What is Career: Definition and 1000 Discussions

So I should start off by saying that I love physics and astronomy. I would absolutely love to work in the astrophysics field. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how much I liked it until after I had gotten out of college. When I graduated high school, money was extremely tight, so I wasn't able...

I'm considering trying to be a science journalist, but I'm not sure how to go about it. Currently I self study physics (I'm still at the beginner level), I'm going to do a practical physics experiment at a local college which I'm preparing for, and I love reading and watching about all things...

Hello, I am in the 11th grade in my high school, which is in Lithuania. This year I had to choose specific levels for my subjects and I chose physics, mathematics, informatics and English as A level subjects (more lessons, more material, better teachers) and left lithuanian, economics, history...

For two years now, I have been on PF. I spent many of those months checking PF - largely the academic and career guidance forums - just about every other day, and I learned a great deal about academia, and careers in science and engineering. A few months ago, when I posted in the Mathwonk's...

i m going to be a mechanical engineer this year :smile: ,In my third academic year i studied a subject named as steam generation and steam turbine..that subject is awesome ..since i have strong background of thermodynamics i liked it very much and got highest marks.its my final year now..and i m...

I'm thinking of doing an astrophysics degree and was wondering what career choices would be available to me after this with just the degree. I would hope to do a masters and so on but that may not work out. I know i could go into research with the college or university but other then that I am...

Hi guys, I'm an Australian student and for the past two years of my life, I have been studying quite hard to get into an MD after I finish my undergraduate degree. Now, something has dawned upon me, although I can handle working hard in university, I'd like to think there's a light at the...

What careers can a computer science graduate get into other than the obvious software/ web development? Are there any careers with less computer work and more human interaction lol, and a more mixed workforce. From experience, workplaces in this field are hugely dominated by men to the...

Hi, I'm an about to be CS graduate but my interest in physics greatly outweighs that of programming or developing software. Especially theoretical physics or anything related to physics for that matter so what I'd like to do is to go into a physics job however not having a physics degree I...

I have been at battle with myself for the past year trying to find myself and find what it is that really fires me up inside. I recently got interested in engineering. More specifically mechanical engineering. I have two friends, one a Chem E and the other Mech E. The ME loves his job and works...

Confused with what to do with my career-CCNA or Engineering? Hi I am very new in this forum.I am leading a miserable life because of past faults.I don't want to get into much details- I am a 36 yo old man from Calcutta,India.I am a plain Bsc(General) graduate.I had no honors/specialization & my...

Well I'm interested in both mechanical engineering and engineering physics. Are there any further academic fields or career options that combine such interests/fields? thanks.

This is another one if those "if I do this then what can I do" type question. If I go into graduate school for Biophysics and earn a PhD, what type of career can I expect? Would it just be restricted to academia? Would I have to stick with being a post-doc for a long time? Biophysics...

First I'll give a little background about myself: 1) I'm currently in a university which is top 10 in the world 2) My physics grades are at best below average, 50 - 60% 3) I don't party hard or drink much believe it or not in defence of (2). 4) I hate maths and it scares me. 5) The only topics...

I've just finished my undergraduate degree, and am enjoying a few weeks of complete bliss with no assignment deadlines! I've been thinking a lot about my future career, and I was hoping to gain some insight and advice on possible directions. I have a B. Comp Sci with a major in Computational...

I am a physics major at Wabash College. I am going to graduate in the spring with a BS in physics, but I have no direction for where to go afterwards. I enjoy physics, looking at the rules and structure of the universe and figuring out how it works. I would, ideally, like a job where I can be a...

I've recently realized that I am kind of drifting through university without a certain path, despite the fact that I have very definite career goals. More than anything else I am interested in regenerative science and human augementation, and my eventual ideal career would be working in the...

I am working on a career project for school about mechanical engineering. I would prefer to have more than one answer though because it would give me more details of the job and what I could expect from it. If you would like to give me any tips, recommend some colleges, important things to know...

Question: What's next for me? What should I learn next in physics and math? (I want a career in theoretical physics - phd route). I've learned: Physics: Newtonian Mech w/ calc, Griffith's Intro to Electrodynamics, Goldstein's classical mechanics, griffith's intro to quantum mechanics...

I'm graduating this year with a master in nuclear physics. In my bachelors I did a minor in medical radiation physics. This way I was introduced to medical imaging and I decided to take elective courses from the postgraduate advanced medical imaging. If I hadn't chosen my thesistopic then, I...

I am 17 year old Indian, I'll complete high school in a few months. I love science. My lust for physics is well beyond school books (which are trivial and boring). I learned the Feynman Lectures on Physics (all three Volumes) almost three years ago (This is just to give you an idea). I have a...

So right now I'm a senior in high school. I intended to major in engineering physics at Cornell and probably also pursue a theoretical physics double major there as well. However, I also want to go to Cambridge for my masters/doctorate in physics. Since it gives no financial aid to international...

I am in the process of choosing the topic for my thesis. Originally I came from a more theoretical branch of physics but I realized that I do not see my future in university research, but more in the industry. I want to do research with more direct applications, but now I am not sure what my...

Hey everybody, I would just like to say thank you in advance for the help, and I'm new to PF. I am currently attending a community college with physics as my major. I am two more semesters away from my associate's degree. I am interested in high school teaching, and hoped some people here...

