth it for me.
what's your previous exposure to physics? have you had a course based on halliday/resnick or equivalent? (we use giancoli over here for our "real" intro sequence.) |
11-19-2009, 08:55 PM
|  | Total Hyper-Elite Member | | Join Date: May 2000 Location: Groom Lake, NV | | | Do it. The demand for scientists is only going to go up. And you don't have to touch peoples' clammy, pathogen-infested bodies (unless you want to).
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What is this thing called butthurt? |
11-19-2009, 08:56 PM
|  | OVNIFX
EXAR pedals rep for North & Central America | | Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: PDX, OR | | I'm an electronic engineering major, and I was checking out a chart they have posted in Study Hall showing a broad spectrum of 40 or 50 different careers and which specific math subjects a person in that career would use on a regular basis as part of their normal work.
"Physicist" was the only career that required every single level and variety of math in day-to-day usage.
EE came in second or third. 
Do you like math? |
11-19-2009, 09:05 PM
|  | I'm gonna love and tolerate the **** out of you! | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Memphis/Knoxville TN | | | Physics is a very hard, but fulfilling major. |
11-19-2009, 09:11 PM
| | | I'm not a physics major, but I'd say to count on grad school in your future if you decide to go that route.
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11-19-2009, 09:32 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lincoln, NE | | | IMO and in my area of the country - An engineering degree (mech) may make you more 'hireable' right out of college and still have a heavy dose of physics and math. |
11-19-2009, 09:32 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Singapore | | | Ex physics student here, now a political science student. Ah ha.
"Do you like math?" sums up everything i was going to say here.
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11-19-2009, 09:39 PM
|  | ACME, Line 6, SWR, QSC, Greco user/BOSE PAS abuser | | Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: South Texas | | Quote:
Originally Posted by bongomania  "Physicist" was the only career that required every single level and variety of math in day-to-day usage.
EE came in second or third. Do you like math? | +1
I was fortunate enough to have one of THE BEST physics professors alive, Dr. David Derbes, who inspires you beyond belief towards learning. Amazing guy & amazing subject. Some of the things he transferred to me:
1) Never get stuck on one problem with your life.
2) Buy and put yourself through Silvanus P. Thompson's "Calclulus Made Easy".
3) Many of the BEST did not have a sheepskin(Faraday, Oliver Heaviside) yet contributed tons to man's knowledge.
4) That saying about "% inspiration and % persperation" has truth in it.
5) When doing math, sometimes you need to step back and look at the problem steps and ask yourself "Is that legal?".
He still transferring his passion here: http://www-news.uchicago.edu/release...4.derbes.shtml
More: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...+Derbes&aqi=g2
Physics rocks!
PS:Closet math lover here, BSEE Tulane 1989.
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Last edited by Johnny Crab : 11-19-2009 at 09:44 PM.
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11-19-2009, 09:39 PM
| | | | Yes, I'm actually interested in the math aspect of it :O
What really bedazzles me though are the things that aren't explained in life, say, particles, black holes, time, etc. That might be a monster of a path to even think about, however.
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11-19-2009, 09:47 PM
| | ACME, Line 6, SWR, QSC, Greco user/BOSE PAS abuser | | Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: South Texas | | | There are many things we have not and may not invent a formula for or know a reason why....yet.
Congrats on the math part!
For some reason, media has embedded into some thin-skulled folks that being uneducated is "cool" or "hip" or "the way to be". Rubbish!
Ignore them and anyone who tells you that you study too much. That one's almost as bad as "you love that bass more than you love me".
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If you want to find truth, start by turning off your television.
Last edited by Johnny Crab : 11-19-2009 at 09:50 PM.
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11-19-2009, 09:48 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Singapore | | | I spent 1.5 years of my life towards a physics degree.
If your physics course is anything like mine, you won't be touching the particle stuff, black holes, and space-time for a good while - expect to get a very, very good grounding in mechanics (both classical and quantum), electromagnetism, and a whole crapload of maths first.
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11-19-2009, 10:07 PM
| | | Quote:
Originally Posted by LiquidMidnight I'm not a physics major, but I'd say to count on grad school in your future if you decide to go that route. | True, but I know a couple of guys with a BS in physics who work as optical engineers. It's a great educational foundation for anything in the engineering field.
Ed |
11-19-2009, 10:19 PM
|  | Registered User
Maker of HPF-Pre upright bass preamp | | Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Madison WI | | | I've got a physics degree. All because of the electric bass. Well, not exactly, but the bass got me interested in electronics, and then I went to a college that had a "3-2" program for students interested in engineering. But I ended up double-majoring in math and physics. In fact, physics was my second major after math.
At many colleges, the double major is not much more coursework than just a physics major. It was like two more courses for me, and I was enjoying the advanced math. Then I went to grad school in physics.
I think that a physics major opens up some possibilities if you want to get some additional coursework at the graduate level. One is systems engineering, which is a growing field. Another is optics. I am presently working as an optical engineer and engineering manager.
Now, if math is what you really love, don't overlook it as a career. |
11-19-2009, 10:30 PM
|  | Registered User
Head Tinkerer, The Flufflab | | Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: California | | | I'm a double-major CS/EE but have a strong - if rusty - physics background.
Engineering tends to be a little more employable, but physics is still well-regarded by potential employers and can open up academic opportunities a little better.
You can take your physics straight up, or mix it with some application and do some form of engineering. It's really down to whichever makes you happier, because the more motivated you are the more you'll get out of it. Both are worthwhile directions to take your life in.
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11-19-2009, 10:32 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Minneapolis, MN | | | You guys are NUTS. I cannot possibly fathom liking math. I do love physics, just on a purely semantic/theoretical level.
Have fun making friends with your calculator :P and good luck on the career |
11-19-2009, 10:40 PM
| | Total Hyper-Elite Member | | Join Date: May 2000 Location: Groom Lake, NV | | Quote:
Originally Posted by anyonefortennis IMO and in my area of the country - An engineering degree (mech) may make you more 'hireable' right out of college and still have a heavy dose of physics and math. | Agreed. Engineering is just applied physics, and people will pay a lot for that.
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What is this thing called butthurt? |
11-19-2009, 10:49 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: ootah | | | The main thing to get out of any science/ engineering degree is the ability to identify and solve problems. I was an average engineering student, EE concentrating in microwaves, and didn't realize until well after graduating that the main thing I got out of school was the ability to solve problems. After 5 years in an industry EE job followed by a few years of ski bumming I've spent the last 20 years in an applied R+D environment. None of the patents I've been awarded are in electrical engineering but rather involve solving problems in MEMS, optics, and medical devices. If you come out of college with the ability to solve problems you'll be successful.
Good luck
dave
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