<p>I'm not majoring in engineering, so do not suggest it. I know it is possible to get an engineering job with a physics major. Here are a few minors (not exhaustive) I am considering: Mechanical Engineering, Architecture, Construction Management Technology</p>
<p>I know it might be a little "bass-ackwards," but I think the job I would want to do most right out of college is some kind of engineering, unless I could find another technical job that is more appealing and so forth. Houston is the energy capital of the world, and NASA is just right down the street.</p>
<p>Here a few engineering jobs I'd consider (again, not exhaustive): Civil, Materials Science, Mechanical</p>
<p>Basically, I know what I want academically, I just want a little bit of direction professionally.</p>
<p>I want the broader physics education in the physics major. I guess I was unclear in what I meant. The most feasible or practical job I would want is an engineering job. If you have a pure science major, the logical step in attaining employment is in applied fields. It's just to make money. I want to go to graduate school and study QM, Relativity, and so forth, and if I'm good enough, then maybe a doctorate.</p>
<p>I had a similar background to what you're planning - Ph.D in quantum gravity and I didn't have any problem getting an engineering position. A number of companies actually prefer physicists because their background is more general. Its relatively easy to apply yourself to electrical or mechanical engineering. It all really physics anyways and while the other engineers will think the math is difficult in their respective fields, you'll most likely consider it a joke.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. That's reassuring. The more general background will leave me room to decide what specific path I want to pursue as well and perhaps give me some kind of flexibility in applied field(s). </p>
<p>I have another question that you will probably be able to answer the best. I want to prepare for physics graduate school by taking additional mathematics courses. As of right now, of course, I'm required to take Cal I-III, Linear Algebra, Diff. Eq., Vector Analysis, and Intro. to Partial Diff. Eq. Would "Introduction to Complex Analysis" be a good choice?</p>
<p>I've been told that complex analysis has applications in EE. It's also supposed to be quite rigorous, so I think it would be a good choice if you want to build a very solid foundation in mathematics. It can't hurt to know more math.</p>
<p>I think the easiest transition would be into ME or EE. For civil, I hesitate because quite often I see companies saying that prefer EIT certification for their entry level positions. I have yet too meet anyone in the civil engineering or construction field without a degree in civil engineering, architecture, or construction management. </p>
<p>Your minors seem interesting considering you seem to be more technically oriented. I'm talking about architecture and construction management in particular.</p>
<p>You should apply for internships to see what kind of a response you get as a physics major.</p>
<p>Simply put, buildings have always fascinated me. I worked for a few years as a fire alarm technician/inspector. I worked all over Houston, in downtown, Galleria, and so forth. I've never applied for an internship before. At what kind of companies should I start applying?</p>
<p>Not saying that it's impossible to get into civil engineering as a physics major, or even hard. It's just not common from my experience, but I bet if you sell yourself the right way, plenty of companies will hire you. </p>
<p>Since grad school in physics is your first, you should probably look for physics research positions. It can't hurt to apply for engineering internships though. Send your resume and cover letter to any company (civil, mechanical) that you have the slightest interest in. Having experience is a big plus in the engineering fields, so you'll have that on your side once you start looking for a job.</p>
<p>Yes, it is quite important to take that complex analysis course. Complex analysis is used all over the place. I teach a course in E&M which is a required course for electrical engineers. Its heavily used there -solutions to Maxwell's equations for wave propagation in actual materials require understanding how to use complex permittivities etc. Contour integration, a technique that is frequently used for a variety of problems requires an understanding of complex analysis. I can go on and on about how it is applied. One course I would further recommend and one that is many times given not much emphasis is numerical methods for solving differential equations. For most real problems whether in physics or engineering, analytical solutions don't exist so one needs to understand how to solve things numerically. Of course to get a rough idea of an answer, one uses a "simple case solution" that has a closed form solution.</p>
<p>I think that's why I was considering an architecture or CMT minor. If UH had a CivE minor, I would be all over it.</p>
<p>Reading about all these advanced math courses seems a bit intimidating at times. Heh. Fortunately, I was able to pull off an A in Cal II this past semester. Would a computational physics course be somewhat comparable to the numerical methods course you mentioned?</p>
<p>Well, guys, I just looked over my degree plan and everything. Of course, I only have a limited number of free electives and there are physics courses I definitely want to take as electives, so I might as well minor in math. I'll have 25 hours with only the required courses - 28 with the Intro. to Complex Analysis course.</p>
<p>Visit your university placement office for ideas on how to best use the physics degree. Make a note of those employers who do on-campus interviews of physics majors.</p>