Hello all! I recently joined a environmental(ecology dept.) research institute as a mathematical modeller(JOB).I am by degree a automotive engineer with a passion for mathematics.I am still fresh out of graduate school but I eventually see myself as head for a automotive R&D business 4-5 years...

hi, I am currently a physics major undergraduate and i hold a security clearance from previous work. It expires in 2014 and I wanted to know if it was worth the hassel of trying to get it renewed? keeping in mind that i plan to pursue a phd in physics. getting it renewed won't be easy as i...

hi i am senior in high school and looking forward to engineering. i am currently interested in software engineering and would like any advice/information that's helpful. i have heard its a good career, but for some reason it seems that its not very common among engineering, as i have seen that a...

Thinking about the right career choice! I am currently studying in class XI. I like physics, chemistry and computer science. I also liked biology, but the choice was in between bio and computer science, so I chose computer science. I am preparing myself for the competitive exams. I draw very...

Hello everyone. I've been reading some of the posts related to career advice here hoping to get some guidance. Before I provide some details about myself, I'd like to thank you in advance for any guidance you may be able to provide. I got B.S. in Mechanical a little over 5 years ago and for...

Whenever people ask what jobs they can do with a B.S. in physics (and to a lesser extent with an M.S. or Ph.D.), one of the first suggestions offered is that they can become a programmer. In my opinion, this is seriously wrong and harmful advice. Look at the standard courses that physics...

Hey PF first post here, was looking for some career advice on engineering and physics related employment. I'm 22 years old, from Australia, and have just completed high school at an adult college after dropping out of 11th grade about 6 years ago and working as a construction builder and...

Hi everyone, I've just finished my bachelors degree and started grad school. I'm having a really hard time deciding if I want to head into Experimental Particle Physics oder Experimental Solid State Physics for my PhD. I've had a little practical experience in both fields, and I really...

I'm not sure if anyone knows what I mean by saying my desire is to hypothesis and experiment, and build upon the basis of other theorems. I wonder if majoring in physics with a concentration on astrophysics are the proper choices in relation to my desired career path. I suppose I'm leaning...

Hello, I would like to hear from people who have first hand working experience(have been employed) what are they doing(a typical day in the office) on the following fields: a)Systems Engineering b)Embedded systems Engineer c)Robotics,systems and control d)analogue and/or digital design...

Hi physics forums. I'm a 4th year student in Applied Physics. Originally I had no idea what I wanted to do with my education, or what useful skills I was learning. This year I've got a lab course and a computational physics course that have piqued my interest. I'm really enjoying...

Hi everyone. One of the recurring themes here in the Career Guidance section is how career prospects for physics graduates (or in fact any graduates) depends to a significant extent on when they have entered the labour force (e.g. students who have graduated in 1998 will have very different...

I'm only a sophomore physics major, but I'm beginning to consider what I may want to study in graduate school, and hope to find some REU's that will complement these interests. I'd like to hear from others who are in the broad field of plasma physics. I'm back and forth between geophysics and...

Hello all, I am currently finishing my AA and getting ready to transfer to a better school to pursue an education in either Engineering or Physics. I am pretty torn between the two and would like some advice from people in the field on which would be a better choice for me. I have worked in...

I am wondering, if something finding some free courses online in the areas that I am looking at would help me to decide what I'd like to pursue in college before I get there? Is there some other way of finding out if I'd really even like it?

Dear All, I have read many threads on second careers including the excellent blog by ZapperZ "So you want to be a physicist" and then reaching out to you all for guidance. First, a brief introduction on myself: Industry Experience:  I am a US Citizen based out of the Northern NJ/ NY...

Hello all, I have 2 questions: Can you double major is physics secondary ed and math secondary ed and go to grad school? Is it feasible to expect to do both 4 years? If you major in just math ed and minor in physics, can you go to math grad school? Thanks in advance

Hello everyone, I'm facing a bit of confusion. I am currently in high school, taking a college level Calculus class and a college level Algrebra-Based Physics class. I am not sure whether it's because of the class, or if it's because of the math itself, but i seem to enjoy Calculus much more...

Hello, I recently graduated from University as a Mechanical Engineer. I am currently working at a large oil and gas company as a New Graduate Mechanical Engineer. My roles and responsibilities primarily include Preventive Maintenance and Reliability of pipelines. It is probably one of the...

Hello everyone, Little back story, so when I began college as a freshman I thought I wanted to become a doctor. My sister already being in med school it seemed like a challenging and rewarding career which could ultimately make me a lot of money. However speaking with my physics teacher...

Hi all, First post here. I am a high GPA actuarial science based statistics major at a well known university for act sci. However, I have become disenchanted with the profession lately. I have heard a lot about how the amount of high level thinking required on the job is disappointing to a...

After studying medicine, what would be a good discipline to study that involves maths/physics and also medical science? Neuroscience seems like a fairly good option (neural networks etc). Any advice?

Greetings. Looking for advice and information concerning the job prospects for a person holding a masters degree in applied mathematics - how good are they, and how much more opportunities would a PHD provide? How many graduates overall continue on to receive their phds? How do private...

Hello everyone, I have a question on applying to graduate school to study a different field than one studied for their undergrad degree. Specifically, I am due to graduate from a Boston area school with a combined electrical engineering / physics degree. I have an A/A- average, solid GRE...

Seems like it might be easier to just cut out the middlemen who hold the dollars and do a bunch of math somewhere until there are a few less "unsolved problems in mathematics" on wikipedia. What's stopping scientists from doing this? Much more efficient in terms of physicist-life-hours.

I just started my senior year of high school and am considering engineering. The problem is I haven't taken any chemistry or physics classes but i am good at math and feel like I would enjoy doing engineering along with the hard work included. Also another problem is that my high school only...