Should I keep studying engineering or take up physics?

[kox]

I'm at a crossroads and I don't know if I'm going to make the right decision. I took up aerospace engineering this academic year, I passed the first semester and I don't know if I want to continue. I almost made the decision to drop out and take physics or nano materials the next year. If I take nano materials, I can still apply for physics for graduate studies.

I loved physics in high school, but I didn't think seriously about studying it, as it's hard to find a job in the field, at least in my country (high school teacher, stay at uni or if you are very good, there's a national institute of physics). But now, 1 year later I think that job prospects should not make me decide what to do with my life and I don't exclude immigration, as there's not much hi-tech, if at all, hi-tech stuff going on there.

I used to think that engineering was for me, I love programming for instance and I feel I'm very good at it. I'm working on a software project for a year in my spare time and I absolutely love it, but it isn't a thing I would like to do for the rest of my life, I have bigger ambitions Which brings me to a point, maybe I love working on this project that much, because it's my product and my idea I don't think I would like so much working as a programmer for someone. And I think it is the same way I feel about engineering.

The course is also throwing me off a little. Now I see what engineering really is, I absolutely hate CAD classes, we haven't even get to CAD yet, only drawing on papers for now. Correct me if I'm wrong, but now I think that is what engineering is, a lot of designs, drawing (I know it's in a computer program), but it doesn't make it any less boring to me.

Call me a dreamer, but I'd like to start my own business in technology related field later at some point. I just get a feeling that physics is what I need to improve my creative thinking and all the theory of how the world works under the hood could inspire a lot of ideas. And if it wouldn't work out, a job in physics wouldn't be that bad, it seems to me like almost all the cool stuff is done by scientist, rather than engineers, by cool I mean the world-changing stuff.

On the other hand engineering gives a broader knowledge, teaches how to apply the science in practice. I also don't know if I'm going to like physics that much. I heard that it's nothing like in high school, that's a little scary, from my own experience I can tell I liked math at high school and I hated it at university. Some of calculus wasn't that bad, only the practical things interested me, like derivatives and integrals, but there were a lot of things, theorems that were purely theoretical. I also absolutely hated algebra. I just hope it wouldn't have it with physics the same way I had with math. I have mechanics now and I like it, so I guess not.

It's a hard decision for me, but like I said, I'm much more inclined to take up physics, but I don't know what will I feel about it when I actually study it. I just don't want to think 'I should stay at engineering' one year later. I need some advice from people who have experience. Thanks for taking your time to read this.

 

[MinasKar]

If you really want to know how the world works, take up physics. I would suggest that you take a look at your university physics undergraduate course syllabus.

 

[SteamKing]

I used to think that engineering was for me, I love programming for instance and I feel I'm very good at it. I'm working on a software project for a year in my spare time and I absolutely love it, but it isn't a thing I would like to do for the rest of my life, I have bigger ambitions Which brings me to a point, maybe I love working on this project that much, because it's my product and my idea I don't think I would like so much working as a programmer for someone. And I think it is the same way I feel about engineering.

The course is also throwing me off a little. Now I see what engineering really is, I absolutely hate CAD classes, we haven't even get to CAD yet, only drawing on papers for now. Correct me if I'm wrong, but now I think that is what engineering is, a lot of designs, drawing (I know it's in a computer program), but it doesn't make it any less boring to me.

How can you hate CAD class when you haven't studied CAD yet? Working on a drawing board is tedious and time-consuming, but after you transition to drawing on a computer, things should move a lot faster. It's like people who write reports out longhand in ink, and then they're introduced to word-processing. You can fix mistakes a lot quicker and you can organize your work a lot faster than cutting and pasting stuff on paper.

Call me a dreamer, but I'd like to start my own business in technology related field later at some point. I just get a feeling that physics is what I need to improve my creative thinking and all the theory of how the world works under the hood could inspire a lot of ideas. And if it wouldn't work out, a job in physics wouldn't be that bad, it seems to me like almost all the cool stuff is done by scientist, rather than engineers, by cool I mean the world-changing stuff.

On the other hand engineering gives a broader knowledge, teaches how to apply the science in practice. I also don't know if I'm going to like physics that much. I heard that it's nothing like in high school, that's a little scary, from my own experience I can tell I liked math at high school and I hated it at university. Some of calculus wasn't that bad, only the practical things interested me, like derivatives and integrals, but there were a lot of things, theorems that were purely theoretical. I also absolutely hated algebra. I just hope it wouldn't have it with physics the same way I had with math. I have mechanics now and I like it, so I guess not.

If you hated algebra and college-level math and purely theoretical stuff, how do you think you're going to like physics, which last I checked, is chock full of algebra, college-level math, and theoretical stuff?

 

[kox]

How can you hate CAD class when you haven't studied CAD yet? Working on a drawing board is tedious and time-consuming, but after you transition to drawing on a computer, things should move a lot faster. It's like people who write reports out longhand in ink, and then they're introduced to word-processing. You can fix mistakes a lot quicker and you can organize your work a lot faster than cutting and pasting stuff on paper.

That's a good point, but I just don't know if I find drawing things that interesting, whether be it on a paper or in 3d modeling program.

If you hated algebra and college-level math and purely theoretical stuff, how do you think you're going to like physics, which last I checked, is chock full of algebra, college-level math, and theoretical stuff?

I'm fully aware that there are going to be some things I don't like or even hate. This is one of my doubts, whether I will like it/be able to endure it. But I think there's a little difference between learning something purely theoretical and something that really exist. The reason why I hated algebra is that it's full of abstract stuff that I can't even imagine. If I had some of it on physics class, where it would be needed to solve a real problem, then that's a different story. And calculus wasn't that bad.

 

[SteamKing]

That's a good point, but I just don't know if I find drawing things that interesting, whether be it on a paper or in 3d modeling program.

Until humans can communicate with one another directly by mental means alone, we must muddle thru writing papers and books and making drawings to communicate our ideas to one another. It's a sad fact of life which you must get used to in any professional, scientific, or other technical field.

I'm fully aware that there are going to be some things I don't like or even hate. This is one of my doubts, whether I will like it/be able to endure it. But I think there's a little difference between learning something purely theoretical and something that really exist. The reason why I hated algebra is that it's full of abstract stuff that I can't even imagine. If I had some of it on physics class, where it would be needed to solve a real problem, then that's a different story. And calculus wasn't that bad.

I don't even know how to understand this. You didn't like algebra because it was too abstract, but calculus "wasn't that bad."

You're going to encounter things in physics which are pretty abstract, so you better get used to them if you take this route.

 

[Waqas Ahmad]

guys help me i want to post a question but can't figure out how to do it?

 

[SteamKing]

guys help me i want to post a question but can't figure out how to do it?

If you want to post a homework question, select the HW forum which most closely matches the subject. You should see a Post New Thread button in the upper right hand part of the screen. Press this button and type in your question by filling out the HW template.