Can I Relearn Physics and Pursue a Graduate Degree Mid-Career?

[ANAli]

How did you find PF?: Google search

Hello,

I am an Engineer with a BS and MS degree. I have been working for almost 15 years and I am very unhappy with my career choice. I would like to go back to school to pursue a graduate degree in Physics. Unfortunately, my undergraduate physics background is lacking significantly. So I plan to spend the next two years reviewing the following textbooks and doing problem sets:

1. Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems by Marion
2. Introduction to Electrodynamics by Griffiths
3. Classical Electrodynamics by Jackson
4. Optics by Hecht
5. Thermal Physics by Schroeder
6. Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by Griffiths
7. A modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics by Townsend
8. Subatomic Physics by Hanley-Garcia
9. Introduction to Solid State Physics by Kittel
10. Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences.

Given that I plan to do this while working full time, I am not in my 20's anymore and I am not really the sharpest tool in the shed, I expect that I will run into massive road blocks and that I will need help with working through problem sets so I decided to join this Forum and get my hands on the solution manuals for these books. My goal is to take the Physics GRE in the Fall of 2022 and submit applications to graduate schools for admission in the fall of 2023. I realize how far fetched this sounds and I will admit that I am very nervous.

If anyone has feedback on my choice of textbooks, i.e. you think that something should be substituted for something better or something is missing please feel free to let me know.

Thank you in advance for your time and support.

 

[anorlunda]

Welcome to PF. I moved your thread to a forum where you are more likely to get good answers.

 

[berkeman]

Welcome to the PF.

My goal is to take the Physics GRE in the Fall of 2022

Have you taken any practice tests for the PGRE? That might be a good reality check to do early, IMO.

get my hands on the solution manuals for these books.

Instructor solution manuals are generally limited in their distribution to just the instructors using those textbooks in their courses. Instead, look for textbooks that give answers to half of the problems (like the odd numbered ones). They don't show you how to work the problem, but they let you check that the answers you are getting are correct. Do you know if the textbooks you have listed have that feature? You may be able to use the Amazon Books shopping feature "Look Inside" to tell...

 

[hutchphd]

I will supply my usual usual commentary:

1. You need to have Feynman's Lectures on Physics
2. MIT open courseware is a fabulous resource particularly for physics and applied math
3. (and Walter Lewin on youtube)

 

[ANAli]

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback.

With regards to the Physics GRE, I tried to do a practice test and A LOT of the material was over my head which was the reality punch in the face which made it clear that I needed to start from scratch. I have a pretty sound mechanical and aerospace engineering, physics background but that's no where near what's needed here. Also much of that theory I haven't used since I graduated.

I figured at a minimum that these books would have the answers at the back but I'm only just seeing, as you pointed out, that some of the ones I have managed to get my hands on don't have the answers...*sigh* I do have an older edition intro to electrodynamics and classical mechanics and I have managed to get the solution manuals to those. And the classical electrodynamics and Introduction to Thermal Physics, someone posted solutions to some of those problems online. Granted whether or not these solutions are correct is questionable...I'll keep digging.

 

[ANAli]

I will supply my usual usual commentary:

1. You need to have Feynman's Lectures on Physics
2. MIT open courseware is a fabulous resource particularly for physics and applied math
3. (and Walter Lewin on youtube)

Thank you for your feedback.

I have Feynman's Lectures. I use them as a reference. I have bookmarked MIT open courseware for use during this exercise and Walter Lewin does not cover all of this material. I wish he did.

 

[George Jones]

I am an Engineer with a BS and MS degree. I have been working for almost 15 years and I am very unhappy with my career choice. I would like to go back to school to pursue a graduate degree in Physics. Unfortunately, my undergraduate physics background is lacking significantly. So I plan to spend the next two years reviewing the following textbooks and doing problem sets

I have one question and two comments. What is your end goal?

Given that you work full-time, I think that your timeline is rather ambitious

3. Classical Electrodynamics by Jackson

I do not think that Jackson should be on your list. This is a grad-level text that has notoriously difficult problems.

