Help with college pursuits

[Aspiring physicist]

Hi, I want to go to college to be a theoretical particle physicist, and I was wondering what degree(s) I would need for that. I looked around and was unaware about if I were to get a degree in particle physics and choose to be a theoretical one, or do I get a degree in theoretical physics and just assume that I research in particle physics(assuming all of these degrees exist). I’m only 14, but I wanted to go into life extra prepared.

[mathematic]

Major in Physics in college.  While in high school take Physics courses.  Particle Physics would be a course at an advanced undergraduate or graduate level in college.  Typically someone in this area would have a Ph. D. thesis on a particular problem in this subject.

[druS]

Sean Carrol (my favourite physicist who is alive) suggests that only 1 in 4 of his PhD students get a job in theoretical physics.

AP I am 56 years old and there is no way I have a likelihood of being one of Sean's 1:4.  I'm chasing it anyway, bloke. You, you at 14 asking these questions, hell I'm jealous. Just go for it.

In terms of tertiary study, I can only speak from my limited experience. High school fills a background for tertiary study. So compared to the course I am doing right now, if you do Physics at school with advanced math - you'll take about a year (part time) off my bachelor. Then you want to do a bachelor in science (physics). I'd suggest you need work in maths and physics. So a dual major might appeal. Or not. My current study is problematic as I can't fit all my interests into a double major.

At the moment my solution is to focus on a math major and get very broad with everything else. I'm not sure it will last.

Ultimately you will want post grad (the bachelor is just a start point) and in partical physics it is likely to be a PhD in theoretical physics.

Huh! That's a mouthfull of possibilities. In the mean time my advice is to stick, seriously stick,  to the stuff that you find interesting. If it is interesting at 14 it will be also at 56, don't fricking loose time. God I'd love to be hitting this right now at 14.

Ultimately, just do it.

[Aspiring physicist]

Thank you guys so much this was very helpful, and yes I agree it is awesome. I think I have a much better view of my future now :D.

Yeah, I just had my parents look over it, I’m at a private school, so I don’t have as good of learning opportunities as normal schools, but I think we've worked it out. My school has Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, and Pre-Cal, but it doesn't have any physics classes, but I’m going to take them online.

[ALine]

I mean you already have the name so you are already halfway there. Just learn about some stuff, figure out if you want to work for yourself or for someone else like a university. After that, just live your life trying to find the answers to the universe.

[mathematic]

In high school take all the math available.  Your list doesn't include trigonometry - take it, on line if necessary!

[Aspiring physicist]

Yes, of course, I've already completed trig with right angles online on a website called Kahn Academy, so I suppose I could do the entire thing, thanks.

[Aspiring physicist]

Btw, what maths are u talking about just in case I haven't taken any of them.

[Klaynos]

Maths, all the maths at highschool level. 

Photonics rather than particle physics but of my contemporary PhD students I would suggest that 1 in 5 is probably a fair value for the number of people who stay in academia. I don't work in l anything close to my PhD subject but I do collaborate with some particle phycisists. 

I wouldn't get too caught up in the difference between a theoretical phycisists and an experimentalist. It's rare that the line is very strong in my experience. Although I almost always refer to myself as an experimental phycisist, at least two of my papers are pretty much theoretical model development with some experiments to test it. 

[studiot]

On 24/09/2018 at 1:32 AM, Aspiring physicist said:

I’m only 14, but I wanted to go into life extra prepared.

 

7 hours ago, Aspiring physicist said:

Btw, what maths are u talking about just in case I haven't taken any of them.

 

Be prepared for a big shock.

 

In the UK the first high school maths exams is taken at 15/16 and nowadays called GCSE

I thought I knew all about Maths (and other things) when I took mine.

I thought the maths for the second exam A level - pre university evel - was just more difficult versions of the same.

 

What a shock I had.

 

University Maths as a secondary subject is just more difficult A levels,

University Maths for Maths is something else entirely.

 

So as Klaynos says,

Lap up your lessons and learn them well

and one more thing

Ask plenty of questions here at SF about subject matters you are not sure of.

 

 

Go well in your future studies.

Edited September 27, 2018 by studiot

[Aspiring physicist]

Yes thank you, but I was curious about what the specific maths might be because I've found a wonderful website where I can take classes and get credits( to help tale time off of my bachelor in science), but do you know what the specific maths I need are? And just to be clear we Y'all say maths, do you mean types of mathematics, or stuff like algebra, calculus algebraic topology etc.

 

When* take*

[studiot]

Strangely enough Maths hangs together.

It is not a collection of separate bags of tricks to get you through an exam.

That sort of Maths won't help you at all in Particle Physics.

PP invokes some very fundamental maths that you don't meet until you have enough under your belt to cope with it (ie at university)

You need a good understanding of probability and statistics (they are different).

I don't know what your budget is but here are a couple of inspiring books yopu should be able to get hold of at reasonable cost.

Both explore the relationship between (modern) maths and physics in an accessible way

but include/introduce some quite advanced maths topics along the way

From Calculus to Chaos
(An introduction to dynamics)

David Acheson

Oxford University Press

 

The Mathematical Mechanic
(Using physical reasoning to solve mathematical problems)

Mark Levi

Princeton University Press