Recent content by starfysmn

Thanks for the comments, SpaceTiger. Careers/funding is on my mind since NASA's ATP program has NOIs due today. I've spent WAY too much time on this page but hopefully some people have benefited. Physics has sort of ignored its problem. You'll find lots of pages like this...

Time in postdocs? Hmm. Some people pass them directly, but this is rare. 7-8 years is not unheard of. If you don't get a really good postdoc offer to begin with, it's probably best to go right into industry/national labs. I have many friends who build nuclear weapons, which, by the way, an...

SpaceTiger, You are right that I was spewing lots of venom. Whew! Just the frustration of my own current job search. And, you are right that people who get kicked out *often* are simply not hard workers, although I would argue that the correlation is actually rather weak, knowing several...

Sorry, complexPHILOSOPHY, I didn't answer your question! I don't know about the first question, to be honest. It depends on what field you are talking about. Physics BA/BS is more flexible than an astronomy BA/BS, but other than that I can't help you. As for performing research and...

While I probably sound phenomenally pessimistic, I am just trying to let you know the real situation. If you still decide you want to do it, go for it, but don't make the leap until you are really informed. I too, at one time, was perfectly happy to be poor. I spent a good chunk of grad school...

Oh, I didn't mean to propose to go into higher mathematics. But you won't get very far in cosmology without an understanding of general relativity, which is, er, semi-Riemannian differential geometry. Ok, maybe you don't need to know a Bianchi type-9 universe from mud unless you're going to be a...

Jon-Pan, That was rather forceful, I realize. I love physics and mathematics myself. And I am happy that I count myself among the few who understand relativity and quantum mechanics (such as is possible in the latter case). Those are two wonderful intellectual edifices of the last century...

I wanted to be a cosmologist, long time ago, as well, back when I was an undergraduate. Cosmology is sexy. It makes for great documentaries on PBS. It's tantalizing to contemplate the origin of, well, everything. Under no circumstances should you contemplate going into the field, however...