Majoring in physics

[popeye18]

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As an academic counselor and professor I always advise students to major in the subject that most interests them. If you are intelligent enough to handle the material your interest in the subject will serve you well.

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Is there any way to tell if i am intelligent enough to handle it without just going for it and finding out in a year im just not capable of grasping thermodynamics or something of the like? Physics 1 and calc 1 came easy to me but i have no idea what my capacity will be in the upper levels of math and physics.

[chezlaw]

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Is there any way to tell if i am intelligent enough to handle it without just going for it and finding out in a year im just not capable of grasping thermodynamics or something of the like? Physics 1 and calc 1 came easy to me but i have no idea what my capacity will be in the upper levels of math and physics.

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Have more confidence in yourself. if you have no problem with the prerequisites to the physics courses then you should do fine. The maths needed to for degree level physics isn't super difficult.

chez

[Leaky Eye]

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As an academic counselor and professor I always advise students to major in the subject that most interests them. If you are intelligent enough to handle the material your interest in the subject will serve you well.

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Is there any way to tell if i am intelligent enough to handle it without just going for it and finding out in a year im just not capable of grasping thermodynamics or something of the like? Physics 1 and calc 1 came easy to me but i have no idea what my capacity will be in the upper levels of math and physics.

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There is no way to prove it without doing it. Like chez said if you have little problem with the prereqs you should do fine. Also, committing to a technical undergraduate degree in almost no way limits your post graduate options.

Edit: PS. You should be a biologist.

[gull]

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I say major in physics.

At the engineering companies where I've worked, they hire physicists just as readily as engineers. In addition, an engineering professor of mine told me that he prefers hiring physicists because they think more.

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They hire physicists, or people who majored in physics?

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People who majored in physics.

[evank15]

I'm a physics major (okay - astronomy but same [censored]). I don't recommend it. Too much work and I'm way too lazy. You need a work ethic and a half. That or be brilliant. And the material is so dry it's tough to conjure up the required work ethic.

I used to think I liked physics too. I don't anymore. But I'm in 4th year and it's too late to quit now. My rationale is that in addition to it being too late to switch, having a physics degree looks really good on a resume, and with the addition of a minor in a totally different field, shows you have diversified skills.

B.Sc. in Astronomy (Minor - Applied Ethics).

I think that looks pretty good. Hopefully it gets me into law school.

If I had to do it all over again though....I'd do Political Science or Economics.

[ChrisV]

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As an academic counselor and professor I always advise students to major in the subject that most interests them. If you are intelligent enough to handle the material your interest in the subject will serve you well.

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I think this is bad advice for most people who have a broad range of interests. The problem is that the people who give academic career advice are academics, people interested enough in a single subject to devote their lives to it. It's no wonder their advice is generally to pick something you're interested in and go for that.

[Philo]

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I think that looks pretty good. Hopefully it gets me into law school.



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I'm sure you know this already, but getting into a good law school is pretty much a function of your LSAT score and GPA, in that order. Superior letters of recommendation can also help.

[daryn]

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I'm a physics major (okay - astronomy but same [censored]). I don't recommend it. Too much work and I'm way too lazy. You need a work ethic and a half. That or be brilliant.

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yes! this means i'm brilliant!

[gumpzilla]

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[ QUOTE ]
As an academic counselor and professor I always advise students to major in the subject that most interests them. If you are intelligent enough to handle the material your interest in the subject will serve you well.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is bad advice for most people who have a broad range of interests. The problem is that the people who give academic career advice are academics, people interested enough in a single subject to devote their lives to it. It's no wonder their advice is generally to pick something you're interested in and go for that.

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While I think this is true, I think I'll again reiterate my point that I don't think it matters too much for your undergraduate work. If you're not going on to graduate school, I would imagine there are very, very few fields where you learn things as an undergrad that will be immediately salable. From that point of view, majoring in something that interests you enough that you'll do well in school might not be a bad idea.

[Philo]

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As an academic counselor and professor I always advise students to major in the subject that most interests them. If you are intelligent enough to handle the material your interest in the subject will serve you well.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is bad advice for most people who have a broad range of interests. The problem is that the people who give academic career advice are academics, people interested enough in a single subject to devote their lives to it. It's no wonder their advice is generally to pick something you're interested in and go for that.

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That advice always comes with a ceterus paribus clause.