<p>I am planning to attend UCSC next year(I'm very sure about admission), and I was thinking about what subjects I would focus on, and I was having trouble choosing.
I've always loved physics (astrophysics and astronomy in particular) and I always thought I was going to major in Physics but lately I've been noticing how even though I love physics, I'm not very fit for it. It is difficult and does not come naturally to me, and I've always thought math was the hardest subject in the world(calculus and statistics busted my head). I've been getting into compsci since sophomore year and it comes naturally to me, and its fun, but I do not love it as much as I love space physics.
so I've tried to look at it from a career point of view, and it seems that if I take the physics major route, I don't have many choices for careers, but if I major in comp sci, my horizon is endless.
So I wanted suggestions on whether I should major in physics or compsci and what the implications of either one are.</p>
<p>In physics, you will most definitely be challenged, and everyone almost certainly reaches a point in the major where things do not come naturally to them. There is no cake walk through physics. Abilities in math are crucial. You will have to take Calculus 1-3, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, and most likely your department will have a sequence of classes that involve mathematics for physicist which is a years crash course/review of vectors (einsteinian summation convention), vector calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, laplace transforms, fourier series, fourier transforms, partial differential equations, dirac delta function, complex analysis, tensors, etc. So math again is crucial. The implications of this route are: 1. You better have a pretty good capacity to handle some math. 2. You better love physics because there comes a point when all of the above will come crashing down on you along with all of your physics courses. 3. Even after all of this, your B.S. is not worth near as much as it should be. You most definitely need graduate school for optimal employment opportunities. 4. You mention you are most interested in astrophysics. you will need the phd in physics or astronomy to work in that field (I know someone will flame me for saying this since there may possibly be jobs out there in the field that don’t require phd). That is a whole other endeavor, but this implies that in your undergrad you will have to prepare for the general gre, physics gre, and you will most definitely need solid research experience which takes time out of your week that would allow you to study for all of the above. However, the research is what makes all of the above worth it.</p>
<p>You’ll probably be taking intro courses in both your first year, so there’s no need to decide now. As mentioned above, a strong math background is crucial. There are a lot of people who improve drastically in math ability over the course of college though.</p>
<p>Physics an computer science is actually a good combination. The physical insight you develop along with the computational physics courses that are part of a modern curriculum are a good complement to the pure software engineering that you get in computer science. We have had physics majors go right to work for major software and financial companies after graduation. Some have had a strong minor in computer science and others have not.</p>
<p>See if the school you are considering has an applied physics or engineering physics program where you can basically do a double major. Alternatively, there are programs where you can combine a B.S. in physics with a Masters in computer science in a total of 5 years.</p>
<p>Good Luck</p>