Do I major in physics or engineering?

[jamalkoiyess]

Hello i am 17 years old and in my last year at school i am from lebanon ... i love physics and it's my passion i read so many books about it ( now going through the Feynman Lectures and it's awesome ) i wanted to study physics for all my life until someone told me two years ago that majoring in physics (knowing that i wanted to go for a phd directly) is a bad idea and that's because there is no good work opportunities and engineering is way better because the market needs it and he told me if I major in physics I am not going to find a job where I will not be satisfied . He was an engineering graduate and he told me that everyone who majored in physics rejoined engineering and that all his friends who gone into physics have greatly regretted it and they wished that they had gone into engineering so what are your opinions I don't have any nationalities but the Lebanese so I don't know what jobs i may be offered in other countries ( My lifelong dream is a physics research job in some fancy labs ) awaiting your replies thx

 

[jamalkoiyess]

*i will be satisfied* (correction)

 

[micromass]

Hello i am 17 years old and in my last year at school i am from lebanon ... i love physics and it's my passion i read so many books about it ( now going through the Feynman Lectures and it's awesome ) i wanted to study physics for all my life until someone told me two years ago that majoring in physics (knowing that i wanted to go for a phd directly) is a bad idea and that's because there is no good work opportunities and engineering is way better because the market needs it and he told me if I major in physics I am not going to find a job where I will not be satisfied . He was an engineering graduate and he told me that everyone who majored in physics rejoined engineering and that all his friends who gone into physics have greatly regretted it and they wished that they had gone into engineering so what are your opinions I don't have any nationalities but the Lebanese so I don't know what jobs i may be offered in other countries ( My lifelong dream is a physics research job in some fancy labs ) awaiting your replies thx

You'll need to do some research. For example:
1) How easy is it for a physicist to find a job in Lebanon.
2) How easy is it for you to move to a different country to find a job there?
3) Are you willing to move to a very different country and live there?

 

[jamalkoiyess]

You'll need to do some research. For example:
1) How easy is it for a physicist to find a job in Lebanon.
2) How easy is it for you to move to a different country to find a job there?
3) Are you willing to move to a very different country and live there?

Okay first of all there is no work in lebanon for physics but high school teaching and its is impossibly hard to get into university and we don't have any reasearch centers :/
I don't mind living abroad if i am doing what i like so any more advices ?

 

[MidgetDwarf]

It is hard to give advice when your initial post is extremely vague. You did not mention how your family finances are, are there reasons that may not permit you to leave your country, what grades and classes are you currently taking.

 

[jamalkoiyess]

It is hard to give advice when your initial post is extremely vague. You did not mention how your family finances are, are there reasons that may not permit you to leave your country, what grades and classes are you currently taking.

My family is in a good condition , not enough for MIT or Harvard but enough for like 10 to 15 k $ a year on my education and that's why i am applying for France which is really cheap relitvly to other countries and has some good universities plus i take my classes in french but have no probleme switching to english. There is no probleme in travel . And currently i am taking my last year as maths specific ( we take 13 hours of maths a week including exponentials, sequences, conique section, transformation, complexes, logarithmique equations, and so on ) and this class also offers physics : we study mechanical from energies to momentum to special relativity we also study electrical and nuclear physics and optics ( i haven't really seen specifically my programme for this year ) and also the usual chemistry but we do not take biology only this year .

 

[MidgetDwarf]

Anything you want.

 

[jamalkoiyess]

Anything you want.

Sorry i didn't understand what you meant

 

[MidgetDwarf]

It is your choice. do what ever you want.

 

[erisedk]

My family is in a good condition , not enough for MIT or Harvard but enough for like 10 to 15 k $ a year .

