Is a Physics minor recommended for EE major??

bosteador3

I will soon transfer out of my community college, and i originally wanted to get a physics minor along with my EE major. I haven't been doing so good in physics the past 2 semesters my grades fluctuate from As to Cs, and i have ended up in both physics with Bs. I have noticed my grades haven't really been affected by my understanding of physics but by the little math mistakes. I want to take QM courses for my physics minor, but idk if i should, since i'm not really that good at physics. My math just gets me. And ironically, i've aced all my math classes (up to cald 3 so far) anyone that has taken QM and wasn't that great in Phys 1 and 2 that can tell me what to expect and how to refine my physics base. Thank you!!! =]

JakeBrodskyPE

Ask yourself what you intend to do once you have this degree. Where would you like to work? Would it be academic research, industrial, or some design firm? All this has bearing on what courses you might decide to take.

For example, because I was working at a water utility while taking my classes at night, I chose to take a semester class on fluid dynamics in lieu of a class on thermodynamics. I already had a pretty solid understanding of thermodynamics from my physics classes. I was also interested in aviation, so fluid dynamics was interesting to me. I do not regret my choices.

Would a minor in physics help? Up to a point, yes. Speaking strictly from an industrial point of view, you'd be so inexperienced that we'd have to chaperon you everywhere for at least six months before we could turn you loose on your own. There are many hands-on classes you'd need to take just to be safe on one of our plants. They include classes on first aid, confined spaces, lock-out/Tag-out safety and regulations, arc flash training, CPR, climbing safety, application software, accounting systems training, and process training.

So a background in physics helps, but you ain't there yet. Not in my world at least. It will take months before we get useful work out of you, and at least another year before you'll be able to work routinely on your own.

The reason I mention this is not because I'm trying to recruit you, but to illustrate what a common employer has to do just to get a useful person on the job. A physics minor won't hurt to help you understand what is going on around you (such as how a mag-meter works), but in the scheme of what you still need to learn, it's not that big a deal.