Getting into Physics: A High Schooler's Guide

[Chris Plonski]

Hello! My name is Chris, and I'm a sophomore in high-school. I've always been interested in physics and I recently decided that I wanted to pursue a career in physics. Now before I enter a new world, with no map, allow me to ask for directions. I have watched a lot of documentary's and read a few articles, and it came to my attention that math is an essential skill. See, math has always been my weakest subject, and I blame myself from lack of interest, but I'm totally willing to apply myself. Another concern I had was education. If I don't graduate from schools like Harvard, Princeton, etc. could I still get employed? I can try really hard, but, I think even with maximum effort, I couldn't get into an elite school like that. Can I graduate from a lesser college and still get employed? And finally, where do I start? what do I read?, what do I watch?, where do I go? with so much around, I need a place to start. Thank you.

 

[jtbell]

Can I graduate from a lesser college and still get employed?

Yes. There are dozens, even hundreds of colleges and universities in the US where you can get a solid bachelor's degree in physics, that will potentially get you into a graduate school for a Ph.D. program. If you go to one of those colleges, getting into grad school is much more about you and what you did, than about where you went to college.

And finally, where do I start?

You start by getting a solid math background in high school: algebra, trigonometry, pre-calculus and introductory calculus. Also physics, of course. If you have AP physics available, that's good, but not essential. Most college physics major programs start with a freshman course that is similar to AP physics anyway. It makes things easier if you've already studied physics in high school, especially at the AP level. And if it turns out you really don't like studying physics (or the math that goes with it) after all, it's better to find that out sooner than later.