- #1
rwm4768
- 30
- 6
I've been struggling for a long time, trying to decide between Physics and Electrical Engineering. My practical side says I should major in EE, but I'm not sure anymore. I was browsing the catalog of my university the other day and noticed they'd added an option to minor in EE. This was never an option before.
I've already taken a Circuits Class, an Electronics Class, a Circuits/Electronics lab, Engineering Math, and the EE version of E&M. Of these classes, my favorite was by far the E&M course. Circuits are okay but not very exciting. My Electronics class was also okay. I think the field has some potential to interest me, but I didn't care for the way the class was taught.
I've also taken Calculus-based intro level Mechanics and E&M. My grades have all been As in these classes, except for the lab class, in which I got a B (didn't prepare adequately for the midterm and got a D on it).
For the minor, I only have to take two more classes. I was thinking Digital Logic and Signals and Systems. This would give me a basic grounding in pretty much every major EE field except Power Systems, which doesn't sound at all like what I want to do anyways.
What I really want to do is major in Physics and minor in EE. My last year of just Engineering courses was okay, but I've really missed Physics. I also feel like it's a better fit for me intellectually. I'm much more of a theory person than a practical applications person, but I'm worried that I'll limit my job prospects if I go with Physics. On the other hand, a lot of the typical EE jobs don't sound that interesting to me. I want something more advanced and theoretical, which probably means grad school. It's likely that I would do my grad school in EE rather than physics or that I'd find a more applied field in physics. It's not that I don't like applications. I just feel like physics might give me the opportunity to find more interesting applications.
Further complicating matters is the fact that I'm a non-traditional student. I'm currently 27, and I will be 29 by the time I graduate. I worry that I'll be too old to go the grad school route, especially since it would likely be a PhD. On the other hand, I have no plans of starting a family any time soon, so I have more financial freedom than a lot of non-traditional students. But I'm not sure I want to be 34 or 35 and still in school (though being a professor is always something that has appealed to me. Unfortunately, that's very hard these days.)
So now I'm wondering if the EE minor would give me enough background in the field that I could get a job in EE if I decide I don't want to go the grad school route. Or should I simply finish my EE major and study Physics on my own time?
I've already taken a Circuits Class, an Electronics Class, a Circuits/Electronics lab, Engineering Math, and the EE version of E&M. Of these classes, my favorite was by far the E&M course. Circuits are okay but not very exciting. My Electronics class was also okay. I think the field has some potential to interest me, but I didn't care for the way the class was taught.
I've also taken Calculus-based intro level Mechanics and E&M. My grades have all been As in these classes, except for the lab class, in which I got a B (didn't prepare adequately for the midterm and got a D on it).
For the minor, I only have to take two more classes. I was thinking Digital Logic and Signals and Systems. This would give me a basic grounding in pretty much every major EE field except Power Systems, which doesn't sound at all like what I want to do anyways.
What I really want to do is major in Physics and minor in EE. My last year of just Engineering courses was okay, but I've really missed Physics. I also feel like it's a better fit for me intellectually. I'm much more of a theory person than a practical applications person, but I'm worried that I'll limit my job prospects if I go with Physics. On the other hand, a lot of the typical EE jobs don't sound that interesting to me. I want something more advanced and theoretical, which probably means grad school. It's likely that I would do my grad school in EE rather than physics or that I'd find a more applied field in physics. It's not that I don't like applications. I just feel like physics might give me the opportunity to find more interesting applications.
Further complicating matters is the fact that I'm a non-traditional student. I'm currently 27, and I will be 29 by the time I graduate. I worry that I'll be too old to go the grad school route, especially since it would likely be a PhD. On the other hand, I have no plans of starting a family any time soon, so I have more financial freedom than a lot of non-traditional students. But I'm not sure I want to be 34 or 35 and still in school (though being a professor is always something that has appealed to me. Unfortunately, that's very hard these days.)
So now I'm wondering if the EE minor would give me enough background in the field that I could get a job in EE if I decide I don't want to go the grad school route. Or should I simply finish my EE major and study Physics on my own time?