Attempts to balance social life/ physics

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A third-year undergraduate physics major is grappling with the challenge of balancing academic demands with a social life. After overloading on graduate courses and experiencing a lack of social interaction, the student has opted to take only one graduate course this semester. However, increased socializing has led to difficulties in keeping up with coursework. The discussion reveals a broader concern among students about the sacrifices required for success in theoretical physics, with many questioning whether it is possible to maintain a fulfilling social life while pursuing rigorous academic goals. Participants share personal experiences, suggesting that forming study groups with like-minded peers can help blend socializing with academic responsibilities. Some emphasize the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing time management to avoid burnout. The conversation also touches on the perception that a strong dedication to physics may necessitate significant personal sacrifices, leading to a debate about the value of social experiences versus academic achievement. Ultimately, the thread highlights the ongoing struggle to find a balance between personal fulfillment and the intense demands of a career in theoretical physics.
  • #31
Alright... I've talked to a theorist in our high energy department, and he said that he would not ever say that it is okay to drop a class like QFT.

He pretty much said that in order to be a theorist, I need dedication and make sacrifices. If I can't put enough effort down now, it's only going to get worse in grad school and then post doc level. I will stick to the class for another week or so, and then see what happens. Argh... no, social life is still secondary to physics. If physics is my dream, I'd just have to stick it out.
 
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  • #32
se7en said:
after I graduate I will socialize more...!

i'd imagine it be MUCH harder to socialize after college
 
  • #33
i'd imagine it be MUCH harder to socialize after college

I'm sure there are ways. And I wouldn't put too much emphasis on huge quantities of socialising in college anyway since more often than not, it's all pretty superficial and though you may make a few new friends, they might not still be friends 5 years down the road. Socialise enough, keep in touch with close friends, make a few new ones and that's it. You don't need to see them for drinks every night and such. That sounds excessive.

And yes, QFT in 3rd year is pretty impressive.
 
  • #34
PhysicalAnomaly said:
I'm sure there are ways. And I wouldn't put too much emphasis on huge quantities of socialising in college anyway since more often than not, it's all pretty superficial and though you may make a few new friends, they might not still be friends 5 years down the road. Socialise enough, keep in touch with close friends, make a few new ones and that's it. You don't need to see them for drinks every night and such. That sounds excessive.

And yes, QFT in 3rd year is pretty impressive.

well in grad school, yes, i can see it being easy to make friends with the other guys there. but where are you going to find dating opportunities? especially since i assume most of the guys in this forum are physics/engineering, so there's hardly any girls there. we're probably more likely to be atheist, so going to church is another option not open to us

even worse if we enter the workforce instead of grad school. mostly married adults as co-workers.
 
  • #35
cypherscouter said:
well in grad school, yes, i can see it being easy to make friends with the other guys there. but where are you going to find dating opportunities? especially since i assume most of the guys in this forum are physics/engineering, so there's hardly any girls there. we're probably more likely to be atheist, so going to church is another option not open to us

even worse if we enter the workforce instead of grad school. mostly married adults as co-workers.

yeah... definitely a problem. A lot of dedicated physics major (including myself) tend to overlook stuffs regarding relationships, but as a human being, it is still an important part of living a fulfilling life.
 
  • #36
I really think it's more of a how to balance my dream and my social life. Successful athletes put in enormous amounts of training time, same thing with mathematicians, businessmen, lawyers, doctors, etc. I really think a huge component is just sacrifice. How much are you willing to sacrifice? It's safe to say the more you sacrifice, the better your chances are of success.

I like to hang out with friends, in a much more casual environment. I'm not huge on binge drinking since it totally ruins my weekends and I'm so unproductive. We all need to make choices. This is a major decision for a physics or a math major, kinda like, how far am I willing to take this? You clearly have some good physics talent, so it's really up to you how far to go.

I tend to make my schedule so that my days (9am - 4/5pm) is completely dominated by going to class, studying after or before class in the library, getting started on homework or any side ideas stimulated from class or my readings. I approach it like a job. Put in 6-8 hours of intense work, with some food breaks, and then enjoy the rest of the night. This does not always work as sometimes we don't finish an assignment in the allotted time, but I generally try to stick to this.
 
  • #37
tim lou, look at it this way: You're taking QFT now, so when you're a graduate student you can screw off while your office mates are slogging through QFT. :-p
 
  • #38
Tom Mattson said:
tim lou, look at it this way: You're taking QFT now, so when you're a graduate student you can screw off while your office mates are slogging through QFT. :-p

I am not sure how much of that is true. I've heard that most good grad students going into theory already know QFT as a freshman (in grad school). And to be quite honest, taking a QFT class doesn't necessarily mean that I know QFT. Though getting started early is definitely a plus.

It's interesting how what JasonJo said was exactly what my prof told me (a theorist himself). He asked me how much I am willing to sacrifice for my dream. It's a tough decision, and I still don't really know the answer. He told me that he can easily dedicate a full 7 day week for his research for a couple years. I don't think I can ever pull off that kind of intense focus.
 
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  • #39
tim_lou said:
I am not sure how much of that is true. I've heard that most good grad students going into theory already know QFT as a freshman (in grad school). And to be quite honest, taking a QFT class doesn't necessarily mean that I know QFT. Though getting started early is definitely a plus.

It's interesting how what JasonJo said was exactly what my prof told me (a theorist himself). He asked me how much I am willing to sacrifice for my dream. It's a tough decision, and I still don't really know the answer. He told me that he can easily dedicate a full 7 day week for his research for a couple years. I don't think I can ever pull off that kind of intense focus.

what is so dreamy about research? it's just a fun job that and that's it. i think we tend to hype up what being a scientist is. it's not being a rockstar, or superstar athlete, or even astronaut. it's just a job that for some reason we're built to enjoy. i dream of climbing mount everest, jumping out of a plane, driving a ferrari, and falling in love. i definitely do not dream of calculating some correction to some expectation value for some perturbed system. i enjoy doing that, mind you sometimes, but there's nothing sensational about it.
 
  • #40
You can be like Julian Barbour, an independent researcher.
 

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