<p>I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, so to speak. I'm about to begin my Sophomore year in the honors program at a state school and I need to select my major. I am looking at two distinctly different options that are both exceptionally interesting to me:</p>
<ol>
<li>Major in Cognitive Science with a potential Minor in Computer Science if I can fit it.</li>
<li>Major in Physics with a potential Minor in (Computer Science, Engineering Science, or Engineering Physics)</li>
</ol>
<p>I find both of these majors to be vastly interesting and cannot really seem to pick what I think I would prefer.</p>
<p>I am looking for opinions as well as what people believe the future prospects of the fields will hold. And, of course, what kind of job opportunities will present themselves both with and without a higher degree.</p>
<p>Any help is much appreciated, thank you!</p>
<p>Cognitive science is very much of an experimental, research-oriented field. I think of it as a crossbreed of psychology and philosophy, although computer science is highly relevant for the field as well (cognitive science is, for example, what people hope will turn out new solutions for AI development). It’s not a very applicable major as it is (it’s more applicable, if you combine it with CS, mathematics and statistics or something from the life sciences e.g. neuroscience), because it’s so new and still very experimental. I’d think of it more as an intellectual pursuit, something that one picks because one’s interested in it, not necessarily because one thinks it will be immediately or obviously “useful”. I think one should orientate oneself to look for cognitive science research as the most potential “job” with this major.</p>
<p>Physics on the other hand is a traditional major, so no surprises there. It’s more applicable than cognitive science, because the scientific content is well established as well as applied.</p>
<p>Out of these two, cognitive science might be the one that could provide more “surprises”, given that it’s a young and very active field that walks relatively unknown paths. Whereas the physics undergrad is “typical” in content.</p>
<p>As odd as this may sound, is there any potential for overlap in these fields?
Would I have any luck getting my undergrad in one and then pursuing a higher degree in the other? Perhaps with some additional relevant coursework?</p>
<p>Do these minors add anything?</p>
<p>I did some research on Berkeley’s career site, and there seems to be a bit of an overlap between careers in physics and cognitive science. Many of the graduates from both majors seem to either go onto graduate school or into engineering. You can also perform brain imaging, which deals a lot with neuroscience and physics. </p>
<p><a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Physics.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Physics.stm</a>
<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/CogSci.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/CogSci.stm</a></p>
<p>I’ve also had the opportunity to talk to some of the CogSci students there (as I am planning on majoring in it), and most of them seem to have settled on marketing, linguistics, education and user experience design (neither of which you necessarily have to go to grad school for). For instance, one of them wants to work in an edutech startup. Another has already picked up jobs in computational linguistics and the radio. Many of them have, like me, also considered user experience design. </p>
<p>People do tend to double major (as minors don’t seem to do much) in Computer Science and CogSci. Education minors may be worth it, though, if you’re thinking about going into teaching! </p>
<p>You should check this out to see what other jobs are out there for CogSci majors:
[Cognitive</a> Science - Co-op and Career Services](<a href=“http://www5.carleton.ca/cc/career/resources/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/cognitive-science/]Cognitive”>http://www5.carleton.ca/cc/career/resources/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/cognitive-science/)</p>
<p>Sorry, as you can see, I’m a little biased towards CogSci.</p>
<p>Physics.</p>
<p>Only because cognitive science is a pseudoscience.</p>
<p>Well, that’s what I wanted to type, for funzies, but I decided it was too much like trolling. :D</p>
<p>Physics is the king of sciences though, just so’s ya know’s.</p>
<p>As a physics major, your brain is pushed to its cognitive limit and all you want to do is throw your theoretical mechanics book out the window but you can’t because it is the most interesting thing you’ve ever read so you keep reading for hours on end, drinking buckets of coffee to keep your brain energized until finally something “clicks” and it’s the greatest feeling to finally understand a small part of the universe… 
It’s like a big cognitive experiment in a way.</p>
<p>… and then you get to take quantum mechanics!</p>
<p>^and your brain explodes… And you wish you had majored in cognitive science.</p>
<p>I think cognitive science is amazing. Where I’m going to college, not only are you taking humanities classes, you also get to take challenging courses in discrete math, calculus, computer science, etc. You even get to take the time to take a bunch of elective classes and study abroad! It is in no way a “breeze,” but we get a lot of flexibility in our schedule!</p>
<p>I would say if you REALLY like your calc classes, then go for physics because cognitive science will probably disappoint you. Otherwise cognitive science might be good. Keep in mind, physics probably has better job prospects.</p>