i just want a bunch of opinions about what’s the most “fun” physics stuff (with money$$) I just want you guys’ own thoughts and opinions about these majors. I don’t care if it’s biased or not.
Well, as an undergraduate you won’t major in “theoretical physics”. That is a direction you take in graduate school so let’s just consider physics, engineering physics, and computer science.
Physics and Engineering physics will be very similar. You will cover all of the basics of physics but you will take a lot of engineering courses instead of having physics or free electives. You can probably get the same kinds of jobs with each degree but if you have an ABET accredited engineering physics degree, employers might be more likely to give you an interview. With a physics degree, you will likely also have some scientific computation classes so you have a shot at the kinds of software jobs that a computer science major might apply for. You would increase your chances by taking CS courses as elective. Again, the CS major mwill probably have a leg up on interviews for that first software job.
All this is to say that employment is good for each of these majors but with physics you might have to put a bit more effort into selling your skills.
Okay, thanks. I have another question though. Do i have to major in engineering physics do work as visual effect in designing games (such as programming kinematics, momentum, and torque for designing the game “Angry Bird”)? I know it sounds really close to computer science, but i would like to be more involved in physics, not computer language.
Probably not. You should probably major in physics with a minor in computer science for that kind of thing.
Can’t imagine why a full physics (or engineering physics) major would be necessary to learn the classical mechanics needed for writing “realistic” video games… wouldn’t just the courses focusing on that subject be sufficient for that purpose?
Of course, if you really want to major in physics (or engineering physics), that’s fine. But include some CS courses in your electives if you want to go into software writing (or have that job and career path as an option).
The physics involved in video game design (as far as character movement is concerned) could really be learned in a single freshman level introductory physics course. It’s definitely not necessary to major in physics for this. You’d want to major in some area of computer science. Many schools require CS majors to take the introductory physics sequence, so you’d get a good amount of exposure to it. If it’s not required, it could (and should) be taken as an elective.
My response was based on your statement that you did not want to be a CS major. If that is the case, then physics with CS minor is the best bet for your idea of working in video games. If CS is an acceptable major for you then it will probably be the right choice for the specific career you are aiming at.