If you apply to MIT or Harvard (or Princeton and a few other Ivies), and manage to get in, they will fully fund your education, if that's a concern. Getting in is the issue.
However, you could also look into some Asian universities like the Nanyeng University in Singapore. From what I've heard (I don't know much, just heard it from someone, research it if you'd like) if you are willing to sign some sort of contract to work or something in Singapore for six years after your degree, they will also fully fund your education. So, do some research and hopefully you'll get to do whatever you choose. Good luck :)

 

[jamalkoiyess]

If you apply to MIT or Harvard (or Princeton and a few other Ivies), and manage to get in, they will fully fund your education, if that's a concern. Getting in is the issue.
However, you could also look into some Asian universities like the Nanyeng University in Singapore. From what I've heard (I don't know much, just heard it from someone, research it if you'd like) if you are willing to sign some sort of contract to work or something in Singapore for six years after your degree, they will also fully fund your education. So, do some research and hopefully you'll get to do whatever you choose. Good luck :)

Are u sure they will fund my education ? Cz they are super expensive . And do u have any idea how to get an education in the us please help me i will be thankfull

 

[Vanadium 50]

If you keep writing in text-speak, I'm afraid nobody will fund your education.

If you get into MIT, they will make up the difference between what it costs and what they calculate you can pay. However, you seem to have missed the part "getting in is the issue". Over the last 4 years, MIT enrolled two undergraduates from Lebanon. Two. Are you the best student in all of Lebanon?

 

[erisedk]

Are u sure they will fund my education ? Cz they are super expensive . And do u have any idea how to get an education in the us please help me i will be thankfull

I wish I could help more, but I'm Indian and I'm in 12th grade, and the only thing we have in common is that we both want to do engineering and physics. You do really need to be extremely good to get into these universities, at least the ones that will pay for your education. If you're extremely good at whatever you want to do, you could try competing in some of the international olympiads. That definitely boosts your chances. But getting into these is never a sure thing. I am applying to them this year, but you need to be very realistic about your chances at these schools. Thankfully, there are a handful of great schools for undergrad engineering and science in India (and cheap as hell), though they are probably harder to get into than the ivies ;)

You said you could apply to France. I don't know much about studying in France, but from what you say, that sounds like a great option. Do your undergrad in France I reckon, and apply to America for grad school. Perhaps do very good work in your undergrad, that will surely boost your chances a lot.

I really do suggest you do your own research. Some schools offer merit aid (like Purdue), but from what I've heard, it's very limited. Check out college websites, check out schools in France or America or wherever you want to apply. Check out lists of schools for engineering in Russia and Asia as well. Russia and Asia will be cheaper, I suppose. If you are good at your subjects, I'm sure something will click, if not for undergrad, then definitely after that, if you're talented and very hard working.

 

[erisedk]

Also, I suggest you hurry up with the research, because if you're already in 12th, and haven't taken any standardised exams like the SATs, TOEFL, APs etc, I don't think you can apply to America this year because the deadlines to most schools is in the first week of January.

 

[jamalkoiyess]

If you keep writing in text-speak, I'm afraid nobody will fund your education.

If you get into MIT, they will make up the difference between what it costs and what they calculate you can pay. However, you seem to have missed the part "getting in is the issue". Over the last 4 years, MIT enrolled two undergraduates from Lebanon. Two. Are you the best student in all of Lebanon?

No but i am smart . Lol . Who am i kidding , i am going to end up working as a janitor somewhere

 

[jamalkoiyess]

I wish I could help more, but I'm Indian and I'm in 12th grade, and the only thing we have in common is that we both want to do engineering and physics. You do really need to be extremely good to get into these universities, at least the ones that will pay for your education. If you're extremely good at whatever you want to do, you could try competing in some of the international olympiads. That definitely boosts your chances. But getting into these is never a sure thing. I am applying to them this year, but you need to be very realistic about your chances at these schools. Thankfully, there are a handful of great schools for undergrad engineering and science in India (and cheap as hell), though they are probably harder to get into than the ivies ;)

You said you could apply to France. I don't know much about studying in France, but from what you say, that sounds like a great option. Do your undergrad in France I reckon, and apply to America for grad school. Perhaps do very good work in your undergrad, that will surely boost your chances a lot.

I really do suggest you do your own research. Some schools offer merit aid (like Purdue), but from what I've heard, it's very limited. Check out college websites, check out schools in France or America or wherever you want to apply. Check out lists of schools for engineering in Russia and Asia as well. Russia and Asia will be cheaper, I suppose. If you are good at your subjects, I'm sure something will click, if not for undergrad, then definitely after that, if you're talented and very hard working.

