SO many people online say that majoring in physics is a waste of time and that any physics-centric job prospects are scarce and require PhDs. Is this really true? If so, should I just choose engineering?
What kind of career do you want to have?
I’m only a student too but I’ll just share what I know: Physics is not a “waste of time.” I think it is true that in order to work at a university or in private academia you have to have a PhD in physics, but academia only makes up less than 40% of all physics jobs. Government jobs and other companies hire bachelors.
Aerospace engineering might put you on a “better” track to get a job immediately after your bachelors without needing any graduate education, but it depends on what you want to do. Do you want to build the parts that make up aircraft and vehicles, or do you want to study physics as a whole?
There are many majors that don’t generally map directly to a job. For example, most history majors don’t become professional historians. The math, problem solving, and other skills you get as an undergrad physics major are useful in the job market, but your job title is not likely to be “physicist.” And those who major in pure sciences or liberal arts without going to grad school often take a little longer to find their career path.
If you would rather know what your job will be after graduation, you could major in engineering or another career focused major. However, there are still people who graduate with degrees in these fields who end up hating the job they trained for and searching for a new career path anyway, so there are no,guarantees either way.