Physics Anxious about majoring in physics — considering a switch to engineering

[aa]

In college, about 20 years ago, I majored in computer science. You speak of apathy; I didn't even have a theoretical subject I was 'passionate' about. I spent a lot of my undergraduate playing counter-strike, starcraft, and wrestling with depression. I went in and out of academic probation. I hated EE and wrangled with the department to let me graduate without taking the one required EE course.

20 years later, my current great wish is to land a job in BCIs, for which EE knowledge would be very helpful.*

I'd say you will not regret whatever EE you can force yourself to choke down. This is predicated on EE still being a useful branch of knowledge 20 years from now. It stands a good chance of being so because it is essentially the study of transmuting electric forces into computation. Electrons are small which makes them efficient computators. Of course, if quantum computing takes over it will all be wasted effort. Or maybe connecting computers to our brains will enable new styles of learning such that learning EE the old fashioned way will have been too shallow.

*not as helpful as work experience and networking though

 

[dpatnd]

In college, about 20 years ago, I majored in computer science. You speak of apathy; I didn't even have a theoretical subject I was 'passionate' about. I spent a lot of my undergraduate playing counter-strike, starcraft, and wrestling with depression. I went in and out of academic probation. I hated EE and wrangled with the department to let me graduate without taking the one required EE course.

20 years later, my current great wish is to land a job in BCIs, for which EE knowledge would be very helpful.*

I'd say you will not regret whatever EE you can force yourself to choke down. This is predicated on EE still being a useful branch of knowledge 20 years from now. It stands a good chance of being so because it is essentially the study of transmuting electric forces into computation. Electrons are small which makes them efficient computators. Of course, if quantum computing takes over it will all be wasted effort. Or maybe connecting computers to our brains will enable new styles of learning such that learning EE the old fashioned way will have been too shallow.

*not as helpful as work experience and networking though

I suppose regret does not come into the equation. Regret implies that there was a choice that can be regretted, but I see no such choice to begin with. My actions were obligatory.
It simply pains me that my mental health went down the drain as a consequence, and my high-achieving record with it.

 

[hutchphd]

I suppose regret does not come into the equation. Regret implies that there was a choice that can be regretted, but I see no such choice to begin with. My actions were obligatory.
It simply pains me that my mental health went down the drain as a consequence, and my high-achieving record with it.

It is truly down the drain only if you do not learn from the experience. The issues of mental health are painful but not usually dispositive. My 150 IQ came with plenty of depressive chemicals lurking in my brain. You learn to play the hand you are dealt, just like everyone else on the planet!
So figure out a good next step. The fat lady has not sung.

 

[dpatnd]

It is truly down the drain only if you do not learn from the experience. The issues of mental health are painful but not usually dispositive. My 150 IQ came with plenty of depressive chemicals lurking in my brain. You learn to play the hand you are dealt, just like everyone else on the planet!
So figure out a good next step. The fat lady has not sung.

As you say. If I learned anything this semester, it's that I taking away my free choice when it comes to something as important to me as my major has disastrous consequences. As such, I've spoken to my former professor about declaring the double major and am working out the scheduling details as we speak. I do not know if I will actually be able to complete the second major, but all that matters to me right now is being able to say I am a physics major in the present.

A pleasant bonus is that it seems I will be able to take a class with my former fellow physics majors next semester. In hindsight, I have also realized that they were what kept me afloat last year.

 

[dpatnd]

As you say. If I learned anything this semester, it's that I taking away my free choice when it comes to something as important to me as my major has disastrous consequences. As such, I've spoken to my former professor about declaring the double major and am working out the scheduling details as we speak. I do not know if I will actually be able to complete the second major, but all that matters to me right now is being able to say I am a physics major in the present.

A pleasant bonus is that it seems I will be able to take a class with my former fellow physics majors next semester. In hindsight, I have also realized that they were what kept me afloat last year.

As it turned out, the fat lady had indeed not yet sung. I ended the semester with A's in all but one class, and stayed on the Dean's list. It seems that the prospect of being a physics major again was what it took for me to claw my way back up.
Motivation, or rather a sense of purpose, is still hard to come by. However, I think I'll survive.

 

[aa]

Good of you to follow up.

A's in all but one

That's great to hear! You are displaying resilience.

You also sound more self-confident.

seems that the prospect of being a physics major again was what it took for me to claw my way back up

You are learning about yourself.

 

[Wizard]

Here's my two cents. Sorry if it is controversial. You probably won't get another chance to do undergraduate, to lead your life in the right direction by becoming qualified in what you love.

I'm going to be frank. Engineering is easy compared to physics. I know people are going to get up in arms about me saying that. I say this as someone who has been employed by a major university to tutor and mark for postgraduate Engineering. My bachelor's in physics and mathematics was well and truly enough for me to mark these people and to be frustrated at their ignorance. Unless you're at an excellent university leading the world in engineering, engineers are not taught to think analytically or how to do mathematics. They are taught to shut up and calculate using a mathematical toolbox someone else set aside for them. I am sure some people will be angered by this comment but that's what I believe based on my own observations.

