Is a PhD in physics worth it?

[BadgerBadger92]

You will discover this as you continue your education. It is an important thing to know. Some people thrive on challenges........some do not ( this is not a value judgement !!)

I like challenges too, just I hope I can succeed. Just how the universe is a huge interest of mine.

I think I’m gonna try to go for it. But first things first. First step: community college. I start in the summer.

Btw, do you have good study tactics you can suggest to me? I seem to learn more easily with videos than books.

 

[hutchphd]

Think of the lecture as a human interactive video and put energy into making it useful to you via proper preparation. Do not get behind. Get to know your prof (she will be more useful than YouTube).

 

[CrysPhys]

You will have to meet some standards within a certain time frame. Will you be able to work within this framework? Do you like challenges for example? How do you deal with the failure to meet someone else's expectations?

That was not the question. The issue raised by @gleem is more personal and perhaps more relevant: "How do you deal with the failure to meet someone else's expectations?" Sometimes you will, in fact, fail. In my experience how you internalize this will largely determine both your success and your happiness. This becomes more important as your goals become more challenging.

I'm puzzled by this question. Does it arise because the two of you have additional insights into the OP's situation from the OP's posts in other threads? I myself have not looked at the OP's posts in other threads.

Otherwise, I don't think it's a reasonable question to ask someone just prior to their first year of college. If many, many moons ago, someone had asked graduating-high-school-senior me that question, I likely would have paused and answered, "I really don't know. I haven't faced that situation." I'm sure some in similar situations would have a more interesting backstory to relate (I know some); but many won't.

That question would be more appropriate further down the road; e.g., when someone is applying for a PhD program or applying for a job ... when they have accumulated more life experience. And perhaps an even more critical question at that time, "How do you deal with failure when you do not meet your own expectations?" This is related to the last bullet item in my Reply #4.

 

[mcastillo356]

Hi, @BadgerBadger92

I am going to community college this summer with a focus on physics. I am VERY excited!

I know it’s early to ask this, but is a PhD in physics worth it career wise? I hear actual jobs in physics are few in number, but they open up possibilities in other fields. Is it worth it in your opinion?

I would personally choose to study a PhD; the reason is not other that I love studying.

Thanks, I just have low confidence. These people may not really being mean to me but I perceive it as such. I have schizophrenia which makes me think that way.

I also suffer that disease. Don't give up!

Marcos

 

[gleem]

I'm puzzled by this question. Does it arise because the two of you have additional insights into the OP's situation from the OP's posts in other threads? I myself have not looked at the OP's posts in other threads.

I had not looked at the OP's previous threads until you mentioned them. You should have. The current assumption is that the OP is an HS senior. His previous posts cast much doubt on that. This might change the advice given in this thread.

So why did I ask this question? The OP is like many we have seen, and the advice following was reasonable. I felt I could not contribute, so I stayed out of it until the OP stated he was afraid of asking questions here. What got past me was his possible reaction or reference to previous posts on other topics that might not have been received well. Anyway trying to explore this fear led to the revelation of his mental condition which in my opinion greatly changed the way this thread should be handled. Stress is one thing that schizophrenics usually find difficult to adapt to. A physics major is under a lot of stress. I expected that he would know this and have considered this in his plan. In self-study you regulate your pace and can devote as much time to a topic as you need. Not so in university let alone graduate school.

@BadgerBadger92 go to CC and then consider university. Graduate with a GPA>3.5 then consder the options. Know Thyself.

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[BadgerBadger92]

I had not looked at the OP's previous threads until you mentioned them. You should have. The current assumption is that the OP is an HS senior. His previous posts cast much doubt on that. This might change the advice given in this thread.

So why did I ask this question? The OP is like many we have seen, and the advice following was reasonable. I felt I could not contribute, so I stayed out of it until the OP stated he was afraid of asking questions here. What got past me was his possible reaction or reference to previous posts on other topics that might not have been received well. Anyway trying to explore this fear led to the revelation of his mental condition which in my opinion greatly changed the way this thread should be handled. Stress is one thing that schizophrenics usually find difficult to adapt to. A physics major is under a lot of stress. I expected that he would know this and have considered this in his plan. In self-study you regulate your pace and can devote as much time to a topic as you need. Not so in university let alone graduate school.

@BadgerBadger92 go to CC and then consider university. Graduate with a GPA>3.5 then consder the options. Know Thyself.

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I already finished high school, and it’s been a while since I’ve been to school. I’m 32 currently. That’s another problem. It may be too late to go back to college

 

[WWGD]

I already finished high school, and it’s been a while since I’ve been to school. I’m 32 currently. That’s another problem. It may be too late to go back to college

It's clearly an outlier, but I saw news about this 90 y.o who had graduated college. Just don't put it off until 2082 and you'll be Ok. Edit: I wasn't aware you intended to go all the way to a PhD.