I thank you very much for your help i am rly gratefull and i will do as u said ... best wishes

 

[micromass]

No but i am smart . Lol . Who am i kidding , i am going to end up working as a janitor somewhere

Yeah well, if your standards are "either I do MIT or I do nothing", then you're going to be disappointed.

 

[erisedk]

I thank you very much for your help i am rly gratefull and i will do as u said ... best wishes

Oh, and do check out Canada as well. Some of those universities are much easier to get into and offer scholarships. Best of luck! And thanks for the wishes! I badly need it, really important exam in two days!

 

[jamalkoiyess]

Yeah well, if your standards are "either I do MIT or I do nothing", then you're going to be disappointed.

No i got a lot of additional options i was kidding ... i have aub in lebanon and all frence universities and so

 

[jamalkoiyess]

Oh, and do check out Canada as well. Some of those universities are much easier to get into and offer scholarships. Best of luck! And thanks for the wishes! I badly need it, really important exam in two days!

Hahahahha good luck you will do fine u seem smart

 

[JeanTadros]

Hello i am from Lebanon too , i have just one question for you ... If physics is really your passion and you really been dreaming all your life to study physics ... then why are you hesitating ?? is it REALLY your passion ?? if yes then do it and you'll excel in it .

 

[jamalkoiyess]

Hello i am from Lebanon too , i have just one question for you ... If physics is really your passion and you really been dreaming all your life to study physics ... then why are you hesitating ?? is it REALLY your passion ?? if yes then do it and you'll excel in it .

Hello lebanese fellow
The probleme with physics is the career options . I have a friend in france who told me that everybody who does physics regrets it and turns back to engineering because of the shitty work and if i am to do my phd i will most likely do it with something related to the quantum theory ... so the only work i got is a teaching job or theoretical physiscs research which in these times is very rare to find (and btw taht is my dream job but looks like its getting harder to get into and rarer to find) he even gave me the number of the friend of a his who told me that there's next to no funding for quantum theory phd students and that all the PhD graduates did something related to engineering and now he is doing the same ..

Edit by mentor: please do not request or provide personal information.

 

[JeanTadros]

We don't need more engineers in Lebanon , there's 200 to 300 new engineers every year . Nobody cares if you're an engineer there's a lot of competition and the job market is too narrow. Whereas Lebanon lacks Theoretical , quantum , string physicists ... every university has a lack in the number professors in these subjects. And believe me the wages are high .

 

[billy_joule]

We don't need more engineers in Lebanon , there's 200 to 300 new engineers every year . Nobody cares if you're an engineer there's a lot of competition and the job market is too narrow. Whereas Lebanon lacks Theoretical , quantum , string physicists ... every university has a lack in the number professors in these subjects. And believe me the wages are high .

Where is your data coming from? Your numbers seem way off.
I live in a very similar sized country, New Zealand, where ~2,000 engineers graduate every year, it's half the OECD average and so we have long term skill shortage for engineers and our immigration policy reflects this. 200-300 for per year for a country with 1mil more people seems very low.

 

[jamalkoiyess]

We don't need more engineers in Lebanon , there's 200 to 300 new engineers every year . Nobody cares if you're an engineer there's a lot of competition and the job market is too narrow. Whereas Lebanon lacks Theoretical , quantum , string physicists ... every university has a lack in the number professors in these subjects. And believe me the wages are high .

There ae even more than this but first of all there is no research opportunities in lebanon and i hate this country btw i want to leave fast and second : to get into a univ u should have some wasta

 

[jamalkoiyess]

Where is your data coming from? Your numbers seem way off.
I live in a very similar sized country, New Zealand, where ~2,000 engineers graduate every year, it's half the OECD average and so we have long term skill shortage for engineers and our immigration policy reflects this. 200-300 for per year for a country with 1mil more people seems very low.

Yh i am sure we have like 5000 engineering grads cz in lebanon every body want to become an engineer no matter what