Take physics if that's what you love. Engineering is good if you want to become formally qualified and trained in specific types of problem solving, i.e. to get an engineering job. But if you enjoy problem solving for the sake of it, for the intellectual exercise, and to understand the natural world, and to actually understand what the mathematics is doing, then mathematics/physics is a better choice. I don't think any good physics student will have trouble catching up with an engineer later on if that's what they choose to do.

Also consider that some people take physics degrees with the express intent of increasing their employability in unrelated areas. e.g. taking theoretical physics to be employed in finance. It's a thing.

This is just my opinion. Only you can choose what's right for you. I just think it would be a shame for you to choose engineering over physics under the false impression that physics would limit your employability. In fact, I think a physics degree looks 10x better than one in engineering. And I know others agree. Please just consider this point of view and decide for yourself what you need to do. Don't listen to career advice from people who don't actually know anything about STEM careers, e.g. family who are not technically minded. I suggest you talk to a career counselor at your university or attend career events to see what careers are available for someone with a physics degree. I think you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Dale]

I'm going to be frank. Engineering is easy compared to physics.

Do you have any actual data to support that claim? If so then please post it. Otherwise please express this claim as a personal opinion. Anecdotes are not data.

I know people are going to get up in arms about me saying that.

If you have actual evidence to support the claim then you are on solid ground, but if you are just expressing a personal opinion as though it were fact then you deserve to have your opinion challenged.

FYI, in contrast to your claim based on your personal experience, my personal experience is that I am an engineer and I now teach physics. I was previously a hiring manager and felt that engineers and physicists were equally qualified for the positions I was hiring. So we have two sets of anecdotes reaching different conclusions. Based on the anecdotal evidence I state only my opinion that there is not much difference.

 

[dpatnd]

Engineering is easy compared to physics.

Well, my first semester in EE sure didn't seem like it. A lot of the difficulty was likely due to the simple fact that I despised the classes, but the workload was nevertheless made more difficult by its quantity. Engineering problem solving is also sometimes difficult for me because that's simply not how I think; I am rather accustomed to the question types and wording of physics.

 

[onatirec]

As someone with undergraduate degrees in both physics and mechanical engineering, I'd (anecdotally) agree that engineering is easier. I took GR the same semester as three ME heavy hitters (fluids, thermo, and heat transfer), and GR blew all my other classes combined out of the water in terms of difficulty.

But I feel that engineering (at least at my university) did a better job at preparing for a career - so I'd strongly disagree that a physics degree looks 10x better on paper. I think they both show a great deal of problem solving ability, but my impression is that most people outside of those who study physics, don't really have a great grasp of the physics curriculum. Whereas with engineering, they have a more concrete idea (correct or not) about specific sets of knowledge - tools - you've been introduced to.

 

[nucl34rgg]

I strongly recommend ditching physics and studying engineering/CS. To study physics these days is almost certainly a vow of poverty. Ditto for math.

Better options include electrical or chemical engineering, mechanical/aeronautical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or statistics.

Another option if you already have a good physics background is to transition that to medical physics. That is an extremely lucrative area.

 

[dpatnd]

I strongly recommend ditching physics and studying engineering/CS. To study physics these days is almost certainly a vow of poverty. Ditto for math.

Better options include electrical or chemical engineering, mechanical/aeronautical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or statistics.

Another option if you already have a good physics background is to transition that to medical physics. That is an extremely lucrative area.

I made this thread at the end of my freshman year, and am now able as a junior (who is once again a physics major) to articulate why that line of reasoning is wrong.

I spent my sophomore year in electrical engineering because I was frequently told what you yourself have stated: that physics leads to destitution and that engineering somehow guarantees a good paying job. After a year of despising every single moment of my studies (yet still somehow maintaining straight A's), I realized that this is nonsense.
To put it simply, one is not given a job just because they have the right degree. They must show themselves to be interested and driven, having gone out of their way to participate in relevant activities and learn useful skills. If, however, one simply has a pretty GPA and nothing else, then that is worth little. The fact is that I would be in a far worse position career-wise if I stayed in EE. I felt no motivation at all and had nothing I looked forward to, nor any goals whatsoever. I did the work and got good grades because the alternative was rolling over and dying, and there was no chance in hell I would let engineering have its way with me.

It took a year of doing something I loathed plus a bad case of COVID for me to come to the realization that I had nothing to gain and much to lose by staying in engineering. Now, I am a physics major once again. For the first time in quite a while, I feel at peace. I enjoy my studies, and currently plan to apply to graduate school for physics.
As an aside to your comment about 'destitution' -- that, too, is false. Physics majors in general do just fine; those at my university particularly so, with starting salaries comparable to the engineers.