Is It Too Late to Pursue a Career in Physics at 24?

[Desperate88]

Ok.I have been fallen love with physics after I had seen a movie.Now I want to learn physics deeply as possible.
I am financially alright.And I hope to start an undergraduate degree from next year.The only problem is I will be 24 and I feel like I am too old to be a physicist.I will be like 32 when I get my PHD.
So do you think I am too old and I should give up my hopes or what should I do?
Thanks.
Desperate88

 

[General_Sax]

I will be like 32 when I get my PHD.

*if*

 

[Llewlyn]

Go through it! You're financially alright. Where's the problem?

Ll.

 

[HallsofIvy]

Quite frankly, "falling in love with physics" because you saw a movie worries me. You don't expect working in and doing physics to be anything like a movie do you?

 

[qspeechc]

You fell in love after you watched a movie. Maybe you should find out if you really love doing physics, rather than watching or reading second-hand accounts of it, before jumping into a degree, which is a big commitment.

Try working through some physics textbooks in your free time to see if you actually enjoy doing physics. If you find you do, then you can think about getting a degree. How much math do you know? If you know calculus you can start with a book like https://www.amazon.com/dp/047134530X/?tag=pfamazon01-20 by Halliday and Resnick (not their Fundamentals of Physics). I don't know any physics books worth reading that don't use calculus, so you may want to learn it if you don't already know it.

 

[Desperate88]

It was only the beginning of love, I am really interest in physics.I am sure about it.But my only concern is it alright starting a new career at age of 24? What about the job prospects after I get the PHD? I love String theory and want to specialize on that area.
And I have downloaded many videos on physics and math and I have been going through it when I am free.

 

[Diracula]

What do you mean by "financially alright"?

 

[fss]

I love String theory and want to specialize on that area.

How do you know you "love" string theory? Working in string theory is not at all like "The Elegant Universe" makes it out to be.

 

[Desperate88]

I mean I have enough money for my education.

 

[kramer733]

Ok desperate88, let's level down a bit here. I'm pretty sure most physicist believe stirng theory is garbage anyway. I don't think you can even test it. Furthermore, you love the idea of being a physicist but not actually being one. Trust me on this.
watch this

 

[Gordianus]

I fell in love with Physics when I was 16, just after a 40 minute class at high school (the teacher was outstanding though).
However, I decided to study Electronic Engineering because I thought I'd find a better job.
The passion for Physics stayed there and I slowly drifted from EE to Physics. By the moment I became a physicist, I was well past 32 (include financial problems, kids, elder people, etc...)
I still stand by my choice. I don't care about age. You're supposed to live past 80. What's the rush?

 

[Diracula]

I mean I have enough money for my education.

If you sacrifice your current income and begin paying for your education (i.e., instead of your net positive income you're going to be negative), what will happen to your financial situation? Will you still be able to sustain the lifestyle you want and will likely want through the next 10 years or so? What would happen if you don't get a job doing physics after your PhD?

 

[Desperate88]

No I have enough money to survive more than 15 years while paying for my tuition.
I just want to know how do you feel starting an undergraduate degree at 24?

 

[Diracula]

No I have enough money to survive more than 15 years while paying for my tuition.
I just want to know how do you feel starting an undergraduate degree at 24?

OK, this is potentially a good situation then.

(Just to point out, "survive" does not necessarily equal "support the lifestyle you want". If just surviving for the next 10'ish years is fine for you then great. If you want to be able to buy other things, support a family, travel, etc. you need to be aware of that when you plan this out.)

As for starting an undergrad degree at 24 that's perfectly fine, imo. Are you aware how difficult it is to get a career doing physics R&D? Only approximately 1 in 10 people who complete a physics PhD go on to become physics professors.

You said 2 things in your initial post. That you wanted to learn physics as deeply as possible and that you felt you may be "too old to be a physicist". Why is learning physics as deeply as possible not sufficient. Why do you want a career as a physicist? (As others have said, doing physics as a career is very different from learning about it)

 

[qspeechc]

Again, how do you know you like physics? Watching videos and doing physics are two very different things. Have you actually worked through any physics textbooks? Have you done any real physics problems? Are you prepared to have 40 hours of sleep a week for four years doing physics? Are you prepared to spend several years before you get to do any of the "sexy" topics like string theory? Are you prepared to grapple with the mathematics? Are you prepared to take classes you have no interest and work hard at them?

I'm just worried you have a very skewed idea of what physics is all about, and especially what being a physics student is about. And what's wrong with studying physics on your own, in your free time; why is it you want a degree in physics?

 

[lurky]

Good grief, 24 is nothing. Stop worrying about age. Anyway...

The only concern I have is that movies glamorize things, so you may want to try some courses first just to be sure that you actually like the academic side of things and will be able to get through an undergraduate education. If I were you, I would try out my first year on a part-time basis. If you do this and you find that you like the courses and are ok with the workload, then dive in and go full time. (the only time age can be a factor is if you've been out of school for a little bit, in which case diving in full time right off the bat can be overwhelming)

 

[lisab]

Ok.I have been fallen love with physics after I had seen a movie.Now I want to learn physics deeply as possible.
I am financially alright.And I hope to start an undergraduate degree from next year.The only problem is I will be 24 and I feel like I am too old to be a physicist.I will be like 32 when I get my PHD.
So do you think I am too old and I should give up my hopes or what should I do?
Thanks.
Desperate88

How are you at math?

Does the idea of sitting for hours doing difficult math problems appeal to you?

 

[Desperate88]

Yeah I have finished calc I videos in Colorado university and I am half away through calc II and also I have been reading and solving problems in physics for scientists and Engineers by Serway and Jewett.Although it's somewhat boring to solve problems in physics than watching movies I am still have an interest in academic side.
What about job prospects? I have been told that it's difficult to find a job if I specialize in string theory.So what is the safest path to fulfill my desire of learning string theory and meantime expanding my job prospects.
Thanks.

 

[spartanaudio]

i started back to school at 34(hated my previous career despite the money I was making.)

it's rough, but honestly, you're still young enough to where most people will be in your age range anyways.

do it.

but be warned, it's a metric ****ton of work :)

 

[spartanaudio]

Yeah I have finished calc I videos in Colorado university and I am half away through calc II and also I have been reading and solving problems in physics for scientists and Engineers by Serway and Jewett.Although it's somewhat boring to solve problems in physics than watching movies I am still have an interest in academic side.
What about job prospects? I have been told that it's difficult to find a job if I specialize in string theory.So what is the safest path to fulfill my desire of learning string theory and meantime expanding my job prospects.
Thanks.

honestly, the way things look for string theory, by the time you graduate, it may be a dead end.

focus on your undergrad, see what piques your interest, then decide which way you want to go.

 

[eri]

I have to ask what the original video was, because I have a bad feeling about this.

 

[Desperate88]

It was Sci.Fi.Science.Physics.of.The.Impossible.It wasn't exactly a movie but a series of contemporary scientific concepts.

 

[twofish-quant]

You do need to realize that there is an increasing sense that string theory is a dead end. It's a bad idea to fall in love with a theory, because if string theory is wrong, then it's wrong.

What about job prospects? I have been told that it's difficult to find a job if I specialize in string theory.

Job prospects as an academic are bad. Something that you do have to realize is that there are about a 15 string theorists that graduate each year and maybe two or three jobs.

Job prospects everywhere else are pretty good. If you can figure out quantum field theory, then you have the math ability to do lots of other stuff.

 

[Desperate88]

Thanks all.I really appreciate your kind help.