<p>"23) For incoming frosh, math and physics are the most popular majors, in about equal proportions. A lot of people who intend to become math majors decide that it's not really something that they want to do with their lives. Thankfully, it's really easy to switch majors here."</p>
<p>Could you give us an estimate of the percentage of freshmen who come in wanting to major in physics, and the percentage who want to major in math? And of those two percentages, what fraction would you say actually do major in physics and math? I've gotten the impression (probably on this forum) that many (or even most) students get discouraged and end up majoring in easier (or perhaps "less abstract" or "less counter-intuitive" would be better terms) fields. Is this true?</p>
<p>They told us the exact numbers for my class at frosh camp. Off the top of my head, via terrible memory, it was something like: 15% physics, 15% math, 10% biology, 10% CS, 7% chemical engineering, 7% chemistry, 36% mostly other engineering majors. The current freshman class may not be representative of other recent classes though, keep in mind.</p>
<p>A quick search of the ASCIT student directory indicates, for the class of 2006, 21% declared physics and 8% math for their major. Either they had a lot more people originally wanting to be physics majors than for my class, or not that many people actually decide to switch out of physics. I know a few frosh who originally intended to be math majors, but no longer are. None of them switched because math was too hard (heck, some of them switched to harder majors,) but because they realized they enjoyed another field more and it had better job opportunities.</p>
<p>26) I like this question. The values of the people here match mine. Doing things that are intellectually hard just for fun is universally understood here. You don't have to explain to someone why that's good. People respect the same kinds of achievement as most high school nerds do. There is less petty politics, though not none. Almost always, your instructor is better at what he is teaching than you are. Others add more!</p>
<p>It is not the case that students get discouraged so much as that in high school, most students know very little about fields like geology, planetary science, chemical engineering, economics, and even mathematics. Indeed, there are even "menu courses", classes required outside one's major with the intention of exposing freshmen to fields other than their intended major. Ge 1 and Ay 1 in particular cause people to switch to geology and astrophysics respectively. </p>
<p>As UndulyLlamarific pointed out, there is still a large number of students that major in math or physics. </p>
<p>For 26, for me the biggest difference between Caltech and high school was one you'd find at any college: since assignments are given out in weekly rather than daily batches, I had to learn how to manage my time better. In high school, I'd been able to do every assignment at the last minute, but here the assignments are more difficult and consist less of drilling concepts into your head and more of application of new concepts in novel ways. </p>
<p>Also a big difference, and again one that you'd probably find at any college, is that college math courses aren't like high school ones. Rather than learning new techniques and applying them a billion times, math consists of proofs and figuring out as much as possible from a few axioms. (note: regular math as you know it is also taught here, but it's under the header of ACM, applied and computational mathematics) </p>
<p>Research availability. No matter where you end up going for college, I highly recommend that you try to do research there and/or apply to the SURF program. It's like a whole different side of science. </p>
<p>Socially, most techers are benevolent and work well as a team, as shown in homework collaboration for difficult classes, design and construction of complex parties, etc. </p>
<p>One thing I like a lot about Caltech is that there is a lot of student involvement. Since this is a small school with a keen eye towards optimizing itself, students serve on many committees that deal with issues important to the school. Examples include admissions, UASH (undergraduate academic standards and honors committee, they decide when someone can graduate, when they need a term off for academic reasons, etc.), the Board of Control and Conduct Review Committees (BoC deals with academic violations of the honor code, CRC deals with policy violations or something), and many other committees governing food, athletics, academic policies, curriculum, finding replacements for administrators when they retire, etc. </p>
<p>27: You get a prefrosh weekend T-shirt. I don't know what the design looks like. I hope it's good.</p>
<ol>
<li>If you decide to major in sth like Physics or chem (big academic, research majors), how possible is it to not go to grad school and not do research forever and not be a professor but still have a good career (like in a company or sth.)? I'm just not sure yet if I like research or not.</li>
</ol>
<p>Sorry for the inarticulate wording of the question.</p>
<p>26.) I went to a large urban high school, and the differences are pretty huge, even besides the obvious "I'm no longer ostracized for being a nerd and liking science!"-style differences. Techers seem to take care of each other more than people in high school ever did. When someone is struggling in a subject, classmates and upperclassmen are almost always willing to go out of their way and give their time, which they may or may not have much of, to help the person understand the material. I personally have probably learned more from my peers than from lectures (this is not to say that I don't feel like I've learned a lot from class lectures,) often in academic subjects that I would have never taken classes in.</p>
<p>27.) There's a T-shirt made specifically for prefrosh weekend that's given to you when you get sign in. Last year, it was "How be a Caltech Superhero" with a Superman logo on the front with a pi instead of an S.</p>
If you decide to major in sth like Physics or chem (big academic, research majors), how possible is it to not go to grad school and not do research forever and not be a professor but still have a good career (like in a company or sth.)? I'm just not sure yet if I like research or not.</p>
<p>Sorry for the inarticulate wording of the question.
