too-open-minded Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I want to be a cosmologist, but I have a better chance of going into the NFL. I want to have a major or minor in physics. I could see myself being an engineer for a few years although a cosmologist forever. I hate math although I can learn it and even find my own ways to solve individual problems. I like physics because it gives you a physical representation of what happens through measurements and conversions plus the whole predictive models thing is pretty cool. I start college in the fall and am unsure If I should fallow my dream to be a cosmologist or if I should get ready for a long boring life of engineering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooeypoo Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Life is (hopefully) long, so you should consider doing what you're excited about and what makes you passionate. What you can do in order to make up your mind, is take a variety of courses -- a little bit in engineering, a little bit in physics and get a better bearing of what you like to do best. I too started in Electrical Engineering, and ended up switching to physics, but it was a personal decision based on what *I* saw myself doing. These two subjects are not far off of one another, it's not like you're testing physics and pottery you can fairly well get the sense of which major suits you more. You should also consider if you know enough about "cosmology" to pick that as your subject. That is a relatively broad research base and you might see that there are several ways of working in the field. So, consider what do you see yourself doing in, say, 10 years? Do you see yourself trying to solve complex universal equation that model phenomena in the universe, or maybe you would rather research "on the field" something that has to do with astronomy, or perhaps you would like to work on the methodology or equipment that is used to get more or better data in our universe? Maybe you want to research exoplanets, or maybe variable stars? Each one of those has about a dozen different ways of reaching the same broad subject. It's best if you take the first year of college to get a "glimpse" of the various options before you make up your mind and stick to the major. It can't hurt, that's for sure. Even if you end up having Engineering as your major, having an extra physics class is going to be good for your resume and vise versa with physics major and an engineering class. Good luck! ~mooey 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
too-open-minded Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 Thankyou very much for your input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharonY Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 (edited) Follow your interests is certainly a good way to choose the outline of your studies. At certain points one should think about careers, too, however. This includes e.g. decision between master and PhD, or job prospects towards the end of a PhD, for instance. Studying is heaps of fun, but do not confuse it with a career path. And unfortunately, at some point one has to choose. So in short, enjoy the path, but also look towards a goal. Edited July 11, 2012 by CharonY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooeypoo Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Speaking of which, this podcast episode will really help you make some sense of the available degrees and the differences between them: Graduate degrees and career paths (Podcast #2): http://students.gradschoolshopper.com/resource/podcast/graduate-degrees-in-physics-astronomy-and-related-fields-and-what-you-can-do-with-them-in-the-job-market/ There's also the episode "How to become a scientist", that discusses the issue of cross-disciplinary education. Take a look at the resources in the site in general. It's true that they're aimed at graduate degrees, but the information in there can give you an idea of what exists out there and what to expect or aim for during your undergrad degree, so you can have the best options when you apply to grad school. * Full disclosure: I work for AIP and on this podcast in particular. On the other hand, that also means you should feel free to ask / request more answers and/or resources. I'd love to help and so will the rest of the team. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
too-open-minded Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Wow thankyou, I'll look into those links you gave me and I cant tell you how much i appreciate the help. I'm stuck between fallowing a career in psychology that will help me back up my theory on a new form of education, or fallowing a career in astronomy with minor in physics so that I may better understand the universe. Although I have 2 years really in junior college to figure out where exactly I should go, but thankyou and hopefully you wont regret telling me I'm free to ask you questions. I will have many of them lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas34 Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 You need to take right decision about your career because your whole life depends on it. My point of view you should make your career in cosmologist. ________________________ find employment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharonY Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 There is also a book on the topic: Peter J Feibelman "A PhD is not enough" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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