EE & Math/Physics - Is Electrical Engineering the Best Option?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the considerations of pursuing a degree in electrical engineering (EE) versus other engineering disciplines, particularly in relation to the mathematical and physical foundations of these fields. Participants explore the nature of electrical engineering, its relationship with math and physics, and the potential career paths available.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses a strong interest in engineering, particularly electrical engineering, and seeks to understand its alignment with their advanced skills in math and physics.
  • Another participant suggests that while electrical engineering is math and physics-intensive, other fields like civil and mechanical engineering also incorporate significant mathematical concepts, particularly in mechanics and thermodynamics.
  • It is noted that electrical engineering can involve advanced topics such as semiconductor physics and various specialties within EE that utilize applied mathematics.
  • A participant highlights the diversity within electrical engineering, mentioning that it offers stable income and opportunities to engage in various specialties, which may include software development alongside hardware design.
  • Links to related threads are provided for further exploration of the topic, although they do not directly answer the original question posed by the thread starter.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that electrical engineering is a viable option for those skilled in math and physics, but there is no consensus on whether it is definitively the most math/physics-based engineering discipline. Multiple perspectives on the mathematical demands of other engineering fields remain present.

Contextual Notes

Some discussions touch on the varying degrees of mathematical complexity across different engineering disciplines, but specific assumptions or definitions regarding what constitutes "math/physics-based" are not fully articulated.

Who May Find This Useful

Prospective engineering students, particularly those with strong backgrounds in math and physics, may find this discussion relevant as they consider their educational and career options.

lax1113
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Hello,
I am going to be going into college in a year, and I am definitely interested in becoming an engineer. I am not sure though, what type. I do not actually know a lot about what electric engineers do, and am interested in learning more. I tried to look on the forums about them, but most of the posts were about problems and topics of electrical engineering, that i didn't understand at this point. I would like to point out that I am very advanced in math and physics, and to be honest really enjoy both of them studies. I was considering going to college for math, but see little future in that. I am a firm believer of doing what you love over doing what makes more money, but in the end of the day, one's job must pay for bills, and be able to provide for a family and so on. I am not sure what type of careers there are in math, so I see engineer being a close substitue. So, with that being said, is electrical engineering the most math/physics based of the engineering specialties?

Thanks,
 
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lax1113 said:
Hello,
I am going to be going into college in a year, and I am definitely interested in becoming an engineer. I am not sure though, what type. I do not actually know a lot about what electric engineers do, and am interested in learning more. I tried to look on the forums about them, but most of the posts were about problems and topics of electrical engineering, that i didn't understand at this point. I would like to point out that I am very advanced in math and physics, and to be honest really enjoy both of them studies. I was considering going to college for math, but see little future in that. I am a firm believer of doing what you love over doing what makes more money, but in the end of the day, one's job must pay for bills, and be able to provide for a family and so on. I am not sure what type of careers there are in math, so I see engineer being a close substitue. So, with that being said, is electrical engineering the most math/physics based of the engineering specialties?

dunno if it's the most math/physics based. civil engineering has classical mechanics, but there is some elegant math regarding structures like bridge trusses and the like. mechanical engineering also has classical mechanics with statistical mechanics (like thermodynamics which is mathy) tossed in. unless you get into material science, not much modern physics (like the physics of atoms and smaller particles or quantum mechanics or relativity). chemical engineering has chemistry and that has "pchem" which can be pretty sophisticated.

EE can take you to semiconductor physics, which is heavy on the math and in modern physics. other EE disciplines get mathy (like communications, control theory, or analog or digital signal processing).

you can do some nice and elegant applied math in electrical engineering, but what it really is about is designing electrical or electronic systems that really work and accomplish some desired task.

Thanks,
FWIW
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the PF, lax1113. Yes, EE is a great match for folks with talent in math and physics, and offers a good stable source of income. There are also many different specialties in EE, which makes it relatively easy to find areas that you enjoy working in. There is also a lot of overlap between different specialties, which adds variety to your work. Like, it's not unusual for a chip developer to also write a fair amount of software, in support of their chip design and validation tasks. And it's not unusual for a network transceiver hardware developer to also write some MatLAB or other simulation code as part of their transceiver optimization work.

I did some searching and dug up some threads that touch on topics that may help you in your decision making. They don't directly answer your questions, but they do discuss related topics. Good luck!

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=152361

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=118579

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=169675

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=126112

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=149974
 
Those are very handy, berkeman.
 

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