What should I study?

[Xenat]

I'm not really sure what I want to study, career wise I want to become a scientist, doing research and publishing scientific articles, but in terms of what science I want to be performing I'm not certain of that.

 

Here is what I like and do not like with the scientific branches:

 

Mathematics

+ Can be used to explain how everything works.

+ Doesn't require a great deal of memorization, more about truly understanding the logic behind it.

+ Very logical and fun to learn.

+ Challenging in a reasonable way (not like having to memorize 200 pages).

 

- Not something I would major as since I simply want to use mathematics as a tool.

 

Physics

+ I like how it explains the physical world.

+ Interesting to learn about, e.g. great variety of physics such as particle physics, quantum mechanics etc... really diverse.

+ I have a moderately strong interest in physics.

 

- I'm weak with programming, not so creative.

- Can be a bit difficult at times.

 

Chemistry

+ Not so many choosing chemistry as a major, so I can literally pick any university teaching it in my country.

 

- I hate it.

- I have no interest in chemistry unless it is applied to biology.

 

Marine Biology

+ A subject easy to relate to, as you study things you see everyday (e.g. trees, plants, animals etc...).

+ Always been interested in marine lifeforms.

+ I have a strong interest in biology.

+ I might tolerate chemistry here since I like it when I apply other subjects. Like using maths in physics, feels the same here with chemistry.

 

- Few jobs, doesn't seem to be growing?

- Organic chemistry gave me a brain tumor. (I might learn to like it)

 

------------

 

So what should I study?

 

Right now I'm divided between Marine Biology, physics and biology.

 

As a Marine Scientist I would like to specialise in marine biology and conduct research on how marine lifeforms live and function, from a biomolecular level.

As a Physicist I would like to understand how particle physics works. Also slightly interested in astronomy (not much because I literally can't "feel" it).

As a Biologist I would like to understand how lifeforms function, just like in marine biology, maybe a bit deeper into chemistry/biomolecular level here?

 

Any suggestions? Should I maybe even pick engineering in lets say, bioengineering?

Edited February 21, 2017 by Xenat

[Klaynos]

Have you investigated biophysics?

[Xenat]

Have you investigated biophysics?

I have but I never understood what it was about, so probably not.

[hypervalent_iodine]

You may wish to look into what being a marine biologist actually involves. Very little of it is dealing with those 'things you see every day.' A lot of it is analysing data at a computer.

[studiot]

Do the lifeforms have to be living?

 

There's over 3 billion years of lifeforms available to study in the earth sciences (eg paleototany, paleonology etc) as well as a good dollop of physics in geophysics.

[Xenat]

Yeah I'm aware that analysing data is a large part of being a marine biologist, but the same can be said about a lot of other science jobs.

 

Should I major in marine SCIENCE instead?

 

It involves all form of science and maybe from there I can specialize in a area like physical oceanography, biologival, geologisk etc...?

[CharonY]

You may wish to look into what being a marine biologist actually involves. Very little of it is dealing with those 'things you see every day.' A lot of it is analysing data at a computer.

 

Actually it is worse. If you really want an academic career your time is split between teaching administration, proposal/paper writing, people management and a tiny fraction of it is actually doing analyses. If one is interested in performing experiments, a technical position is more suitable, as after postdoc the time dedicated to that part sharply declines.

 

There are few exceptions such as being staff scientists e.g. at national labs or research prof at unis. However these positions are relatively rare (and thus highly competitive) and the research prof positions are also often badly financed.

 

Even if one is alright with the little time dedicated to research, faculty positions are highly competitive and for that, badly compensated. So one should really inform oneself about the details of scientific careers. That being said, being in college is also about figuring out your interest and not only building a career. As such I would recommend following interests to some degree and use that to build general (e.g. problem-solving) skills that can be applied to a broad range of careers.

[Xenat]

So what should I do then?

 

I still want to do research on marine biology, i don't want to work at mcdonalds.

 

Should I just give that up and become a physicist or engineer? Not sure i like engineering. ..

[CharonY]

No, what I am saying is that your idea of what a career entails is likely too vague and you need to get more insights. I.e. take a look what an academic job really is like and what jobs outside of academia could be had e.g. with marine biology as background.

Meanwhile you could just study what you enjoy.

[Xenat]

Ok, but by my description what would be ideal for me, marine science, physics or biology major?

 

What is a good way of 'testing' what i'm interested in?

Edited February 21, 2017 by Xenat

[CharonY]

If you read on the various topics, where do you think would you like to invest time in? Then get a basic textbook on that topic and read that and work through the exercises. Still fun? Consider studying it.

[Xenat]

Ok, I'm now completely convinced that I want to become a marine biologist.

 

Should I get a degree in Marine Science (Covers all aspects of oceanography) or is a biology degree and then masters in marine biology advicable?

