Hello, I am currently tied between pursuing either physics and becoming a physicist, or pursuing an engineering field. My current major choices are physics, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, and possibly computer hardware engineering. However, since I’m pretty tied between most of the majors, I’m wondered if some tend to be more competitive than others. Thank you!
Also, for context, being a research physicist is my dream career. However, I’m worried about student loan debt from grad school, and becoming an engineer is a career I’d still love to have. However, physics is my first preference.
I asked a version of this question a while back. The short answer is yes, it can affect admissions chances to apply as an engineering major, or cs major.
But not all schools with engineering programs require you to declare your major when you apply. Which can be great for those, like you, who haven’t figured out yet which way to go. Which I think is pretty normal, btw.
The trouble with applying as a physics major is that it can be a challenge to change major to engineering once you are attending. But not vice versa, because engineering is more impacted. It is a pickle to know what to do.
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It sounds like you want to study Physics. A PhD in Physics will be funded so you will not go into debt (presuming you are happy with a grad student lifestyle). As far as Engineering goes, there is a lot of Physics and math that is common between the first couple of years of a Physics and an engineering curriculum. I’d suggest looking into course schedules for a Physics degree and an engineering degree at a university you are interested in and see what appeals to you most. If both sound equally interesting I would recommend applying for the tougher admit (usually engineering) which gives you the academic freedom at college to transfer if needed. It is not unheard of to transfer into engineering but it depends on the university and their policies. Good luck!
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You might be interested in Worcester Polytechnic Institute. My D toured WPI a couple of weeks ago, and one of the things we found surprising was that they don’t have any impacted majors. If you want to go into engineering or CS from another major, you can. I don’t know what else you want in a school, but if you would like the freedom to try physics, engineering, and CS before making up your mind you might consider WPI.
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If you want physics, do physics. If you don’t pursue a clear dream at the beginning you may never.
If you know engineering is a ‘settle’ then focus on physics. Many jobs that desire engineers also seek physics majors.
To answer at schools that have impacted majors engineering will likely be.
If you were unsure of your passion, I get the hedge into engineering.
But you seem clear in your vision. PhDs fund. So while you won’t be wealthy, you will survive and pursue your passion.
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Whether your major will have an impact on admissions will depend upon which universities you apply to. Many universities will look at your major when deciding whether to accept you. Some do not.
As one extreme example, MIT will not consider your major when deciding whether to accept you. They only use your intended major to help assign incoming students to an academic advisor for their freshman year. I think that this is also true of a few other highly ranked universities (eg, Harvard, Stanford), but I do not think that it is true of the majority of universities.
IMHO you should apply for the major that you are most interested in. The difference between majoring in let’s say physics versus engineering versus mathematics versus computer science will impact what you do for your career. The difference between one university and the next for an undergraduate physics major is relatively much less important.
One other issue that occurs to me: I decided not to major in physics after taking quantum physics. This was not however until my sophomore year, and I think it was probably second semester. That is a slightly late point to decide to switch to engineering. I do not know whether it would be possible to take the required courses for both majors through that point. It is however common for students to change majors and these are at least related majors.
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Quantum physics was the last course in the Physics sequence I had to take in my Engineering curriculum. Up until that point I had nagging thoughts that maybe I should have gone into Physics, but not after.
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I simultaneously fully understand this and don’t understand this at all.
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I think it’s simple:
If you are a wave, do engineering.
If you are a particle, do engineering.
If you are both, do physics.
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Physicists think engineering is just an application of physics.
Seriously though, OP, if you do really well in physics, there isn’t a single engineering department that wouldn’t let you transfer into.
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And when in doubt a double slit experiment will shed some light, or not.
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If the desired engineering major at the college is completely full, it may not have space to allow anyone to change into it.
Majors that are more competitive or difficult to gain admission initially or after enrolling are typically that way because they are filled to capacity. Rigor or difficulty of the actual school work is generally not a factor.
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That’s how quantum physics works. Prior to the time of observation you could be in either major. Once you’ve observed it, you are definitely in one or the other.
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The engineering department will make room for a really promising student. It always has some flexibility.
Some schools have combined degrees and also look up Engineering Physics…
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An Engineering program that may be full for freshmen may not be for sophomores, and probably not for juniors who’ve done well in all the basic math&physics courses. There’d be classes to make up but a study estimated up to 2/3 Engineering majors don’t make it from freshman to junior year. That was about 5 or 6 years so Engineering depts may have changed some aspects of their curriculum to make it more supportive, scaffold it more, add experiential components early on… but when you reach certain concepts in math or physics, some students hit a wall.
Some public universities may have an influx of transfers, but not all CCs offer Engineering pre-reqs and private universities don’t have the same opportunity to replenish their ranks at the sophomore or junior level.
Since OP likes Physics best, s/he should apply for Physics at a university that also offers Engineering.
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Seconding Knowsstuff’s recommendation to take a look at applied engineering physics.
I’ll also add that most engineering majors are very physics heavy. That class may not be called physics per se, but is physics ; )
I also agree with teleia about applying to the tougher admit program so you have more flexibility. Most of the schools my daughter had on her list had 90%+ retention in engineering. Aero and ECE typically are extremely popular at my D’s school and can be closed out to everyone.
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OP indicates that s/he is most interested in research. S/he also seems to suggest her/his interest in being an engineer is somewhat more finanicial, because s/he is “worried about student loan debt from grad school”. PhD programs in either physics or engineering are generally funded. MS programs are a different story but there’s absolutely no reason to do a terminal MS in physics (unlike in engineering).
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Like math courses, physics courses in college are offered at different levels for different students. Some for physics students, some for engineering students, and some for other students. They can differ in content selection, rigor and pace.
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