Undergrad: ooptics vs electronics?

[marmot]

Hey.

As an upper level "lab" kindof class I am asked tot take either optics or electronics. To be honest, I wasn't a sucker for circuits in my other physics classes so instead I chose optics because I liked that part of my physics classes. However, would not choosing electronics put me behind other people, or learning optics are good skills? I am taking the unorthodox path here because most folks go to electronics.

 

[physics girl phd]

I personally have always leaned towards optics myself also... I think the labs I've done in that area have been a lot of fun... making holograms, coupling lasers into optical fibers, and doing laser doppler velocimetry was certainly more fun than my circuits lab (where some of the course was spent programming an even at that point well-dated http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_8085" ).There are research areas where optics will come in handy... but of course knowing circuits is also handy.. equipment often breaks in the lab and you might need to know how to repair it (although a burn on a circuit board is a good clue!). So honestly, it's probably really terrible to have to pick. I'd try to eventually do both, picking up one as an elective if possible.