Trying to narrow down career options.

[Jessehk]

Hi everybody. I'm Jessehk, a 16 year old male living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

I have a lot of intersest in math/science/computers and I am trying to narrow down a list of potential careers. I guess I'll just write down a few traits and take suggestions. :)

• Great love of math. I will often excitedly explain a long boring formula or concept to my parents as they humour me.
• Lots of joy from programming computers. I know C, C++, Python, and Ruby.
• Love science and making observations about the world. From the little physics I've done (grade 10), I've quite liked it. I also quite like chemistry
• Love learning about the world around me, making observations, applying logic to everyday occurances.

Misc: INTJ personality type
doing the DEEP program at U of T this summer: http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/apsc/html/deep/pages/1-overview.html (I would fall under the "highly motivated" column, though I'm not stupid .

Suggestions would be great. Thanks!

 

[Astronuc]

Don't narrow your career options now. Keep all options open - be flexible.

The core of mathematics and science courses is fairly generic until second or third year of university, depending on one's specialty.

 

[Jessehk]

Thanks for the reply. Luckily I was tracking this topic by email or I wouldn't have found it.

I just had one more question (though you might have answered it in your reply):

Do you think there is more value in doing an engineering program in university (college to Americans), or doing something such as
applied physics or applied mathematics? Are they too different to compare?
(not specifically in my case, just in a generic sense)

 

[Stephan Hoyer]

Do you think there is more value in doing an engineering program in university (college to Americans), or doing something such as
applied physics or applied mathematics? Are they too different to compare?
(not specifically in my case, just in a generic sense)

It's not that they are so different that comparison is meaningless, but it depends entirely on what you want to do. Depending upon your abilities and interests each of these three programs could be valuable.