<p>Hey!
I need some advice of what to study in college so i can narrow down my search for the right college. I am extremely interested in physics and engineering especially the areas of aerospace and astrophsyics. I do plan to (probably) purse a career in a combo of both (my dream job would be like inventing the spaceship and domes on mars in the future :) ). But i don't know which to study first.</p>
<p>I have thought about studying physics and going to graduate school for aerospace engineering. I have also thought of going straight into aerospace or trying to both. So my question is how should i plan to do this out. Also whether you think it would be more beneficial to study astrophysics or regular physics.</p>
<p>Note: i will probably go to graduate school</p>
<p>I wanna take a stab at this. They are almost the same major with the same basis for getting a grad degree in either, or for pre-med, or pre-law. If i had to do college all over, i would consider the physics. If one is a physics major, one can also teach math, & do astronomy & for the most part the rest of earth science. So if teaching is in your sights, consider the physics as a b.s., & the grad it can be either. If you want to play with instruments-both subjects have lots of on-hands stuff with engineering having far more. Now with physics you can also be an astronomer or astrophysicist or cosmologist (that’s the normal route). An engineer can get a grad degree in physics as well as their specific field of engineering. What you should look for if going the physics route is a comprehensive university that makes all the physics courses go. Not all schools do that, i.e. If you major in physics say at tufts or cornell or caltech-you will get all the undergrad physics while you are an undergrad. Smaller state universities don’t get lots of grad students so their higher course curricula in physics does not go that often. Now if you want aeronautical or aerospace engineering, you will have to locate a specific engineering school that features the aero sector. Not all public or private engineering schools have that option. Obviously the renowned engineering schools such caltech, harvard, mit, georgia, rpi, uillinois offer that option. With a bachelors in engineering, some grads go the mba route after but they also have plenty of background to pursue grad degrees in astro, physics, earth science, or math fields.</p>
then you would be doing aerospace engineering (or perhaps mechanical engineering) rather than physics. While physics provides the basis for what you do as an engineer, you only need to study the level of physics required by the engineering program and the more advanced physics classes that a physics student would take are not needed (although they may be very interesting). </p>
<p>These are challenging majors, but if your career aspirations are as you stated and you are interested in taking some more advanced physics classes perhaps you should look into majoring in aerospace engineering and adding a minor in physics.</p>