Recent content by SonyAlmeida

I'm a junior in college right now (planning on a 3.5 year graduation), majoring in engineering physics at a very good school. I've got a great GPA because I work hard during school, but I've got no research experience and no good work experience (my last two summers weren't spent very well) so...

I have a tendency like many physicists to get extremely discouraged when anything is non-ideal. =p

Eek.

Hey guys. I love making lists, and I love people's opinions. so I want to know what your favorite classes were! Feel free to separate your lists into science/engineering classes and non-technical classes if you want, and I'd love if you could explain why you liked these classes too.

But if you don't know that you like research, how can you just sign yourself over to five or six years of it? That's what bothers me.

I'm in exactly the same boat as you. I'm doing really well in classes but not sure that I want my life to be all about research, but I also want to advance my knowledge and be challenged by new material. If grad school were just more classes, I'd jump at an instant. At the moment, I'm...

Have you ever asked said people their secrets? They sound like they've got the system figured out better than you have. Seriously, if you don't want to do more than these people, then don't. But you'll have to learn how they manage to get away with it.

Outta curiosity, who is this mysterious Joe Schmoe person who seems to be doing no work and getting compensated so well? If you know him, why don't you ask him how he does it? It seems like what you want. And post your results, by the way. I'd also like to be him!

Out of curiosity, what would you say qualifies as a 'good' salary? What do you intend to do with that money, should you have it?

If you can handle it and your school will let you do it, I guess there's nothing wrong with that. I took around 30% of the classes you did, though, and got into a pretty good college with a couple of extracurriculars and a few awards for the state math olympiads.

I support your doing this as a challenge. However, I wouldn't count on it looking great on your resumes. For one thing, your employer isn't even allowed to ask your age. For another, you can come off as smart, sure, but rushing through college almost necessarily limits the amount of...

I don't think an economics 'degree' looks any more appealing than a physics degree. If you're interested in the job skills that an econ degree usually implies, then take the appropriate courses (intermediate micro/macro, perhaps a few other cost-benefit analysis type classes). From what I can...

Chemical and Electrical Engineers tend to make $50k to $70k with a bachelor's, I think.

Depends on your institution's reputation, I'd say. If either department is particularly renowned, then go for that one. At my school, it's a lot more demanding to be a physics major than to be an economics major. I'm in (engineering) physics at a school known for its EP program with no...

I've asked a few of my friends personally, and they said that the only reason that they were taking AP Calculus was that they want to go to a good school (UCLA, Berkeley, Princeton, etc.). Why does this bother you? I don't see anything wrong with being competitive and demonstrating high...