 

[BadgerBadger92]

It's clearly an outlier, but I saw news about this 90 y.o who had graduated college. Just don't put it off until 2082 and you'll be Ok.

Thanks for all your input! Your comments mean a lot. I just hope pros like you will be patient with me.

 

[BadgerBadger92]

Hi, @BadgerBadger92

I would personally choose to study a PhD; the reason is not other that I love studying.

I also suffer that disease. Don't give up!

Marcos

It certainly sucks.

 

[jtbell]

I haven't read all of your previous posts, just skimmed their titles, so I don't know what kind of jobs you've had since high school, let alone whether they would allow a reasonable career path if your projected physics path doesn't work out.

You're starting at age 32. Allowing 4 years for an undergraduate degree, then 6 years for a PhD, puts you at age 42, maybe a year or two more.

(I took the standard 4 years for my undergraduate physics degree, and 7 years for my PhD. This was in experimental particle physics, and my research group wasn't in a hurry to kick me out because they apparently valued my programming skills. And this was over 40 years ago.)

After you get a PhD, you'd probably do one or two post-doctoral research positions (at 1-2 years each) before you can (hopefully) land a tenure-track university faculty position. That puts you maybe in your mid 40s. By the time you get tenure (another 7 years), you're in your 50s.

You should at least have some off-ramps in mind if you don't make it through the entire gauntlet. They can be based on what you've been working at so far, and on whatever skills you pick up during your physics education.

I was good at programming, so I figured if grad school didn't work out, I could go that way. In the end, I did finish a PhD, but decided I'd rather go into a teaching-oriented career than a research-oriented one. That was what I in fact ended up doing, at a small teaching-oriented college. I mostly enjoyed that career, met my wife here, and we're now both retired.

I don't regret my "failed" research experience, because I enjoyed it while I was doing it, and the resulting PhD got me the position that I had until I retired.

 

[hutchphd]

I'm puzzled by this question.

I have seen some of my students (and associates) fail. If they are truly not equipped to meet the intellectual challenge then so be it. But if they are emotionally unable to sustain the effort, then preemptive intervention may be useful.. The first step is recognition of the problem before it becomes a defining pattern of self-sabotage. Does this make sense?

 

[pinball1970]

What about medical jobs? From what I heard you could get a job as an MRI technologist.

Just on this part. You can apply for some positions in labs, technical roles without a masters or PhD.
Some companies may recruit with A level as minimum requirements.
That is UK university entry level (18 years old) so pre UG degree.

Applicants will probably be younger than you for those positions just to keep that in mind.

Always good to have an eye on something that is regular work, income. A plan B which may turn into your plan A.
Totally fine. You may fall in love with it?

 

[BadgerBadger92]

I have seen some of my students (and associates) fail. If they are truly not equipped to meet the intellectual challenge then so be it. But if they are emotionally unable to sustain the effort, then preemptive intervention may be useful.. The first step is recognition of the problem before it becomes a defining pattern of self-sabotage. Does this make sense?

It makes sense. I don’t know why, but I feel ready. I love physics and want to become a professional myself.

 

[CrysPhys]

I have seen some of my students (and associates) fail. If they are truly not equipped to meet the intellectual challenge then so be it. But if they are emotionally unable to sustain the effort, then preemptive intervention may be useful.. The first step is recognition of the problem before it becomes a defining pattern of self-sabotage. Does this make sense?

It does make sense now in light of additional information, but it did not earlier. I have no experience with students who have schizophrenia, so that did not register with me as an extenuating circumstance. Also, the OP initially said only that they would be starting community college this summer; no mention that they were 32. We have had many posters here wanting to restart their education after a substantial break; usually they announce that in their first post, since it would strongly influence the responses. If I had known the age factor by itself (even without the schizophrenia factor), then, no, I would not have been puzzled by the question, "How would you deal with failure if you fail to meet the expectations of others?" As I mentioned above, a typical high school senior would likely not have enough life experience to respond to that question. But now it's clear that the OP is not a typical high school senior.

I'll re-iterate (in different words) what I said above for all posters contemplating a PhD in physics: "What are your own expectations for a career (assuming you do in fact complete a PhD in physics)? How would you deal with the failure of not meeting your own expectations? What are your options for Plan B should you not meet your own expectations?" We've had too many posters (not including the OP in this instance) writing along the lines of: "I want to get a PhD in physics from a top program. I want to become a research professor at a top university. I want to explore the mysteries of the universe. I do not want to perform financial analysis for a Wall Street firm. I do not want to teach high school physics. I do not want to build better bombs, better chips, better .... I do not want to do anything else but physics research at a top university." Those posters are headed on a collision course with reality.