Career advice Definition and 217 Threads

Hi everyone, I’m a first-year physics student currently taking my end-of-semester exams, and I’ve been feeling really discouraged. Physics isn’t what I thought it would be, and I’m struggling to stay motivated. My courses include Calculus, Linear Algebra, General Physics, Programming, and...

Hello, I am a high school senior wanting to eventually become a professor of physics. Right now, I am doing research at my state university at a lab trying to harness the Hall effect for use in room temperature devices. My role is the detection and characterization of magnetic domains. I will...

Hi, this semester is almost finished and I would like to consider my options. Here is some context about myself, I'm 24 physics major, got my degree in late 2022 from university of bahrain, and I'm still in Bahrain. At that time all I was thinking about was going to grad school and I did not...

Hello, fellow users of the Forum. Excuse my English, as I'm writing in a hurry. What I'm going to describe here is mostly another case of a (potential) Physics after Engineering Syndrome. I'm aware that this is an neverending topic on the Forum and have read a lot of posts on this subject...

Hello, I posted recently asking for information on a physics PhD. I am a second-year Data Science and Physics major at Northeastern University (My school has combined majors that are like double majors but cut a few classes out of each major). As I meant to indicate in the previous post, I am...

Hello, I am a second-year Data Science and Physics major at Northeastern University (My school has combined majors that are like double majors but cut a few classes out of each major). I am also considering switching to Math and Physics (I've linked the requirements for each major if it's...

I (22m from UK) have an undergrad in astrophysics, a masters in space engineering and have long wanted to do a PhD. After graduating my masters, I wanted a break from academia so now work as a spacecraft engineer (which is my dream career). I love my job and definitely see myself doing this as a...

I'm new to this forum, so I hope I do everything correctly to get an answer because I am deeply in need for some guidance. I also hope I can explain myself in the clearest way. I'm a 20 year old student attending the first year in Computer and Electronics engineering. Since I was in high school...

[Post edited by a Mentor] Hello I have a PhD and I did a post doc. I took a job a scientific associate in a laboratory where we offer services to visiting scientists. The experimental end station has staff scientists who operate the equipment and administrate the coordination of time used for...

I'm finishing up a physics postdoc in experimental condensed matter physics, and I'm looking to go into industry. I'm aware that one avenue is programming, but I would be competing for entry-level positions against people fresh out of college who are specifically trained in the field, while my...

I am passionate about physics and math and science, you've heard the story a million times. I don't know whether I should study in physics or engineering. I find the concept of Engineering Physics really cool. I've heard it still gives you the opportunity to go study graduate physics? (Lets...

Hello everyone, As my the description suggests, I am a registered radiation therapist with 6 years of experience. I graduated with a BS in Radiologic Sciences and Therapy. Over the last year and a half or so, I have been working on some undergrad classes to get a minor in physics in the hopes...

Hi, I'm 20 and I'm courrently persuing a barchelor's degree in Computer Science in Italy and now I'm in the middle of the second year. Thinking about a career path I've always been sure to specialize in Cyber Security but I recently came across Quantum Computing that I find fascinating. After...

Do not discourage me after reading this but please listen. I always loved maths and physics but i hated Organic chemistry so in order to avoid chemistry i ended up choosing commerce with maths. Now, I am in 2nd yr of my college doing BBA. My class 11th and 12th was in lockdown so i did not...

Good afternoon everyone My name is Bryant, I am a recent graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, recent graduated of an M.S. in Aeronautics specializing in Space Operations since May of 2023 and but been having a difficult time of going for the Aerospace Industry. I have tried...

Hi all. Do you ever find yourself gripped by a sleepless, restless feeling, that there is a dream or ambition you had that was achievable, and if left unresolved will leave a feeling of regret for the rest of your life? For context, I graduated with a B.S. in Physics from Stanford in 2019, and...

TL;DR Summary: An 18-year-old student is eager to pursue a career in engineering but is uncertain about the best path. They initially considered Mechanical Engineering for its versatility but are open to more specialized fields. Seeking advice on whether to do a master's, they plan to gain work...

Hello, First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who takes their time to read through my post and make a response, I really appreciate your help that is given for free. Background. I’m a Physics student in his last year, my expected graduation date is June 2024. I study at one of the best...

I have a math BA and have been teaching HS for the past few years. Thinking of going back for my MS in MechE with the goal of becoming an engineer. There is a program which will allow me to take around 6-7 undergrad MechE classes (physics 1, CAD, statics, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics...

Hello everyone, I am a Physics Masters student in USA (international student). I have completed a semester so far. Currently, I am working on a project under cosmology, which is related to Fischer analysis. Background: I have graduated with a BSc Mathematics with a physics minor. While...

Hello everyone, I finished my BSc im Electrical engineering in israel and currently doing my masters in cosmology in the same Uni. I'm a planning on doing PhD in the same subject as well. My masters thesis is about using machine learning for dark matter and structure formation, PhD would be in...

I am a Senior in High School looking to go to college for Computer Science. Since Freshmen year I have been learning Front End Development (HTML, CSS, and Javascript), albeit somewhat slowly and staggered due to school getting in the way and whatnot. In the past year, I have learned some more...

I've recently graduated from EE and was looking for jobs on the market. While I'm looking for any good opportunity that comes my way, I wanted to plan out my career path and how to achieve it in the long-term. That way, when I run into roadblocks and issues on the job, I'll be able to think...

Hi all, I've been working in healthcare in some capacity for 10+ years now and started school a little later than your average undergraduate (started at 26). I caught the math bug and did well in my lower-division mathematics and physics courses and I am currently finishing up Classical...

