<p>Hi. I got a few questions and I would appreaciate anyone helping me out. Heres the deal, I wanna become a scientist, but my parents wouldnt approve. My plan is to major in electrical engineering (with physics minor).</p>
<p>Question:
1. Do all universities allow you to choose a physics minor when doing engineering?
2. Can a EE major graduate (maybe with a physics minor) work as a scientist in the field of physics?
3. Which one is generally harder, EE or Physics?</p>
<ol>
<li>Most likely. I mean, Engin is mostly Applied physics.</li>
<li>Sure. Just look at college prof degree histories. Not all of them have degrees in the fields that they teach. You have Physics Ph. D's in EE departments and vice versa. Some profs are even in multiple departments.</li>
</ol>
<p>It depends on what u mean by scientist. I assume u mean in the context of academia. In that case, sure...and EE degree is not going to limit you to only EE work. Also, in R&D, much of ur work is not engin related (in terms of systems analysis), but more along the lines of research.</p>
<ol>
<li>Both can be hard. I would say EE b/c it is generally one of the tougher engin majors, but theoretical physics can become very abstract at times and it's an "either you get it or you don't" situation.</li>
</ol>
<p>If you want to be a "scientist", I presume that what you mean is that you want to do research in a laboratory, right...? If you get a doctorate in engineering and go into academia, that's pretty much pure science right there, just with a heavy spin on real-world application. Most of the professors of engineering that I know do a lot more scientist-y things than engineering-y things. Check it out. Talk to some engineering professors and see what they have to say.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Probably not. Physics is sometimes headquartered in a university's College of Arts & Sciences, not it's engineering college.</p></li>
<li><p>Where there is a particular area where they have the requisite expertise. </p></li>
<li><p>Physics is harder.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>It happens a lot more often than you'd think, particularly between EE and physics I've noticed. My dad actually did this, having gotten his BS in EE, masters in physics, then finishing up back in EE when he realized he liked it better. And my lab TA last semester was a former EE as well, so if you choose this route you won't be alone.
That having been said, why would your parents not approve of a science degree? Nothing wrong with the degree itself, and if they've a problem with you being a scientist proper you're just pushing off an issue that will come up eventually anyway.</p>
<p>Stargirl- parents are sometimes like that. Maybe they don't want him to be an astrophysicist or neurosurgeon or whatever because they want him to go into the family sausage-making or elephant-cleaning business, or something.</p>
<p>Parents are just goofy occasionally, and if they pay the tuition, it puts their sons or daughters in a bit of a bind, financially. Still... after college, it <em>is</em> your life, anonamous, so at some point, you're gonna have to say, "Hey... I gotta be me." If you've got a scholarship, or if you can mentally and financially afford to pay off student loans some day, it might behoove you to tell your parents 'tough patooties,' and inform them that they should be darned pleased that you don't feel that your future relies on your being the next American Idol. They may be irritated for a little while, but sometimes, parents need to be reminded that hey, at least you're in college and not living in a bus depot, strung out on cocaine.</p>
<p>aibarr- I understand that as I was my dad's last hope amongst us kids to someday become an EE and take over the family buisness, but here I am as a wannabe astrophysicist instead. He thinks it's completely worthless, of course, and that I'll "see the light" eventually and become an engineer, meaning we're in uneasy truce, but in my experience it was better to get that out in the open rather than let the issue grow. I don't know how I could have kept away from my passions for four more years!</p>
<p>Completely agreed! You go, stargirl. =)</p>
<p>Most places that offer a physics minor I would guess would allow anyone to take it including engineering majors.</p>
<p>I was asking my physics prof about this and he mentioned that he knew one guy, engineering major who applied to graduate school for physics and was accepted to Caltech, Stanford, MIT, UCSB for physics grad. </p>
<p>I would imagine you need for sure solid GPA, GRE scores (both general and physics subject), have taken undergrad physics courses, and have undergrad research experience.</p>
<p>aibarr - I dont think i can get a scholarship at any good university, as i am an international student, and my scores are only good, but not exceptional. I have told her that i wanted to be a scientist, but she says that there is barely any scientist jobs available in Thailand (I am from Thailand), and that I will need enough money to support myself. Anyway, I then told her that I could maybe get a job elsewhere like the US, etc.. but she says there is no guaranteeing that I will get a job abroad. Nothing is guaranteed in life anyways but oh well...</p>
<p>The reason I want to be a scientist is because I like the theoretical aspect of physics, but I am not very interested in its application. This is just who I am, and I dont think I can possible force myself to become interested in something that I am not.</p>
<p>Initially my parents even wanted me to do Nanoengineering, but I strongly was against it, since I hate biology, so we finally settled for an EE major. I tried to reason with them that I should do what I like, not what seems the most logical, but they just wont corrabolate. What should I do?</p>
<p>There's a ton of theory involved in engineering, too, and I know a TON of engineering professors who are <em>very</em> involved in only the highly theoretical facets of engineering. By the by, nanoengineering doesn't really have anything to do with biology... It's more about making nanomachines, and messing with carbon nanostructures to see what we can do with them, at this point... It seems pretty cool, actually. I'd look into it. (I didn't like biology either. Somehow, I weasled out of having to take biology after sixth grade...)</p>
<p>I was a nanotechnologist and had taken exactly one (required) biology course. There is some nanotech that requires bio; a lot of it requires physics (quantum obviously becomes important), chem, and engineering.</p>
<p>Yeah, as I know, nanotechnology, right now, is often about trying to figure out self-assembly and stuff... not necessarily biological. There are huge implications in the biological fields, but nanoengineering itself is not about biology.</p>