Is the Life of a Physicist as Serious and Intense as We Imagine?

[uperkurk]

For some reason when I think of physicists I sort of imagine them to be extremely serious people, don't consume alcohol, don't party, don't go on sunny holidays ect and I know this is stupid but when I think of a physicists I kinda think of them going to bed at 2am after trying to solve some complex equation, waking up at 8am only to grab the pen and get back to figuring out that equation.

Also I wanted to know just say if you got paid minimum wage for your job, would you still do it? Or would you get a better paying job and then work in your own time from home trying to figure stuff out?

 

[Travis_King]

Feynman was definitely not what you described.

 

[Drakkith]

A common stereotype. Physicists are exactly like everyone else in the fact that everyone single one of them is a unique person with different interests, behaviors, lifestyles, etc. Some are lazy and stupid, some are lazy and brilliant, some are just lazy, etc. And while I'm not a physicist, I doubt many would continue their work if they just got minmum wage. Real life demands such as raising a family and paying back school loans is pretty big pressure. Also consider that most physicists couldn't work from home. They require access to specialized equipment and rarely work alone anyways.

 

[ZapperZ]

For some reason when I think of physicists I sort of imagine them to be extremely serious people, don't consume alcohol, don't party, don't go on sunny holidays ect and I know this is stupid but when I think of a physicists I kinda think of them going to bed at 2am after trying to solve some complex equation, waking up at 8am only to grab the pen and get back to figuring out that equation.

Wow. And you think ALL physicists are theorists?

Zz.

 

[Lavabug]

For some reason when I think of physicists I sort of imagine them to be extremely serious people, don't consume alcohol, don't party, don't go on sunny holidays ect and I know this is stupid but when I think of a physicists I kinda think of them going to bed at 2am after trying to solve some complex equation, waking up at 8am only to grab the pen and get back to figuring out that equation.

You've just described the entirety of my undergrad life. YMMV, I had to sacrifice a lot of hobbies just to get by. I am stupid but hardworking, but lately the burnout has been so great that I am probably not going to study anything seriously for a while once I graduate this year.

Right now I would rather get any comfortable job that pays the bills and if I ever get bored with it, I would consider graduate study again.

 

[ZapperZ]

You've just described the entirety of my undergrad life. YMMV, I had to sacrifice a lot of hobbies just to get by. I am stupid but hardworking, but lately the burnout has been so great that I am probably not going to study anything seriously for a while once I graduate this year.

Right now I would rather get any comfortable job that pays the bills and if I ever get bored with it, I would consider graduate study again.

Keep in mind that life AS A STUDENT often has very little resemblance to life as a working professional.

Zz.