Don't follow your passion

Hi everyone, I'm from an Asian country, and graduated with M.Sc. degree in nuclear power engineering last year from a university in Russia. Since then, I have been looking for jobs related to nuclear engineering but no luck up till now. Seeing that nuclear energy is getting trendy now in...

Summary: Since I did not start out in calculus 1 in my first semester of college I have to take an extra semester in my four years to get my bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and Clemson offers a minor in Nuclear engineering which would just add 15 more credit hours to my overall degree...

At the start of univerity I had a huge problem that really threw me off track. Thus during the first two years (4 year total due to masters) I focused my time on the core maths modules (maths 1, 2, 3, 4). In year 3 and 4 I sorted the problem and really got my head down and ended up achieving a...

Hello, dear all. Currently I'm studying MSc in physics hoping to do PhD soon after my graduation. I did my bachelor in Quantum Electrodynamics, and before starting my MSc in physics, I was working as a research assistant in experimental HEP lab, and I thought I wanted to explore other subfields...

Hi Everyone, As the title suggests, I'm looking for some career advice. I want to go into software development (but feel free to suggest any other areas where I might be a good fit, I've also been looking at risk analysis positions). I have experience in a bunch of different areas but it feels...

Hi everyone, I am now a junior high school student who is going to start his senior after a month. I was selected to a tier 1 University in my country. I checked all professors and postdocs websites and I can say that they are mostly doing research on condensed matter physics. Should I learn...

Let’s start things off straight: I LOVE physics. I love the opportunity to understand the world more in depth and mathematically and have had good experiences with all my professors in all of my classes. I have loved the teaching experience I have had as a several-time TA, as well as the deeper...

Hello, I'm looking for any advice on how to prepare myself for a starting position as a quantitative analytist (quant). I'm currently doing my Master's in astrophysics, where I for the last 1½ year have been practicting my coding skills, as I found myself gravitated towards the industry's data...

I have an assignment for a class where I have to interview Mechanical Engineers. The questions are “Why did you choose this career?”, “Are you happy in this career?”, and “What advice would you give to someone who wanted to pursue this career?” I would appreciate it if someone could answer these...

I took some time off twice getting through college just about a year each time. I also have about a years worth of failed classes and a GPA of about 2.02. Although my major GPA is around 2.5 still not that great. Graduated in 2017 officially but last class was taken in 2014. So its. . . well...

Hi I am a computer science undergraduate working as a data scientist. I generally love studying physics and planetary science. I am aspiring to research in biomarkers and bio signatures in planets. If I have to choose this research path should I study masters in, astrophysics or...

I'm an undergraduate EE student, the last few semesters I have been taking courses in telecommunications. I took an introduction to telecommunications course, a course on data communications, and a course on digital communications. I have not taken a course on wireless communications and will...

Hi, I needed some help/advice. I am a Math Major at Dickinson College. I am also taking lots of courses in Physics and Philosophy. At this point, which is the fall semester of my junior year, I have: - 3 more courses left to complete my Math major. I still need to take Abstract Algebra, a...

Hello. I have posted a similar thread many years ago. I am finishing my EE undergraduate degree in about 6 months and am thinking of doing of a Masters in Physics. I have had a discussion about it on the forum. It is challenging to switch fields but it seems doable to me at the moment. However...

Hello, TL;DR: Could it be practical to leave a PhD in Earth science in order to earn a BS in math (starting at the upper division level) if I'm tired of having a spotty math foundation and want to be able to learn anything? I've been on a slow, wandering path towards a vaguely defined "career...

I am at a huge crossroads in life and in need of some guidance. I graduated two years ago with a B.S. in Physics from an R1 university, and am currently in my second year of a physics PhD program at a different R1 university. From the moment I had my first research experience in high school, I...

Hello, so I am a 16 year old passionate about physics and mathematics, I’ve pretty much self taught myself everything. Before you start saying that I’ve got to focus on what I have, I am nailing everything science related, straight As, but I find them quite easy and I REALLY want to move on. I...

Hi, everybody. I did an undergrad in computer engineering, and am currently happily in a software development position, but I've always had a passion for physics and could see myself loving being in a position where I'm working in clean energy. I've spent lots of free time learning about and...

> In case you find this post too long, you can find the question written in bold under the Question section. Note:there are additional questions under the Additional Questions section. I am a computer science major, I got into computer science because at some point in the past I was very...

Everyone, this post is going on multiple forums/subreddits so I can get diverse feedback. Pardon the spam if you see it elsewhere: I am retiring from the military in three years from a non-technical specialty. I have a bachelors in management. I will be 45 when I depart. I will have a security...

Hi everyone. I've been working as a full time research assistant in an AMO lab for a couple of months and I've found it interesting so far. I'm considering pursuing a PhD in experimental AMO in about a year's time. However, I'm concerned about the non-academia career prospects for AMO PhDs. Is...

Good afternoon, I will be graduating with an EE bachelors in a year. To keep this brief, next semester I will be taking courses that branch off from general Electrical Engineering. I have the options of Telecom, Electronics, Control Systems, or Power Systems. Living in the DFW area, what would...

Hello everyone! Apologies if this question has been asked and answered before, please feel free to direct me to that post and delete this one, if needed and if it has been asked before and this post is, hence, redundant. I looked up some of the earlier posts such as...

Hi all, I just finished up my master's degree a few months ago, during which I did my thesis work at another university. The work I did was very exciting and gratifying to me since I plan to continue in the same field. As a result, I had asked my supervisor if there were any research...

Hello, all! Brand new here, so I'm still learning all the ropes. Anyway. I'm a first year Electrical & Computer Engineering student at a Community College in Delaware. The program is designed as part of an articulation agreement with the University of Delaware in order to make a transfer to...