Need opinions :)

nesan

Hi guys, if I wanted to I could have graduated high school this year but I was unsure of what field to go into. So, I decided to stay an extra year in high school (taking few English and Math courses I did not have space for before). I will be graduating next year for sure so I want your opinions on these two fields I am interested in.

- Computer Programming
- Physics

I really love programming, it's everything I ever wanted to do. I also love physics. Just exploring the universe around us. I was thinking of going into both, maybe make Computer Science my major. I was wondering if anyone can give me opinions on perusing these two fields.

Are they worth pursuing? Fun? Thank you.

and9

Do both. I was in the same boat as you. Math comes easy to me. I love programming.

Mholnic-

I'm not expert, but.. computer programming isn't a degree. It's not even a field, it's more of a skill. There's nothing to stop you from developing that skill while taking another major. I say this because you didn't say "I love computer science.", "I love data structures." or "I love compiler design." If you want a degree that focused on programming you'd probably want to look into something like Software Engineering.

If you simply want to continue programming.. there's no reason you couldn't major in Physics. Hell, you could merge the two and focus on computational physics in your latter years. There's a lot to be done with modeling and sorting as well. The ability of humans to gather data far exceeds our ability to interpret it. Computers do a lot of the work.

In my novice opinion I think you'd find it a hell of a lot easier to work programming into physics than you would physics into computer science.

nesan

Wow, I never really though of doing both the same time. That sounds awesome.

I am really into theoretical physics.

Thanks for the answers guys. Can someone tell me few things about computational physics please? Ty :)

jbmiller

This doesn't really contribute to your main questions, but where did you start with programming? Which language was your first? Which one was your second? Did you read any books or use any websites as a guide? If so, which ones? Sorry for all the questions but for some time I've been trying to get started with prgramming and I just haven't been able to decide on where I want to start.

nesan

I started just out of curiosity just making websites and small web based games. The when I got into high school we had a programming class where we used Java. So technically Java was my first language. Once I learned Java (with an amazing teacher), I pretty much started learning other languages.

Autodidacticism is worth it. :) I am now fluent in C#, Java, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS, and I know few others but not fluently. Programming became a hobby to be so I decided to pursue it as a career but physics has been part of me ever since I was like 8. So here I am. xD



I usually just use online documentation, videos, and reading materials online to teach myself programming in other languages. Once you learn one, it's pretty easy to learn the others.

http://www.youtube.com/user/thenewboston

This guy has many good videos. He does tutorials as a career which is pretty awesome.

jbmiller

Thanks for the help! Sorry for interrupting your thread.

nesan

^_^ No worries, have fun. :)

So, anyone else have anything interesting to say about these two fields combined? :)