 

I think I'm going with marine science and then marine biology, rather than biology and then marine biology. Mostly because marine science prepares you properly and it seems more interesting.

 

Also, how hard is it to get a field job as a marine biologist? I want to either work in the field of in a lab (or maybe a university teacher), how exactly can I make this my future?

Edited February 22, 2017 by Xenat

[hypervalent_iodine]

Ok, I'm now completely convinced that I want to become a marine biologist.

 

Should I get a degree in Marine Science (Covers all aspects of oceanography) or is a biology degree and then masters in marine biology advicable?

 

I think I'm going with marine science and then marine biology, rather than biology and then marine biology. Mostly because marine science prepares you properly and it seems more interesting.

 

Also, how hard is it to get a field job as a marine biologist? I want to either work in the field of in a lab (or maybe a university teacher), how exactly can I make this my future?

 

 

 

Sorry this is so late in posting. As I said before, the ratio of field work to sitting in front of a computer looking at data, is very skewed towards the latter.

 

Finding research positions is hard regardless of the field. An rather small percentage of PhD graduates will go on into research-based careers, and even less will continue in academia. I can't imagine marine biology is any better. If you are picking a field based on likelihood of employment, I would go towards bioinformatics (though I'm not even sure that's correct these days). Still, if you are going that route and presumably planning on doing a PhD, then you will develop a host of other skills along the way that are transferrable to various positions across a number of sectors.

[CharonY]

I do not have any current data, but about 10 years back only about 20% of all PhDs managed to secure jobs in research. Basically something like 50% went into careers outside science immediately, and close to 30% drop out and join later. Among those stay in science about 17% go to non-uni research (which does include managing facilities). In the end something like 1% secure tenured positions. The proportions vary by country but as a whole it is not expected to be great either way. It is common to have something like 100-200 applications for a tenure-track position, for example.

 

So chances to stay in academia are, as being said, rather dismal and financially certainly not very rewarding, as postdoctoral salaries are really bad (often close to the poverty line), often have limited benefits, and more often than note require you to pay moving expenses and other things out of your pocket. I.e. your earning chances are are awful compared to company tracks (unless you get really, really, really, lucky).

 

That being said, there are disciplines, which includes marine biology that have extensive fieldwork. However, due to teaching and other commitments there is a good chance that you will mostly send out postdocs and students. A (successful) professor's primary work interface consists of email clients, text documents and the preferred tool for making slides.

[NimrodTheGoat]

from your intersts why not look into bioengineering? i was interested in biology as well.

 

i recommend taking introduction classes in college, great way to look at possible career paths. i use to have no interest in psychology until i took a class in it and now i love it and i will major in a career path in the field.

 

also try shadowing a person in the profession you are interested in (if they allow you to do so)

[Xenat]

Okay I think I have changed my mind. I do have an interest in biology, but the way biology is being taught it unfortunately not right for me, as it heavily relies on memorisation as opposed to analytical thinking (of course there's analytical thinking involved in biology, just not as much as physics). I did buy a book on molecular genetics and from what I've seen there's simply too much to memorise, we are talking about a book of 1500 pages.

 

I started thinking more about my interests and found out that Physics and Aerospace Engineering were really interesting, and I've had a strong interest in those subjects since a long time.

 

The problem with Physics is that I'm likely to get a job outside of it unless I get a PhD in it, which is unlikely. Otherwise a very interesting subject.

 

The problem with Aerospace Engineering is that I'm not sure Designing/Building things is my speciality. The only program for this is 3 hours away by plane. Otherwise also a very interesting subject, mostly about physics here too.

 

So should I go for physics or aerospace engineering? I want to work with something related to physics (particle physics, mechanics, astrophysics and electromagnetism) but I also wanna have good job opportunities. When it comes down to engineering I like the idea of designing space instruments, not sure I would like airplanes.

[hypervalent_iodine]

All sciences require a certain amount of memory work just to get the basics down. You build the logic and intuition from those things. That being said, I would agree that biology generally has a larger memorization requirement than say, chemistry or (maybe) physics, but that is because biology as a whole is quite broad and encompasses a lot of distinct sub-disciplines. There's just a lot of stuff going on in it.

 

I can't comment on the differences between aerospace and physics. I will say though that it seems like you're really just attracted to the flashy side of things (in other words, the things that sound cool). It reminds me of a few friends in high school who wanted to study physiotherapy so they could becomes sports physio and work with professional teams. I personally don't think it's a very good way to go about selecting your major, as the chances are very much not in your favor at the end of the day. I'm not trying to discourage you, but it is important to be realistic about your expectations.

 

I will say about aerospace, that I can't imagine there isn't a huge amount of memory work involved in it. Moreover, I know from some friends who are aerospace engineers and from friends who are other types of engineers, that it is considered the hardest engineering major there is. If you do go for it, be prepared for a lot of hard work.

