To clarify,
I am entering my 3rd year of part-time Community College at Lorain County Community College in Ohio. I have a full-time job, not a lot of money(so little I do not feel comfortable sharing) and a 3.9 GPA. I will have exhausted this school’s class resources by the end of the school year and after 10 years off from school I finally have the work ethic I need to excel in a full-time University program. My first time around I was an average student graduating with 3rd honors, no SAT/ACT and a few weak scores on AP tests in 2006, this time I took it slow and have excelled in everything thus far(except Multi Calc, I got a B, but there’s extenuating circumstances). There were family and life problems for a long time after I graduated.
At LCCC I have taken Trig, Calc 1-3, Diff EQ’s, Stats, Phys(Mech/E&M) and a few Gen Eds. I am enrolled in Linear Algebra, Discreet Math and Programming for fall and will most likely take more programming, Astronomy and maybe retake Multi Calc for that A in spring.
My interests are unwaveringly upon Physics though I know not the specialty right now, but I things will change as I progress and refine my selections I just want to have a very strong base that will allow me to move into the field I want by the end of my UG. Definitely Ph.D bound and anything else along the way. After many years of being unable and unwilling to try school I’m glad I can now and am in no rush to make poor decisions, but given the cost of everything and the potential to go down the wrong path I have many questions and am not sure where to go such as school choice, what to look for in a program and the things I can do now even at a Community College( where the people around me are kind of clueless and highly opinionated, I just wonder how trustworthy their opinions are).
I’m just a guy with a passion for physics since I was a child and now I’m ready. My first time in school I hated it, now it’s my life and wish I could do it more every day. I’ll never stop, but I would like to be efficient if I can.
Thank you all in advance
@Jack0047 That’s fabulous. My sister went back to School to become a medical doctor about the same age. She had to go through a Bachelor of Science first and then on to an MS MD program for non-traditional students. By the time she finished her residency she was 40 but she figured she’d rather be 40 years old and a new doctor then 40 years old never having been a doctor. 25 years later she doesn’t regret a thing. I tell you this story both to encourage you and to tell you it’s a hard Road. You probably know that already.
I would strongly recommend you find a company whether in your current area or in an area you can afford to live in that will hire you as a technologist in a lab that does physics. Many corporations have programs that allow their employees to work on bachelor’s Master’s and even PhD degrees with help from the company. So getting some corporate help to Finance your education is one advantage to having a job, even low level one, in science. The second advantage is that it actually gives you a glimpse what physicists do. The third advantage is you’ll have professional recommendation to help you out when you finally get your education.
I understand that may be a tall bill to fill to find a job that will help you get educated but I think given your persistence in pursuing physics it’s worth putting some time in to start getting some professional connections before you put yourself in debt for the degree. Do you have any research Institutions near by you? Have you looked to see if your community college courses qualify you for a lab tech job?
Thanks for the reply!
Unfortunately, due to the nature of my job, I cannot leave it this year to pursue anything else and it only leaves me enough time to take class. I’m trying to get more involved in the Physics and Math departments this year, but I’m not sure if there’s much I can do to look attractive to a good school.
You can definitely try to get involved in research or other activity that relates to the profession. You can also look for mentorships - find physics professors or researchers who can give you advice and get to know you, maybe employ you as an intern. That will help to set you apart from the crowd of applicants.
Not to pry but - you said you can’t leave your job but it leaves you little free time and you also said it’s not paying you much $. What’s keeping you from looking for something else? The problem with getting to a PhD is it generally requires a lot of time “off” from making money. Since you don’t have mom and dad funding your education and you don’t have a lot of dough yourself you will need to be very strategic in leveraging the assets you have which is your hard work, your passion for the subject and (I assume) a lot of drive. Staying in a job that barely pays the bills and doesn’t support your education might be an expensive mistake. The good news is - you’re not 18 years old so you can plan a few years ahead without fear. Start thinking less in terms of “how do I get into a good school” and more in terms of “how do I build a career”. TBH jobs for people with BS degrees in Physics and no lab experience aren’t exactly plentiful. Even a PhD will only get you a job in Physics if you have relevant research or industry experience to back it up. IMO, you will do yourself a big favor if you put getting relevant work experience on at least the same tier of importance as furthering your education.
You are absolutely right, that is some of the best advice I’ve received and I’ve already started contacting people in the department.
I wish I could be more forthcoming, but it’s family related as to why I can’t leave my job until the end of what would be this upcoming school year(I don’t find the reasons to be particularly interesting not like “the mob” or anything just family stuff and I’m committed to doing the right thing). The nature of this has seen me have to turn down multiple job offers over the past number of years and I’ve regretted each one at least a little, but I can’t leave what I’m doing until June-ish next year.
I really appreciate everything you’ve had to say it makes approaching this transition come from a much calmer, long-term perspective that would have probably scared the dickens out of a hot-to-trot eighteen-year-old me. It has been my misfortune that I tend to find people in schools kind of have that jet-fueled mentality from being around a lot of panicked fresh out of high schoolers so as a consequence it can be difficult to find consistent advice.
Thank you again!