 

[ANAli]

Thank you for your response George. My end goal is being able to conduct research in the field of advanced deep space propulsion.

I actually got into an applied physics program a few years ago with this in mind and had a mentor and everything but I ended up not being able to go because...long story. That program didn't require the Physics GRE and I'm actually glad it didn't work out because honestly my fundamental physics foundation is very lacking and it would have been very difficult for me to make up for that while at school.

I realize my schedule is ambitious. My plan is to try to make it work and if it slips, it slips, but I will keep pushing an aggressive schedule until I get it done. I have some experience in plasma dynamics, but my fundamental grounding in even that is seriously lacking. Plasma dynamics would be the logical area of focus (fusion...ion thrusters...hall thrusters etc...) but I think I need something more fundamental than that and I was hoping I would be able to get some guidance from this group on a reasonable area of focus.

I have looked into the backgrounds of many people who work in the field of advanced space propulsion and their educational backgrounds are all different...From what I have seen I think it's important to come at this problem from a fundamental Physics perspective as opposed to an engineering one.

 

[berkeman]

I have some experience in plasma dynamics, but my fundamental grounding in even that is seriously lacking. Plasma dynamics would be the logical area of focus (fusion...ion thrusters...hall thrusters etc...) but I think I need something more fundamental than that

Have you worked through Chen, either in your previous coursework or since? How are you with DEs and PDEs? (Not that I'm an expert in either). Very fun subject matter, IMO.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/3319223089/?tag=pfamazon01-20

I'm not sure about this quote in the review, though...

This complete introduction to plasma physics and controlled fusion by one of the pioneering scientists in this expanding field offers both a simple and intuitive discussion of the basic concepts of this subject and an insight into the challenging problems of current research. In a wholly lucid manner the work covers single-particle motions, fluid equations for plasmas, wave motions, diffusion and resistivity, Landau damping, plasma instabilities and nonlinear problems. For students, this outstanding text offers a painless introduction to this important field; for teachers, a large collection of problems; and for researchers, a concise review of the fundamentals as well as original treatments of a number of topics never before explained so clearly. This revised edition contains new material on kinetic effects, including Bernstein waves and the plasma dispersion function, and on nonlinear wave equations and solitons. For the third edition, updates was made throughout each existing chapter, and two new chapters were added; Ch 9 on “Special Plasmas” and Ch 10 on Plasma Applications (including Atmospheric Plasmas).

 

[Vanadium 50]

I think you need to be thinking a bit more about this plan. As far as I can tell, the plan is to:

1. Whoosh through a physics undergraduate education in two years while holding on to a full-time.
2. So completely smoke the GRE that grad schools will be falling over each other to admit you, even without a physics BS or letters of recommendation (15 years after the fact won't count for much.
3. Finish grad school (how do you plan on supporting yourself?)
4. Take a job in a very specialized field.

I don't want to say anything dream-crushing like "impossible', but I think it does depend on several things breaking the right way and none of them breaking the wrong way. It's understandable to focus on the beginning, but you probably want to think the whole thing through.

 

[ANAli]

That's why I put it all out there. I genuinely appreciate your feedback. I realize that this sounds ambitious. I plan to just push at this hard and if the schedule slips then it slips. But if I don't push myself, I'll never get it done. I am not coming at this with nothing either. One of the people who is currently contributing to my research at work is a professor in the applied physics department of a reputable institution so I will at least have one letter from a professor vouching for my scholastic abilities. I also have a chief scientist who also contributes to my research so two and I'm sure I can find a third. I have a plan for supporting myself and I also have a plan for the very specialized field. But I can't address any of those unless i have a sound undergraduate physics background. Which is why I am here. To get help with that.

 

[ANAli]

Have you worked through Chen, either in your previous coursework or since? How are you with DEs and PDEs? (Not that I'm an expert in either). Very fun subject matter, IMO.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/3319223089/?tag=pfamazon01-20

View attachment 265209

I'm not sure about this quote in the review, though...

I worked through Chen years ago. I have a general grasp of what he talks about. I am ok with differential equations and partial differential equations. All of that is covered in the Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciencs which is great for me.

