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On January 15 2010 14:17 Chill wrote:
Don't take any advice from here. Seriously. If you have half a brain you won't read anything anyone here says. "Take what you enjoy" can also been bad advice. I cannot stress enough that you don't take advice from this thread.
This one included
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go for electrical engineering imo
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If getting a stable job is important, take whichever one has co-op. If you're not lazy as hell at your co-op jobs, you'll have lots of leads when you're done.
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Calgary25954 Posts
On January 15 2010 14:35 SanguineToss wrote:Show nested quote +On January 15 2010 14:17 Chill wrote:
Don't take any advice from here. Seriously. If you have half a brain you won't read anything anyone here says. "Take what you enjoy" can also been bad advice. I cannot stress enough that you don't take advice from this thread. This one included
Yes, seriously. Don't let people's single paragraphs shape your future.
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On January 15 2010 13:12 thopol wrote:
I don't know much about this, but I've heard that Engineering jobs are hard to come by lately.
I'd advise he do what he is interested in. There's always academia or a transition in discipline with the transition into graduate studies.
Troll?
Anyway here's what I think, and you should certainly disregard this:
1. Getting a job in astronomy / astrophysics / physics is hard. Unlike engineering, you have to be an exemplary student and go to graduate school to do things on the cutting edge of your discipline. However, you could always get a masters in education afterward and teach the subject in high school. That is very gratifying for some people.
2. Getting engineering jobs is not hard at all, an they have good starting salaries. But be prepared to work hard. There is less theory than in physics, but it's rigorous nonetheless - more number crunching and learning about empirical things applicable to manufacturing etc. than theory. I'm chemE, and a common comparison is "chemists learn how to synthesize molecules, chemical engineers learn how to make a profit off of them," or something like that.
3. Doing what you want is important, but so is money. He should look up statistics regarding job placement, talk to professors about graduate school talk to advisers in that department etc. More important than doing what you like is not being miserable doing what you're doing - being "meh" can be tolerable, but if you're work inspires you you'll perform better.
4. He should consider his strength. Physics requires a fair amount of maths, engineering doesn't really - calculus, differential equations, vector analysis, and linear algebra are about all you need. Some abstract physics applications require abstract algebra, real analysis, complex analysis, and maybe even topography (not so sure, but it may exist in really weird theories). Of course, to get a bare-bones physics B.S., you certainly wouldn't need all that. But in graduate school it should be helpful.
5. My uncle got his M.S. in math and then M.S. in geo astrophysics, worked for JPL all his life, and is now happily married, retired, and living in beautiful Sedona, AZ.
6. Engineering involves a lot of group work - people skills are somewhat important.
7. Graduating with a 2.5 in engineering will get you buy - a 2.5 in physics and you pretty much have to be a teacher (unless you turn your act around instantly somehow and prove yourself in an absurd way).
8. Did you mention computer engineering? Lots of discrete mathematical structures - good if you have a firm grasp of logic. Electrical and computer engineering are pretty math intensive at least in the area of discrete mathematics and mathematical logic. So he should consider that too. They're fun areas though 
9. You can change your major even two years into school and graduate in 5 still. But better not to change it in your fourth year.
10. Pick up a minor (see below).
Hope this is somewhat helpful.
Edit: Oh, mining engineering. I know nothing about it, but if it's a sure job like you say, that's a powerful influence. I'm a major economics and chemical engineering, with a minor in math, because why the hell not.
Really it's because I don't know what I want to do, want to be able to get a job if I have to, and want to be able to go to grad school for a variety of disciplines if I elect grad school.
But my life is a clusterfuck, too much work, too little sleep. I enjoy the work I do though, and I thought A LOT about majors. I gave to nix to physics, math (a major anyway), Korean, chemistry, computer science and engineering, political science (best decision ever), and business economics (also best decision ever).
