I just finished my sophomore year, and I’ve been putting more thought into what to do in college. I really like physics and astronomy so I was considering majoring in physics, astronomy, or astrophysics. Now first of all I don’t really know the difference between the three majors and which one is the best choice. Also, I don’t know what I would do with it. Going into research doesn’t really sound like my thing, but I would love to be a professor. How would I do that? And are there any other options?
Lately I’ve also been considering aerospace engineering. I don’t know much about it, but I’ve been getting some resources to learn about it. It seems like a more realistic career choice, but I’m not sure if it’s for me. I’m not really a hands on person. Would there be a future for me as an engineer that doesn’t really involve building stuff?
Also, I need to know what colleges to be looking into that have good programs for these majors because I’m going to be making college visits this summer. Any suggestions? The main two I’ve been considering is University of Michigan and University of Chicago.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
If you want to be a professor, you will need to do research, at least to get your Ph.D. Since you are still in High School, there is plenty of time for you to figure this out. A physics or astrophysics degree is a bit more useful in the job market than an astronomy degree with physics being the most general. From physics you can move into engineering or astronomy as well.
As for good programs in physics, just about any university has a solid physics program and you can get a good preparation if you put the effort in. The most important thing is to make sure that the university offers a full range of physics courses so you can get a complete degree. Some of the very small schools only can offer upper division courses every 2 years and that makes it a bit more challenging.
Check out http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_102.htm for various fields’ job prospects. Look at the part of the table that lists post secondary teachers in science and engineering, as well as the parts listing physical scientists and engineers. Given what it says there, I don’t recommend astronomy, astrophysics or even aerospace engineering as majors; there are comparatively few jobs. Seek a degree in physics or in one of the higher demand fields of engineering shown at that website - the ones that show especially large numbers of job openings by 2022.
There is some room in major programs to take classes in “off-beat” (less marketable) subjects that especially interest you, like astronomy. Should an opportunity to pursue work doing it arise, simply point to the classes you took. But with a mainstream degree like physics, you will not be as limited in getting mainstream work, in the likely event that that’s all that can be readily found when you eventually seek work.
Note that every area, including engineering, needs instructors.
(I think you may not be oriented to research and building things, because you haven’t done it enough).