- #1
ZeGerman
- 3
- 0
Yes, I'm another one of those clueless people asking if I need to be a math "genius" to become an astronomer/astrophysicist.
I'm 25, graduated in '07 with a B.A. in Sociology and a B.A. in French & Spanish (cum GPA 3.75) and recently started thinking about going back to college to get a B.S. in Physics with the ultimate goal being a PhD in Astrophysics/Astronomy.
My concerns are:
- I used to hate math and it never came easy - I do blame sh***y teachers - same for most sciences. I was interested at first but got discouraged and disappointed by bad, lame teachers who basically told me I was not "made" for science.
- I've always sucked at algebra because I lost track early on, but then got A's and B's in calculus (I went to HS in Germany btw, which means I had math for 13 consecutive years and had covered almost all of calculus - at least superficially - by the time I graduated)
- Ever since, I've focused on foreign languages (I speak 4) because I aced them without much effort. So I naturally started thinking that that's all I'm good at, and got used to taking the easy way out.
My motivations are:
-I've always loved everything space related, loved looking at the night sky (never got the telescope I wanted), loved sci-fi movies as a kid - I was hypnotized by the movie Contact (even before I knew Sagan was behind it, whom I love now)
- Therefore, I was excited to start with physics and chemistry in 7th grade - until the teachers ruined it for me and I went into pouting mode (because I'm a stubborn aries lol)
- I've been watching nothing but the Science Channel for about a year now and can't get enough details (minus braindead stuff like "Mantracker")
- I've not been able to get motivated to pursue any career related to my majors - which I chose because they were easy for me - and the prospect of spending my life analyzing the universe is the most exciting thing I have thought of in years - or ever, really. I've considered pretty much everything, from lawyer to veterinarian but nothing stuck with me.
- I bought a stack of physics and math books and have been trying to refresh my memory. I remember learnig most of the stuff before (4 years of physics & chemistry in HS) and it's coming back VERY slowly. And for the first time, I'm enjoying the math aspect because now I can see how useful and applicable it is - but I'm still struggling.
Soooo... bottom line is: I know I have to start from scratch, and it's probably going to take at least 10 years until I could get my PhD (which is fine by me and won't be a problem financially). But starting at 25 - with a suboptimal background in science - am I too delusional? I have the drive, passion and, based on intellectual conversations with many people about a variety of topics, I'd like to believe that I'm smarter than the average person. I usually believe that you can do anything you want, if you just want it badly enough. But is that enough?
No sugar-coating, please, I need and can handle the cold, hard truth ;)
Thanks!
I'm 25, graduated in '07 with a B.A. in Sociology and a B.A. in French & Spanish (cum GPA 3.75) and recently started thinking about going back to college to get a B.S. in Physics with the ultimate goal being a PhD in Astrophysics/Astronomy.
My concerns are:
- I used to hate math and it never came easy - I do blame sh***y teachers - same for most sciences. I was interested at first but got discouraged and disappointed by bad, lame teachers who basically told me I was not "made" for science.
- I've always sucked at algebra because I lost track early on, but then got A's and B's in calculus (I went to HS in Germany btw, which means I had math for 13 consecutive years and had covered almost all of calculus - at least superficially - by the time I graduated)
- Ever since, I've focused on foreign languages (I speak 4) because I aced them without much effort. So I naturally started thinking that that's all I'm good at, and got used to taking the easy way out.
My motivations are:
-I've always loved everything space related, loved looking at the night sky (never got the telescope I wanted), loved sci-fi movies as a kid - I was hypnotized by the movie Contact (even before I knew Sagan was behind it, whom I love now)
- Therefore, I was excited to start with physics and chemistry in 7th grade - until the teachers ruined it for me and I went into pouting mode (because I'm a stubborn aries lol)
- I've been watching nothing but the Science Channel for about a year now and can't get enough details (minus braindead stuff like "Mantracker")
- I've not been able to get motivated to pursue any career related to my majors - which I chose because they were easy for me - and the prospect of spending my life analyzing the universe is the most exciting thing I have thought of in years - or ever, really. I've considered pretty much everything, from lawyer to veterinarian but nothing stuck with me.
- I bought a stack of physics and math books and have been trying to refresh my memory. I remember learnig most of the stuff before (4 years of physics & chemistry in HS) and it's coming back VERY slowly. And for the first time, I'm enjoying the math aspect because now I can see how useful and applicable it is - but I'm still struggling.
Soooo... bottom line is: I know I have to start from scratch, and it's probably going to take at least 10 years until I could get my PhD (which is fine by me and won't be a problem financially). But starting at 25 - with a suboptimal background in science - am I too delusional? I have the drive, passion and, based on intellectual conversations with many people about a variety of topics, I'd like to believe that I'm smarter than the average person. I usually believe that you can do anything you want, if you just want it badly enough. But is that enough?
No sugar-coating, please, I need and can handle the cold, hard truth ;)
Thanks!