I also take 1 or 2 credits of Korean individualized instruction a quater. Honestly, whatever he does, he should pick up a minor at least. It may just be my view, but I think everyone should get a minor. The world is full of interesting things, and a MechE with a physics minor could certainly go to grad school for physics; a variety of other combinations exist too. Variety and versatility is good - it can help detract from you main discipline becoming too monotonous.
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On January 15 2010 14:17 Chill wrote:
Don't take any advice from here. Seriously. If you have half a brain you won't read anything anyone here says. "Take what you enjoy" can also been bad advice. I cannot stress enough that you don't take advice from this thread.
Rofl.
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On January 15 2010 14:17 Chill wrote:
Don't take any advice from here. Seriously. If you have half a brain you won't read anything anyone here says. "Take what you enjoy" can also been bad advice. I cannot stress enough that you don't take advice from this thread.
Chill is a baller.
Chill is an engineer.
Q.E.D.
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Mining Engineering!! So he can come over here to Australia and help me start an underground living company. I want underground cities and I need the Engineering skills to help me yo~~ and they've gots to be sturdy! I'll be stuck if I just start with a pick and a shovel~~
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On January 15 2010 14:25 Chill wrote:Show nested quote +On January 15 2010 14:24 nAi.PrOtOsS wrote:On January 15 2010 14:17 Chill wrote:
Don't take any advice from here. Seriously. If you have half a brain you won't read anything anyone here says. "Take what you enjoy" can also been bad advice. I cannot stress enough that you don't take advice from this thread. How can the experiences and opinions of people that come to this site be bad? Obviously he isnt going to base his entire decision off of what somone say's but it could help him come to a final decision. Because the opinions on this site are wildly skewed. If you spent any time as a graduate you could clearly see that. People vastly overvalue "do what you like" as well as "its hard to get a job right now." Of course this is all relative to what I feel is important so maybe I'm way offbase.
Enough said. You just refuted yourself!
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On January 15 2010 14:17 Chill wrote:
Don't take any advice from here. Seriously. If you have half a brain you won't read anything anyone here says. "Take what you enjoy" can also been bad advice. I cannot stress enough that you don't take advice from this thread.
Fucking agreed.
Take it from a grad student who majored in physics and math for undergrad (I'm in computational biology, btw... yet didn't take a single bio class in college). My undergrad physics/astro colleagues are now all over the map. Some are in grad school (physics and others), one is in med school, a few are working in finance, one is an actuary, one is traveling, one is in the army, one is in some energy conservation program, one it teaching high school, one got married, one took a year off to lead some hiking camp thing...
Why do people make these stupid generalizations about other peoples' lives? No one here on TL can give you or your friend the faintest clue about what path is "right"...
It's more productive to ask people about their experiences, then decide for yourself the probability that those experiences might apply to your own life, and whether or not they should guide your decisions.
Ask questions, but none of us have your answers.
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On January 15 2010 18:47 ero wrote:Show nested quote +On January 15 2010 14:17 Chill wrote:
Don't take any advice from here. Seriously. If you have half a brain you won't read anything anyone here says. "Take what you enjoy" can also been bad advice. I cannot stress enough that you don't take advice from this thread. Fucking agreed. Take it from a grad student who majored in physics and math for undergrad (I'm in computational biology, btw... yet didn't take a single bio class in college). My undergrad physics/astro colleagues are now all over the map. Some are in grad school (physics and others), one is in med school, a few are working in finance, one is an actuary, one is traveling, one is in the army, one is in some energy conservation program, one it teaching high school, one got married, one took a year off to lead some hiking camp thing... Why do people make these stupid generalizations about other peoples' lives? No one here on TL can give you or your friend the faintest clue about what path is "right"... It's more productive to ask people about their experiences, then decide for yourself the probability that those experiences might apply to your own life, and whether or not they should guide your decisions. Ask questions, but none of us have your answers.
Disagree. Also, you're giving him the advice of not following any advice. Anyway, he won't decide anything based on this thread, but things to consider are always good.
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EPT
