What is better for me Physics, Mathematics or Engineering?

College Majors Science Majors
1

<p>I'm in Canada.
I am still in High School, so I have not had much occasions to experiment with each choice to see which is better. The thing is that I am not quite sure what I should choose. I think that I am interested by all of these, and I fear that if I take one path, I will miss other great stuff that is accessible only from other paths.</p>

<p>And since I have never had a real experience with any of these fields (High School is just a jumbled up mix of the surface of these fields), I don't know which is right for me.</p>

<p>I am fascinated by the things I've heard from my dad about Astronomy, Black Holes, Time, Theory of Relativity, etc. And Quantum Mechanics, and I would really love to be able to understand it.</p>

<p>I am also pretty good (I think) at math, and I feel great when I solve a tough problem or when I discover or learn a new concept or formula. I also like the simplicity, the beauty and the complexity of math. I am always curious about new stuff like integrals or complex numbers.</p>

<p>I don't know if I am a practical guy, but I think I might enjoy as well being able to make objects or to build something. (I think I would be more inclined towards Aerospace, Nuclear or Electric engineering). I would be great if I could create something revolutionary (like a time machine!) and not simply following a template with a billion constraints. So I think it would be something like "experimental engineer"?</p>

<p>So yeah I think I have an interest in all of these. I know there's a lot of math and work to do but I don't mind it if I enjoy it. But the salary is something I am worried about.</p>

<p>And by the way, do any of these require a lot of boring paperwork like we do in school (like writing all the "thought process" or long essays over the "applications of this and that in real life"). I hate that stuff, and it is another reason for which I try to escape all of this by choosing science-oriented courses rather than language or social-oriented courses.</p>

<p>So yeah, which option would be better for me?</p>

2

<p>I feel much like you, there is so much I want to see and do in my life. I think you should sit back and think what you want to do, although its hard.</p>

<p>I have decided that although I want to focus on physics right now, I will make sure to take classes in both math and engineering. This I believe would give me a chance of working with all three, although at different times of my life. Furthermore all three are very related and you will probably benefit from knowing either one whilst working on any of these subjects. The way I see it, math is a tool needed in physics where you study the Universe and engineering is the application of the discoveries of physics. </p>

<p>Who says you cant do all three :)</p>

<p>edit: btw maybe I should say that I am currently at my last year in hs (in Sweden) and will study physics next year</p>

3

<p>My B.S. degree is in Math (Computational) and if I had to do it all over again, I still would major in Math. Math is broad and can fit into many industries. Although my career path has always be in Computer Science/Information Technology, I always have the Math degree “in my hip pocket”. Even when on to grad school in Engineering, I made sure I selected the option which what Statistics-based and petitioned the department to allow my 3 electives to be in Math…so my M.S. Engineering is essentially a Applied Math/Applied Stats degree.</p>

4

<p>To the OP: it really sounds to me like you’d be more interested in physics or math than engineering, and honestly, of the two it sounds like physics is what you really would enjoy. As a CS/Physics double major with most of his friends in engineering who takes a lot more math courses than he should, it sounds to me like you’re too theoretical for engineering and too applied for math.</p>

<p>You’ll be in good company in Physics. My classmates in Physics are some of the brightest people I know, and depending on where you go the class size is usually much smaller than math, CS, or engineering. This means that you cover a lot of material (this is a good thing) and don’t have to hold back for the LCD.</p>

<p>Physics majors can get any job a math major can, practically, and vice versa. While job opportunities may be better for engineering majors, it really sounds to me like you want to pursue graduate education and do some sort of R&D work. If you want to work on things that are really cutting edge, that’s the only way. And a BS in physics can prepare you for, well, just about any technical major (applied math, EE, physics, mech.e. come to mind).</p>

5

<p>“I am fascinated by the things I’ve heard from my dad about Astronomy, Black Holes, Time, Theory of Relativity, etc. And Quantum Mechanics, and I would really love to be able to understand it.”</p>

<p>That is me exactly! My dream is to be able to understand String Theory and help find the TOE. </p>

<p>But I’m going MechE, in hopes of pursuing my other dream of being a military equipment engineer, a slightly more practical one. I should be able to gain the skills I need through this to go further in theoretical physics if I choose to at some point. I’ll probably minor in mathematics, since many engineering courses cover the math requirements for a minor. And if I go to grad school, then I’ll have even more opportunities. My dad took a lot of physics, including some quantum physics, courses while getting his ChemE Ph.D.</p>

6

<p>I can’t help you decide on a major, but here’s a recommendation. Learn as much as you can about the two that you don’t choose. Start now, on the internet. MIT’s OpenCourseWare is a great resource, for instance. For physics, I’d take a look at their 8.01 and 8.02 lecture videos to start (Walter Lewin, the lecturer for these classes, is brilliant and a wonderful teacher). For math, there’s a large selection of material online too.</p>

