<p>Hey, I got a question (maybe not many people will know the answer):
Why/How is topology used in physics (I want to be a math/physics double major when I go to college)?
And
If they only offer about 1 or 2 classes of Topology, then how do some physicists know more than that? research? grad school?</p>
<p>(sorry for my stupid questions unrelated to the main topic of the thread, but basically I think people are just amazed that you are a math major, since it's a really hard major)</p>
<p>Topology is a generalized version of geometry and extensive used/studied in theoretical physics. (String theory, for example, is almost pure topology.) And yes, people who take more than 1 or 2 semesters of topology typically do so in graduate school.</p>
<p>^Ohhhh, ok, thanks :)</p>
<p>Don't you realize that most of the stuff we learn in college isn't even applicable in the real world? If you think jobs are picked entirely on majors, then what happens to all the non-pre-professional majors - you think they don't get jobs?
Sure, with Engineering/Nursing/Medicine/Law/CompSci you need a specific degree/training but for most fields, you don't. </p>
<p>Think about all the people who major in Liberal Arts majors - there's hundreds of thousands of students who graduate from those majors each year - you think they're all unemployed? </p>
<p>Employers want intelligent, hard-working people who will show up to work and do their best. A college degree is a sign that you cared enough to go to college for 4 years and do some level of work (it used to be more respected when it was rare). Who cares if you studied Art History or Anthropology for 4 years? Most people don't go into careers related to their undergrad major! You guys need to relax about the "worth" of studying one particular subject for years.</p>
<p>I personally want to learn stuff in college that I can later apply to the real world. Otherwise, if I end up doing any random white collar job, just because I have a college degree, I'll have a hard time not feeling like my education was little more than a charade.</p>
<p>^ That just doesn't make sense to me. Up until pretty recently, college wasn't about receving 4 years of job training (although with certain fields it is). The stuff you need for your typical job, you learn with on-the-job training. </p>
<p>College is about finding something you like and studying it for a few years. Then you go into the real world, and get a job that's often completely different. Why is your education a "charade" otherwise?</p>
<p>I don't know the exact statistics, but my understanding is that most people who make the sacrifice to go to college do so because they believe that their college degrees will help them find decent jobs later on. You can talk about the importance of having a liberal arts education and yadda yadda, but I don't believe that people blow four years of their lives and tens of thousands of dollars on a college education just because they want an education for the sake of having it. It seems to me that education is not an end but a means to an end, and I personally can't see the point of having a college education if it only can lead to your getting a job unrelated to the subject you studied in college. In that case, you might as well study a subject relevant to the job you are going to end up doing (and still receive an education) so you can at least hit the ground running and have a competitive advantage over your peers.</p>
<p>^ I don't think you understand what I'm saying - of course people go to college for the sake of having a better job! What I'm saying is, the subject in which your degree is in really is not important. I used to think like you, worried that by majoring in Liberal Arts, I was restricting my job potential. The truth is (I've seen a statistic on this posted and I wish I could find it for you) most people don't end up working in a field related to their major.</p>
<p>Employers want workers who are intelligent, hard-working, and have people skills. A college degree is a sign that you did some level of work for 4 years, studied something, and chose to spend your time/money getting an education, which shows both commitment and intelligence. </p>
<p>There are few majors which teach you on-the-job skills - Engineering, Computer Science, Nursing. Even Business majors learn most of their stuff from on-the-job training. You don't learn how to be good at your career from reading a book, you learn it by doing it. Unless you want to go into a technical field, it really doesn't matter. You're not going to hit the ground running and have a competitive edge by reading book on management for a couple years. Who do you think is more appealing to an employer - some kid who tries to get hired after 4 years of taking classes like Management 101 with no work experience, or someone who majored in Pol Sci and has several internships/work experience in the real world?</p>
<p>"Who do you think is more appealing to an employer - some kid who tries to get hired after 4 years of taking classes like Management 101 with no work experience, or someone who majored in Pol Sci and has several internships/work experience in the real world? "</p>
<p>The kid who takes 4 years worth of Management classes and has several internships/work experience in the real world.</p>
<p>To me is pretty simple</p>
<p>Math Major career choices are pretty A.) competitive and B.) not so many outside of Teaching, Research, Economist)</p>
<p>pmvd, I don't know what to tell you - if you're so convinced that in order to be successful person, you need a pre-professional degree like Business, Engineering, Nursing, Comp Sci, etc, then go ahead and get one. Nothing wrong with that. But there are millions of happily employed people with liberal arts degrees, who will probably make more than you :) I'm a Liberal Arts major, and I know people with my major make more on average than Business majors/Engineers. </p>
<p>haiku - an Economist is someone with a Ph.D in Economics. But yeah, Math majors can also find work within the econ field.</p>
<p>I don't know why so many of you seem to think your major puts you in a box for the rest of your life. Sorry, that's ridiculous - you think if you get a BA in Anthropology you can only go into an Anthropology field? My mom has a Anthro degree and worked in Marketing for years. I feel sorry for anyone majoring in something they dislike because they feel they would end up unsuccessful if they majored in what they really wanted. I've found something I actually enjoy, and I think it makes classes a helluva lot more bearable.</p>
<p>Am I the only one who thinks this entire argument leans on the petty side?</p>
<p>Welcome to the Internet.</p>
<p>haha i'm sorry if my numerous comments on this thread came across as petty - it's just that I've met so many students who think that if you study X, you will do X forever! and I don't think it's right that people are being pressured into certain majors because they feel they'll be a failure otherwise. even people i've met are like, "ohhh, you're a liberal arts major?" <em>pause</em> "Sooo what're you gonna do after you graduate?</p>
<p>Don't worry about them. It's nobody's business what you choose to major in, particularly if they aren't footing the bill. As long as you enjoy the field and see potential in it.</p>
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even people i've met are like, "ohhh, you're a liberal arts major?" <em>pause</em> "Sooo what're you gonna do after you graduate?
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<p>That's the most annoying question ever.</p>
<p>I used to get that exact question when I wanted to be an English major before I switched to sciences.. I always answered that I planned to become struggling hooker when I graduated. That usually ceased the onslaught of questions.</p>
<p>Hahah I know, it's such an annoying question. After I say I'm studying liberal arts, they get that look on their face <em>I thought you were smart!</em> and then I add, Economics, with an International Relations minor and then sometimes they're like, "But...why don't you just do Business?", stupidly equating econ with business, which is like mixing up herbology with biology. </p>
<p>At my college, our B school is elite so people always assume I wasn't smart enough to get into Stern and that's why I did CAS - Economics. They can't understand me wanting to study Econ, IR, History, etc, and not wanting 4 years of vocational training in boring crap like marketing and finance (no offense).</p>
<p>speaking of marketing and finance, if you are a math major, you probably have the mental capacity to be a marketing or finance major. big deal what people think. (but it sucks, doesn't it, to be surrounded by morons who think you are a moron just because you didn't study a subject that gives the impression that you have the potential to earn a lot of money)</p>
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but it sucks, doesn't it, to be surrounded by morons who think you are a moron just because you didn't study a subject that gives the impression that you have the potential to earn a lot of money
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<p>Lol.... :D</p>