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nAi.PrOtOsS
Canada784 Posts
-Electrical Engineering -Astronomy -Mechanical Engineering -Physics/Astro -Mining Engineering He enjoys Astronomy and Physics but is worried that he will not be able to get a job after completing his degree, whereas the salary / chance of getting a job in the others is much better.  | ||
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thopol
Japan4560 Posts
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. | ||
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Faronel
United States658 Posts
-Source: Some career/college planning website my school pays for. He has to remember though that if you do choose A+P, you pretty much have to get your PhD if he plans on pursuing something solely in those fields. However, if he does something related to A+P, but based in engineering, that's a different story. | ||
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illu
Canada2531 Posts
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Ludrik
Australia523 Posts
If he just wants to study phys/astro and not work in it then i'd say go for it, you can still get a job in related fields. But if he's doing it for the sole purpose of working in that field i'd advise against it. | ||
DivinO
United States4796 Posts
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nAi.PrOtOsS
Canada784 Posts
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Nightmarjoo
United States3360 Posts
Either electrical or mechanical engineering would be a fine choice, skills in those fields will always be needed. | ||
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ero
United States66 Posts
On January 15 2010 13:15 Faronel wrote: So long as he is good at it, Astronomy and Physics is a good field for the exact reason is that there aren't too many of them. There should be enough openings in academia, teaching, or w/e. -Source: Some career/college planning website my school pays for. LOLOLOL. I hope you're kidding. | ||
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FragKrag
United States11567 Posts
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d3_crescentia
United States4054 Posts
Furthermore, the deeper you get into physics the more and more specialized you have to be; I personally don't find that very enjoyable. If your friend does want to do physics though and is worried about jobs, just tell him to be prepared and get internships at engineering firms, etc. so he'll already have an in. | ||
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illu
Canada2531 Posts
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never_Nal
Costa Rica676 Posts
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neobowman
Canada3324 Posts
Aerospace Engineering. | ||
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Grobyc
Canada18410 Posts
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Xxio
Canada5565 Posts
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Chill
Calgary26003 Posts
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mikeymoo
Canada7170 Posts
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. Conundrum? | ||
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nAi.PrOtOsS
Canada784 Posts
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. | ||
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Chill
Calgary26003 Posts
On January 15 2010 14:24 nAi.PrOtOsS wrote: 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. | ||
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SanguineToss
Canada815 Posts
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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jyhlol
243 Posts
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TimmyMac
Canada499 Posts
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Chill
Calgary26003 Posts
Yes, seriously. Don't let people's single paragraphs shape your future. | ||
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Ancestral
United States3230 Posts
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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Saturnize
United States2473 Posts
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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ThunderGod
New Zealand897 Posts
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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ShroomyD
Australia245 Posts
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illu
Canada2531 Posts
On January 15 2010 14:25 Chill wrote: 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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ero
United States66 Posts
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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Ancestral
United States3230 Posts
On January 15 2010 18:47 ero wrote: 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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