[Xenat]

I did study physics and enjoyed it in general, not the flashy aspects of it but everything. With biology, it's that flashy aspect I like whereas the smaller parts that constitutes 90% of what you do I do not like.

[hypervalent_iodine]

I did study physics and enjoyed it in general, not the flashy aspects of it but everything. With biology, it's that flashy aspect I like whereas the smaller parts that constitutes 90% of what you do I do not like.

That's fair. I had a number of friends who did a dual degree: a BSc (physics) and an engineering degree. It seemed to work pretty well for them. Perhaps you could pursue that? That way, if you find you dislike the engineering component or the physics component, you can drop one or the other degree. The engineering will be pretty general to start with though, so try not to get put off.

[Klaynos]

If you want to be a working physicist I would strongly to encourage you to learn a couple of programming languages. Whilst it might not be required to do the physics it is required in most physics related jobs. Even data analysis is so much faster if you can't do it with something like R a candidate that can will beat you during the application process every time.

 

Given your apparent interests I would again suggest looking at biophysics, the physics of biological processes. In my old department they did a lot of it. Everything from the physical interactions of cancer cells for new, quick, low cost tests to the mechanics of horse tendons (they had horse legs in fridges they'd get out to show visitors, it was odd).

That's fair. I had a number of friends who did a dual degree: a BSc (physics) and an engineering degree. It seemed to work pretty well for them. Perhaps you could pursue that? That way, if you find you dislike the engineering component or the physics component, you can drop one or the other degree. The engineering will be pretty general to start with though, so try not to get put off.

My general statement is that to be a great engineering you need to be an acceptable scientist and to be a great scientist you need to be an acceptable engineer.

[Xenat]

I will of course make my programming skills more robust before starting university, last time I did that programming was my weakness. Any advice on how to get better at home?

 

I'm also considering taking biophysics as a masters, but I will have to think about it, still have to do my undergraduate first.

[Velocity_Boy]

From your list in your OP it sounds like you're definitely not a true "techie" or a science nerd at heart. And not a math guy for sure. This rules out, well, duh, math, and also physics. You seem to enjoy living things, i.e. Biology. This is my field. It is an immense one with tons of sub-disciplines.

 

Are you a Green guy? LOL. Like the outdoors and nature? May I suggest Environmental Science? What is sometimes called Earth Science? Lots of opportunity there with things like recycling, waste disposal management (a super-underratedly important field!); pollution control; conservation; hydrology..heck, you name it. And with the semi-recent global national zeitgeist of trying to better analyze and then stem the effects of Climate Change, well....you see my point.

And you can steer clear of difficult maths for the most part!

[CharonY]

If you are not interested in science at heart, biology is not for you. Without at least some basic maths knowledge you will struggle (though less than physics). Environmental science in biology is typically more ecology-related and does not deal with the urban management side of things (except on the interface of it). What is described falls more under environmental engineering or other applied sciences.

Steering clear of maths in either of those does not work. Ecology as well engineering uses a fair bit of applied maths.

[Xenat]

From your list in your OP it sounds like you're definitely not a true "techie" or a science nerd at heart. And not a math guy for sure. This rules out, well, duh, math, and also physics. You seem to enjoy living things, i.e. Biology. This is my field. It is an immense one with tons of sub-disciplines.

 

Are you a Green guy? LOL. Like the outdoors and nature? May I suggest Environmental Science? What is sometimes called Earth Science? Lots of opportunity there with things like recycling, waste disposal management (a super-underratedly important field!); pollution control; conservation; hydrology..heck, you name it. And with the semi-recent global national zeitgeist of trying to better analyze and then stem the effects of Climate Change, well....you see my point.

And you can steer clear of difficult maths for the most part!

 

I never said I didn't like science. Always been interested in physics until i dropped out due to unrelated reasons. The reason why I made that list in the first place is because I thought biology was a subject that might fit me and it does, it's just that I do not like the fact that mathematics is kept at a minimum. I'm not sure where you're getting all that information from, what do you mean by "you're not a math guy"? What is a math guy? I like math and honestly, the only reason why I decided to do physics instead of biology was because of the math and because I don't have to rely on endless memorisation in order to understand the material, physics scratches that part I like.

If you are not interested in science at heart, biology is not for you. Without at least some basic maths knowledge you will struggle (though less than physics). Environmental science in biology is typically more ecology-related and does not deal with the urban management side of things (except on the interface of it). What is described falls more under environmental engineering or other applied sciences.

Steering clear of maths in either of those does not work. Ecology as well engineering uses a fair bit of applied maths.

 

I am interested in science, especially biology, I love that subject. Problem is I also love mathematics, that is why I think physics (possibly biophysics as masters) is the right choice for me. I might also double major in physics and biology, but I'm not sure about that considering the workload would be high and there would probably be a couple of courses in biology that might not be relevant to my knowledge base in physics, e.g. ecology.

Edited March 18, 2017 by Xenat