7

<p>Do some REAL math, physics or whatever- not just the **** in the text books. Try them out- see which one you get real kicks out of, and thats your thing. Basically dont just listen to what people tell you- DO the stuff yourself and choose. Do a random experiment, play with a silly theorem, build a car.</p>

8

<p>If you are anywhere near a university, go visit it. Meet with the professors in math, physics and engineering and have them talk about what they do, what you’ll study, the types of problems you’ll solve, the kinds of jobs their graduates take, the differences across the fields as they see them. Send the dept head an email and take it from there (and if you don’t get a response- which would surprise me- email some of the professors to see if you can meet with them).</p>

9

<p>physics!!! It provides you with a fundamental understanding of the world around you, and teaches you to be an expert problem-solver. If you go far with physics, i.e. grad school you will need to know a large amount of math, so if you are interested in math, taking science (and particularly physics) is a good option. I can relate with fascination about some of the more far out concepts in physics; it is what made me switch from an engineering major over to physics. I was unsatisfied with the “relatively” small amount of physics taught to engineering majors. My dad works in an office with 3 ph.D physicists, and they are undoubtedly the three smartest people I know. I also happen to know they get paid 100-150k depending on seniority. I don’t want to drag on so one last tidbit. My dad majored in math, and in his career he has worked with physicists and engineers in writing computer simulations that are particularily mathematical and computationally intensive. Point being a major in any one of these fields opens doors to doing any number of different jobs. Engineering being the most employable, followed by physics (assuming you get a phD), and then math. Good luck :)</p>

10

<p>I’d go with physics. It has quite a bit of math in there too, so you’ll be killing two birds with one stone.</p>

<p>Actually engineering would kill three birds with one stone, but it’s emphasis is on the practical, and you seem to prefer the theoretical.</p>

11

<p>I’d like to have maybe some more opinions?</p>

12

<p>Nine well thought out responses isn’t enough? I think you’re just searching for what you want to hear.</p>

13

<p>I think you should major in math because math is awesome and at the top of the scientific food chain! <a href=“http://xkcd.com/435/[/url]”>http://xkcd.com/435/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Kidding aside, I was just talking to a first-year college student who was undecided between math and physics at the beginning of the year. He is now strongly leaning towards physics. He feels that math classes are too occupied with pathologies and studying the (rare) cases when things go wrong, while physics is generally assuming nice conditions and general case behavior. I am not sure if the physics approach is due to practical limitations or ideological differences, but I have made similar observations (except that I favor math :)).</p>

14

<p>At JamesGold:</p>

<p>Yes. I want to hear more opinions. It does not mean I did not like the previous answers. Why I am looking for more is none of your business. This is the Internet and I have the right to look for more answers if I want to, and, to my knowledge, I have not broken any rules in this forum. If you have a problem with that, you know you can simply close this page. </p>

<p>I did not mean to denigrate any of the replies to this thread, and I have read all of them. If I did not care about the answers, I would not have asked this question.</p>

15

<p>b@r!m: mathematics isn’t science… science is directly tied to the physical world, math is not. Point being, physics is the top of the science food-chain :)</p>

<p>math is an art / language, “the language of science” as often said.</p>

<p>“as far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.” -Albert Einstein</p>

16

<p>What about applied math where you use real world constraints to put bounds on otherwise unsolvable problems? ;)</p>

17

<p>I am in the same situation grnolt, and have been struggling between physics, math, engineering, and CS. From what I’ve heard these fields are in many ways connected and overlapping, so it seems like a physics undergrad could apply to math grad school or engineering grad school, and ect.</p>

<p>Personally I am thinking about majoring in Engineering Physics at Miami OH. It seems like a very broad degree that allows you to focus on either a physics track or to gain a minor in one of the more traditional engineering fields. Plus the first year or two of EngPhysics is very similar to math or other engineering fields, so it wouldn’t be hard to change majors if I change my mind.</p>

<p>I then hope to go to grad school for physics or Aerospace Engineering or Nuclear Engineering. But it also seems like a pretty employable undergrad degree (Although not as much so as an engineering degree). Not sure if this helped any but that is my plan at this time and we seem to be in very similar situations.</p>

18

<p>^ That sounds like a good idea (I am also considering engineering physics). However, it is definitely worth checking to make sure the program is accredited. Some eng. phys programs aren’t.</p>

19

<p>Well not to hijack this thread from its original purpose but I didn’t think that ABET accreditation was terribly important for engineering physics since it isn’t really a true engineering degree. But I honestly don’t know, because most of the schools I’ve been looking at aren’t even accredited in engineering physics.</p>

20

<p>I hope you don’t expect to be paid well if your moving towards Physics or Math (although you can find well paying jobs (in math that is)). People who major in Physics aren’t in it for the money, and if you want to land a well paying job then go with Engineering because Physics won’t be for you.</p>