- #1
dpatnd
- 64
- 20
Hi all,
I am a first year student at the University of Notre Dame, and I will be choosing classes for first semester second year in a week or so. I am currently a physics major, but am getting anxious as the time to “commit” approaches.
I came in not knowing what I wanted to do as a career. My initial reasoning was that, as I do not know what I want to do, I should pick something both broad and rigorous, hence physics. I haven’t come any closer to figuring out what I want to do, so it seems that physics is still a logical choice. However, I am getting increasingly anxious about what I would do after graduation. Most of the advice I see indicates that I would go on to graduate school in a related STEM field, such as engineering, and transition into that career. The problem is that there is no way I could afford a Master’s, while a PhD (while funded) is a serious investment of time and effort I may not be prepared for. That would leave me with just my Bachelor’s in physics, which I am told is not really enough to get into any specific career besides maybe software engineering for those who learned how to code. In the event of me not having a job lined up immediately after graduation, I don’t know what I would do, as I do not have family to house me in the US while looking for a job (though I am a US citizen). Fortunately, undergraduate loans are not something I will have to worry about.
In light of the above, I am tempted to just drop physics and switch to engineering. However, I do not want to. First, I am not sure I want to be an engineer; their work often seems unappealing, in fact. Second, I do not want to leave my physics peers. There are fewer than 40 of us, and everyone knows everyone. I feel a sense of belonging among them, and I relate to them. I love how there is not a single person in physics who is in it “for the money“ — a very refreshing attitude. The professors are close to the students as well. For example, I am stuck at the university right now because of COVID-19, and my current professor personally reached out to check on me. Conversely, engineering classes are large, and I know next to no one in them. From my observations of the engineers, I will say that I do not relate to them. They act differently, value things differently, etc. I am scared of losing the one place where I have a sense of belonging at my university. Third, I have a physics mentor who was assigned to me at the start of the year. If I switch, I lose the contact I made in her and other physics professors. It takes me years to build up rapport with people. To switch means throwing away whatever progress I made towards establishing connections for future recommendations. And last, quite simply, I would be ashamed of myself if I switched simply because I was too afraid of uncertainty. Therefore, switching may make me build up resentment towards my new area of study.
And that’s all, I suppose. Those are the things I am weighing. I feel trapped, like either path I choose will lead to anxiety and regrets. Any advice or encouragement would be much appreciated.
I am a first year student at the University of Notre Dame, and I will be choosing classes for first semester second year in a week or so. I am currently a physics major, but am getting anxious as the time to “commit” approaches.
I came in not knowing what I wanted to do as a career. My initial reasoning was that, as I do not know what I want to do, I should pick something both broad and rigorous, hence physics. I haven’t come any closer to figuring out what I want to do, so it seems that physics is still a logical choice. However, I am getting increasingly anxious about what I would do after graduation. Most of the advice I see indicates that I would go on to graduate school in a related STEM field, such as engineering, and transition into that career. The problem is that there is no way I could afford a Master’s, while a PhD (while funded) is a serious investment of time and effort I may not be prepared for. That would leave me with just my Bachelor’s in physics, which I am told is not really enough to get into any specific career besides maybe software engineering for those who learned how to code. In the event of me not having a job lined up immediately after graduation, I don’t know what I would do, as I do not have family to house me in the US while looking for a job (though I am a US citizen). Fortunately, undergraduate loans are not something I will have to worry about.
In light of the above, I am tempted to just drop physics and switch to engineering. However, I do not want to. First, I am not sure I want to be an engineer; their work often seems unappealing, in fact. Second, I do not want to leave my physics peers. There are fewer than 40 of us, and everyone knows everyone. I feel a sense of belonging among them, and I relate to them. I love how there is not a single person in physics who is in it “for the money“ — a very refreshing attitude. The professors are close to the students as well. For example, I am stuck at the university right now because of COVID-19, and my current professor personally reached out to check on me. Conversely, engineering classes are large, and I know next to no one in them. From my observations of the engineers, I will say that I do not relate to them. They act differently, value things differently, etc. I am scared of losing the one place where I have a sense of belonging at my university. Third, I have a physics mentor who was assigned to me at the start of the year. If I switch, I lose the contact I made in her and other physics professors. It takes me years to build up rapport with people. To switch means throwing away whatever progress I made towards establishing connections for future recommendations. And last, quite simply, I would be ashamed of myself if I switched simply because I was too afraid of uncertainty. Therefore, switching may make me build up resentment towards my new area of study.
And that’s all, I suppose. Those are the things I am weighing. I feel trapped, like either path I choose will lead to anxiety and regrets. Any advice or encouragement would be much appreciated.