<p>I'm a senior in high school who is beginning his first year of college in the fall. I initially chose to major in Mechanical Engineering because I have a passion for physics and mathematics and I knew that a degree in MechE would be very practical. I'm not that interested in the design aspect of MechE; I just thought it would be a good choice because I most likely wouldn't struggle to find a job right out of undergrad. Lately, I've been thinking more and more about majoring in Physics (with the intent of pursuing a Ph.D. and later pursuing a professorship). Majoring in Physics may not have as many job opportunities, but I absolutely love the subject. I guess my question is: Should I go to college to learn about a subject that fascinates me? Or should I go to college so that I can get a good job?</p>
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Why are the two things mutually exclusive?</p>
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<p>At least physics and mechanical engineering are not generally as dismal for jobs and careers as, for example, biology. Here are some career surveys that you may be interested in:</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley](<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm]UC”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm)
[Cal</a> Poly San Luis Obispo](<a href=“http://www.careerservices.calpoly.edu/gradsurvey/]Cal”>http://www.careerservices.calpoly.edu/gradsurvey/)</p>
<p>If you do a physics major, you can use some of your free elective space to take courses (or an official or unofficial minor) in engineering, computer science, math, statistics, economics, and/or finance to give you some additional marketability at the bachelor’s degree level, as a backup plan to heading to graduate school with intent to go to an academic career.</p>
<p>Apply to engineering and physics type internship jobs for summers and the like during your undergraduate years, and, during senior year, use the career center to look for jobs in addition to applying to graduate school, so that you keep all of your options as open as possible. In other words, if you do not get into graduate school with funding, or decide at a late stage that the academic path is not for you, you will be in a better position to get a job at the bachelor’s degree level than if you had not pursued such opportunities early.</p>
<p>The two are not mutually exclusive. However, my only motivation behind wanting to study engineering was that I knew I could get a good job (even with just a BS) and at the same time study math and physics. I figured that I wanted to take as many math and physics classes as possible anyway, so why not go into engineering? The first two years would be fun, but I really don’t like designing or building things so I probably wouldn’t enjoy engineering. Physics seems like a less practical major, but I absolutely love the subject and I would be perfectly happy studying it for eight years of my life. Besides, I’m only 17 – If I did pursue a Ph.D in Physics I would most likely obtain it by the time I reached 25. If that didn’t work out I would still be young – I could always pursue engineering at that point. Besides, there can’t be that much more to learn to be an engineer if I had a Ph.D in Physics can there? If the first two years of undergrad are similar for physics and engineering majors, and the second two years are where engineering majors actually take engineering classes; then how long would it take someone with a Ph.D in Physics to become an entry-level engineer?</p>
<p>Mechanical Engineering is very broad and because of that you can choose different paths later on. You can design or work on engines, machinery, and pretty much any device that can move.Physicists are usually employed to do research and work in the technology development field, since everything is made so small now that the interactions at the quantum level do matter. visit [Welcome</a> to EDA, Analyzing resources for better tomorrow](<a href=“http://www.edasolutions.com%5DWelcome”>http://www.edasolutions.com) for purpose</p>
<p>Don’t go into Physics unless you know for sure that you’re going to get an advanced degree. A BS in Physics is not worth as much as a BS in Mech E. </p>
<p>Don’t plan on getting a job as a professor in Physics either. The US currently graduates enough PhD candidates every year in Physics to REPLACE all faculty in the US currently. There are not enough jobs that require a PhD in Physics. You’ll just be flushing valuable time down the drain.</p>
<p>I recently found some more information about a physics degree that really helped with my decision. Physicists have an average mid-career salary of approximately 117K/yr (making them #26 on a list of the highest paying careers) while Mechanical Engineers fell in somewhere in the 100’s for making around 80K/yr. I also discovered that a BS in Physics falls only below engineering in average starting salary. Besides, if I want to pursue law or medicine after I finish undergrad, physics majors generally score the highest of all majors on the LSAT and second only to biomedical engineers on the MCAT. Seems like a good major to me. And I am sure that I am going to get an advanced degree; if pursuing a professorship doesn’t work, then that’s perfectly alright. I like the idea of going into research; and if that doesn’t work, I could always be a high-school physics/math teacher.</p>
<p>Remember, though, physicists have a Ph.D in physics, not simply a B.S. Mechanical engineers can simply have a B.S.</p>