</p>
<p>Recruiters for many different companies show up at our career fairs. In areas like investment banking and finance in particular, Caltech students' strong analytical skills and good work ethic give them a big advantage in the hiring process. Many of my friends interested in finance have had no trouble getting internships.</p>
<p>Careers in science, be it academia or industry, do kind of suck in relation to other things a person of similar talent could apply themselves toward. For example, being a doctor, lawyer, or businessman of some sort pays better and probably has more job security, whereas in science the market is saturated with PhDs, leading economics to lower wages in science. Here is an interesting article on careers in science, specifically with a focus on Larry Summers' comment regarding women in science: <a href="http://philip.greenspun.com/careers/women-in-science%5B/url%5D">http://philip.greenspun.com/careers/women-in-science</a></p>
<p>House of Pain! That article really made me think, I admit to being the stereotypical boy pursuing math/science portrayed by the author :( . </p>
<p>29.) What kind of science/math related careers do caltech graduates pursue? (either UG or Grad students, doesn't matter) And which specific areas pay well? Does it make more sense to pursue some sort of engineering major over physics at caltech if I'm worried about earning potential later on in life, or does what you major in as a UG not have that big of an influence on future income? (assuming I go to grad school)</p>
<p>I'm doing a finance internship this summer (I'm an Applied Physics major, which is close to being a physics major but a little different). Other companies that recruit Caltech students (in most majors, but all of these take physics majors) are consulting firms, investment banks, insurance companies, defense contractors, and hedge funds. </p>
<p>A physics major is capable of being pre-law, pre-med, or double majoring in Business Economics and Management (BEM). </p>
<p>However, I wouldn't rule out research just yet: it is extremely stimulating and can be very fun. As many people know, being a professor is a fantastic job, with a huge degree of freedom and a lot of enjoyment. The downside of academia is the non-negligible risk of being stuck as a postdoctoral scholar and never becoming a professor, as well as the lower pay relative to other professions and the inordinate amount of work it takes to become a prof. </p>
<p>In terms of earning potential in industry, most places will hire physics majors, the notable exception being places that do computer science or electrical engineering (unless, of course, you can demonstrate proficiency in those areas through coursework or research experience). Also, it is not uncommon for physics majors to get masters degrees or PhDs in other fields. e.g., if I go to grad school I'm probably going to try Materials Science. </p>
<p>Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just find out what you like, then do it. You'll be better</a> at it in the end anyway.</p>
<p>Not all academic fields are money-starved boondoggles, just most. I think idealism is important, and following your heart is important (especially in college, where it's likely to increase your intelligence by the maximum possible amount to do what you love), but in the end it helps to be aware that, as my econ prof put it (and he was right), "Good grad students in econ make more money their first year of grad school than most history professors make their first year on the faculty." So you CAN go into academia and be well taken care of. You just have to choose wisely, and keep in mind that not all choices in the same domain will lead to roughly the same life.</p>
<p>Anyway, I agree heartily with another thing omgninja said. When going to grad school, a lot of jumping is common. Pure math majors go into econ, theoretical physicists go into electrical engineering, etc. And these people are often welcomed even more enthusiastically than, say, undergrad econ or EE majors. So you can often "win" by pursuing what you love and worry about money upon getting out of college.</p>
<p>Really the only things to avoid are majors that cut you off from a wide range of things. Like comparative literature and east asian history. Although even there, exceptions abound. Ed Witten (probably world's top string theorist) was an undergrad history major. One of the most sought after guys being recruited for grad schools in econ this year was a comparative literature major at Princeton. So really, if you're smart enough, you can do absolutely whatever you want.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your replies. I didn't rule out research; I just do not know enough to be sure if I like it or not--and that's the problem, I don't know what I LIKE--I do enjoy learning sciences, but taking classes and doing research are pretty different things...I wasn't thinking about the money problem until you guys mentioned it.</p>
<p>anyway I asked that original question because I want to major in some sort of science/math but am afraid to be stuck and messed up if I found out I don't like the career, and was wondering the possibility of doing something other than research successfully coming out an academic major. and it seems that it is possible. </p>
<p>I put all my questions down below.</p>
<ol>
<li>) do most Caltech grads, if they choose research, become professors and have decent careers? I would think so because you're all so smart^^
if a physics major decides he doesn't like research, can he be a chemical engineer? an economist? (these are other majors I'm interested in) and what else? oh and if I double major in math and physics, will I die of exhaustion...</li>
</ol>
<p>I wish to be that kind of smart-enough-to-do-anything person. Ben Golub, you said you'd write more when you come back and you didn't keep your promise^^but please feel free to ignore me because there's really no need -_-</p>
<p>never mind -_- I PMed you, if you want to know at all. But I don't think you really need to write more, I even don't think you needed to say you'll write more^^ but thanks!</p>
<p>House of Pain! That article really made me think, I admit to being the stereotypical boy pursuing math/science portrayed by the author . </p>
<p>29.) What kind of science/math related careers do caltech graduates pursue? (either UG or Grad students, doesn't matter) And which specific areas pay well? Does it make more sense to pursue some sort of engineering major over physics at caltech if I'm worried about earning potential later on in life, or does what you major in as a UG not have that big of an influence on future income? (assuming I go to grad school)</p>
<p>I wouldn't worry about it. You can always work on Wall Street, or if you are good with computers, work for a software company. Plus, if you want to become an electrical engineer at some later point, it will be super-easy for you since it is so physics-based. In retrospect, I regret choosing engineering over physics.</p>
<p>Most of the posts seem to be related to maths/physics/engineering. Is there a specific section/forum where people who are interested in biology/biochem post information and/or questions?</p>