Quantum Computing | Computer Science Career Guide

[santrack]

Hi! I'm currently doing final year engineering in Computer Science. I've read some documentations about Quantum computing and I have a strong impulse to pursue a career in Quantum computing. The problem is I am very weak in Physics and it is been past four years I forgotten eveything what I have read in Physics. So, is there any way I can pursue a degree in Quantum computing. Please help.

 

[f95toli]

I don't think there are degrees in Quantum computing yet.
There are certainly courses but most of them tend to focus on the quantum mechanics of single bits (i.e. qubits), i.e. essentially "applied quantum mechanics".

Could you be more specific about what you are interested in?
Are you interested in "software" (error correction codes, gates etc) or "hardware" (the physics). The former seems to be done mainly by people with a background in math/CS and the latter by physicists specializing in whatever "platform" they are using (everything from liquid state NMR to superconductivity).
QC is already a huge, interdiciplinary, field.

If you want to get some idea about what the field is like I would recommend a book by Nielsen&Chuang (I don't remember the title) which is used by just about everyone in the field and in most courses on QC; it is also relatively easy to read and you do not need to know a lot about quantum mechanics to at least understand the basics.

 

[santrack]

Thanks for the reply and recommendation, really appreciable.

Could you please suggest me some books to understand the basics of Quantum mechanics?

Even if I want to study about Quantum computing, should I get some books and start reading or are there any courses regarding QC?

Thank you.

 

[Doc Al]

Take a look at N. David Mermin's latest pedagogical book, "Quantum Computer Science: An Introduction".

 

[fizziks]

Quantum computing is a multi-disciplinary field. It is a mix of computer science, mathematics, computer engineering, and physics. Don't let the "quantum" part fool you into thinking that QCing is 99% physics.

Quantum computing is probably the one area I would research in. Too bad I didn't get into Waterloo or any physics graduate school with a decent quantum computing area.