How did you decide what area of Physics you wanted to go into for grad school?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around how participants decided on their areas of focus within physics for graduate school. It includes personal experiences, reflections on interests, and the influence of coursework and mentors. The scope encompasses theoretical and experimental physics, as well as interdisciplinary fields like musical acoustics and medical physics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses uncertainty about their future area in physics, leaning towards theory but unsure of the specific field, citing concerns about competitiveness in theoretical particle physics.
  • Another participant, identifying as a musician, shares their decision to pursue musical acoustics for graduate study.
  • A participant recounts their initial interest in particle physics, which shifted to optics after taking a lasers class in their senior year.
  • One participant describes a journey through various fields, starting with astrophysics, then plasma physics, and eventually finding a fit in medical physics after engaging with relevant seminars and discussions.
  • Another participant emphasizes the importance of reading extensively in the field to discover personal interests, suggesting that genuine engagement is crucial for success.
  • A repeated mention of musical acoustics prompts a follow-up question about the specific university offering that program.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants share diverse experiences and perspectives on how they chose their areas of study, indicating that there is no consensus on a single approach or pathway. Multiple competing views on the decision-making process remain evident.

Contextual Notes

Some participants highlight the importance of personal interest and engagement in selecting a field, while others reflect on the influence of coursework and mentors. There are varying degrees of certainty and satisfaction with their chosen paths.

Who May Find This Useful

Students considering graduate studies in physics, individuals exploring interdisciplinary applications of physics, and those interested in personal narratives about academic decision-making may find this discussion relevant.

xbomber88
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I'm at the end of my junior year and at this point I have no idea what area of Physics I want to go into. I know that for sure I want to go onto grad school but other than that I don't really know what I want to do. I think I'm leaning towards doing theory rather than experiment but I don't know which area. I think theoretical particle physics would be pretty cool but it's also my impression that that's the most competitive area of physics and I'm not sure that I'm smart enough to do that.
 
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I am a musician. so, I select musical acoustics for graduate study.
 
I went to undergrad wanting to do particle physics, and then senior year took a lasers class that changed all that. Went to grad school for optics.
 
Trial and error.

I started out in undergrad hoping to get into astrophysics. By the time I finished I thought black holes were still pretty cool, but I wasn't entirely convinced of the practicality of studying them - for me anyway.

By that time I developed an interest in plasma physics and inertial confinement fusion, so I pursued that for a master's degree. That wasn't a good fit for me. I did well enough to finish the degree, but over that time I began to figure out that to be really successful, one has to have enough drive to truly engage the field. You have to read about it on your own time, read papers just because you find the material fascinating, not because your supervisor tells you to.

I took up an interest in medical physics because I worked with a post-doc who wanted to transfer into the field and he introduced me to a few problems that caught my interest. I took the opportunity to go to a few medical physics seminars, spoke with a few professors and graduate students in the field and pretty soon I enrolled in a PhD program.
 
Great question man.

One of the professors at Duke basically encourages us to read craploads of papers...it's not easy, but you find that some things stick out. Go further then!
 
neyzenilhan said:
I am a musician. so, I select musical acoustics for graduate study.

At which university is that program?
 
Choppy said:
You have to read about it on your own time, read papers just because you find the material fascinating, not because your supervisor tells you to.

I cannot stress any more.
 

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