Opinion on BSIT to Astrophysics doctorate

[stehfahknee]

Here is the background. First of all, I am not an 18 year old without responsibility and can do anything. I have 4 children, and spent most of my young adulthood "screwing around" so-to-speak (that has NOTHING to do with the 4 kids thank-you-very-much, that came AFTER I settled down). After my divorce, I finally found I could go to school (my ex did not "allow" it) so I went, firstly, the logic route. I started my bachelors program in software engineering. As I got my brain up and running again, I remembered. How MUCH I love Astrophysics. I love Astronomy, I love physics. My free time revolves around research and self-teaching and learning everything I can about the universe and everything in it. So now, here I am about to finish my last year for my BSIT/SE, and I know that I would be a content and happy person getting my doctorate in Astrophysics. What I want to know is... is my idea stupidly wrong? I have my engineering minor as a fallback for income (4 kids, you need good income, and software engineering is GREAT income) and my future physics doctorate as my love and passion. Would I have a hard time getting into graduate school with an engineering bachelors and not one in physics? I do not want to change my minor but if I have to in order to have a life in astrophysics... well... it's a no brainer.

 

[JakeBrodskyPE]

To answer your question: yes it is hard, but it is do-able if you really love it. Being infatuated with a subject is not quite the same as loving it, warts and all. How can you know the difference? Try it. So, do you feel strongest about this? Do you feel that you already intuitively have a feel for things? Do you express enthusiasm talking about it among friends? Can you get them to share that enthusiasm? If so, it would be a shame not to do this.

If not, pursue the things that make a living for you. You can always study this stuff on your own. You can pursue your interests on your own. I do. I study solar astronomy. I study the history of Mathematics. I study archeology, I'm a radio amateur, a private pilot, and many more things. I bring that enthusiasm to my kids. Some appreciate it. Some don't.

You don't have to study something formally to have a nerdly experience of your very own.

 

[stehfahknee]

No infactuated is the wrong word. It implies short-term. I have been in love with the subject since I was 7 years old and got my first telescope. Then my step-father got me a book about space and it talked about the theory of black-holes (this was the 80's) I was so fascinated by black holes and in my head, they existed (which turned out to be true, I cannot even begin to explain how exited I was about that!) I can spend every second of my day talking about, learning about, and getting "giddy" about astrophysics. Even with my husband, who is mechanically inclined and not so into physics, will indulge me by just listening to me go on and on when I learn something new and cannot keep it to myself. I try and learn how to apply it to HIS passion, and it has helped him in some situations which I am beyond proud of. To tell you the truth, I am very impatient to finish my minor so I can start graduate school. To work for NASA would be a living dream.