 

[Keith_McClary]

Some free online resources:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/free-springer-books-during-lockdown.988144/
LIST: https://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/springer-ebooks-1-pdf.261484/

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/free-physics-books.796223/

 

[ANAli]

Some free online resources:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/free-springer-books-during-lockdown.988144/
LIST: https://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/springer-ebooks-1-pdf.261484/

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/free-physics-books.796223/

Thank you!

 

[marcusl]

Get the Schaum’s outline for each topic to check your mastery as you progress. In addition to a summary of the important equations, you’ll find lots of worked-out problems.

 

[ANAli]

Get the Schaum’s outline for each topic to check your mastery as you progress. In addition to a summary of the important equations, you’ll find lots of worked-out problems.

Thank you so much for this!

 

[Vanadium 50]

I had a friend who decided to bicycle across almost the entire country with a friend of his (who had serious health issues). They planned the route they would travel, where they would stop, how they would keep cool when it was hot and warm when it was cold, and what they would do if they ran into trouble where there was no cell service, and so on.

They planned every step of the way, and they were successful. What they didn't do is just start peddling and hoping everything would work out.

Something to keep in mind.

 

[ANAli]

I hear you Mam/Sir. You're right. Thank you for caring enough to take the time to drive this point home.

 

[Mondayman]

I would recommend starting with a text like University Physics by Young/Freedman. An earlier extended edition with modern physics can be found for cheap. Work through that and Boas. There is enough physics and math there to keep you busy for over two years.

 

[ANAli]

Thank you.

 

[mpresic3]

I can speak from experience on some of the mistakes that I see you making and possibly helping you out pointing you in a better direction. First of all, physicists and highly technical engineers are often introverts, and I suggest from your post that you tend in that direction.

Your idea is to work pretty much alone and get better knowledge of the source material. There is nothing wrong with that and you will have to do a lot of theoretical research in the future mostly alone for solving problems. However, you also say you had a mentor in the past, and even got accepted into an applied physics program. For a reason(s) you did not go into, things didn't work out.
It is not important for us to know why, but it is probably important for you to understand why things did not work out. (I can speak from experience here, because in my past, I have met many professors that could have done me good, but I have not really listened to them and stuck with them. You see I am an introvert, and once believed, I could do everything alone, and learned it all)

What worked for me and what I think would be a better path is to contact, and have discussions with the professor of applied physics at your school, and see if he (or she), could be your mentor. You might see about joining (i.e. applying) to the applied physics department at that institution. Most likely, as in my case, you would have to take GRE's, entrance exams, maybe a few courses as a matriculated student, where the courses may or may not count later, depending on the policy. Could either of the supporters you mentioned be willing to counsel you? I admit you would be asking for more of their time than them just writing a recommendation, but maybe they would do it.

My GPA once was terrible, but I did have some money since I was working. I approached a graduate professor and offered to pay out of pocket to take his course. I asked him, If I do well in your course, would you write a letter of recommendation. He agreed. I got a B+, and he wrote a letter, My GPA showed an upward trend and a B+ in the course and I got into graduate school in physics.

The point I am trying to make is that it is more comfortable for any of us to surround yourself with books but to start to move anywhere, you will need to depend on others. You are lucky enough to have a couple of supporters. Use them to advantage, when they can help. In addition, you will need to move in a direction to help them (not necessarily you). Their field may not be space propulsion, but may be just as satisfying when you get into it. I threw a lot of opportunities away because (I thought at the time), I did not want to work in nuclear structure, but high energy, or condensed matter physics. I later regretted my actions.

Eventually I got to do what I developed an interest in, but it was far afield from what I say myself doing in my early 20's. I suspect if I listened to the many educators that wished me well all along, any field I went into would have been as good as another. Physics is for generalists. The same transport problems for neutrons can be applied to electrons, or stars in galaxies etc. Your day to day activities are likely not different whether you are a theoretical nuclear, solid state, cosmologist, etc, or even mechanical engineer or aero-engineer.