- #1
undefined314
- 17
- 20
Here's a bit about myself (past stuff, present status, future hopes), though I might not go into enough detail to uniquely identify me:
As far back as middle school, I'd say I was committed to studying physics. Although, now I'd say it's hard to commit from a decently-well-informed standpoint until one at least finishes a lower-division introductory physics sequence of courses (spanning the intro to classical mechanics, a little bit of thermodynamics/statistical mechanics, E&M, basics of geometric and physical optics, special relativity, QM), though that's debatable.
Anyhow, I went into high school with the intent of focusing on physics and math, while messing with programming primarily as a hobby, though I'm now starting to do more physics-related problems with those skills. (By the way, ProjectEuler is a great site for those interested in math/CS puzzles of varying difficulties.)
Right now, I'm a 2nd-year undergraduate, getting into my upper-division coursework (just wrapping up formalized mechanics and the first half of more advanced E&M). Next term, I'll be juggling 4 upper-div courses: statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, the second half of E&M, and a solid-state physics course, so I'm excited for that. I'll also be starting as an undergraduate research assistant with a theorist who does condensed matter work.
As far as my remaining undergraduate plans go, I'm debating between graduating with my B.S. in 3 years, following a 4-year M.S. plan, or following a 4-year plan with a minor or double major (likely in math or computer science). (If you have advice on this decision, please go to this thread (https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/3-year-b-s-physics-vs-4-year-b-s-m-s-vs.960117/).) I do hope to go on to a PhD program.
As far as career dreams go, I can't really imagine myself existing outside of academia, so that's one reason I'd like to become a professor. However, I do understand that I'll need to consider many alternatives, due to the high demand for tenure-track faculty positions and limited number of spots.
As far back as middle school, I'd say I was committed to studying physics. Although, now I'd say it's hard to commit from a decently-well-informed standpoint until one at least finishes a lower-division introductory physics sequence of courses (spanning the intro to classical mechanics, a little bit of thermodynamics/statistical mechanics, E&M, basics of geometric and physical optics, special relativity, QM), though that's debatable.
Anyhow, I went into high school with the intent of focusing on physics and math, while messing with programming primarily as a hobby, though I'm now starting to do more physics-related problems with those skills. (By the way, ProjectEuler is a great site for those interested in math/CS puzzles of varying difficulties.)
Right now, I'm a 2nd-year undergraduate, getting into my upper-division coursework (just wrapping up formalized mechanics and the first half of more advanced E&M). Next term, I'll be juggling 4 upper-div courses: statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, the second half of E&M, and a solid-state physics course, so I'm excited for that. I'll also be starting as an undergraduate research assistant with a theorist who does condensed matter work.
As far as my remaining undergraduate plans go, I'm debating between graduating with my B.S. in 3 years, following a 4-year M.S. plan, or following a 4-year plan with a minor or double major (likely in math or computer science). (If you have advice on this decision, please go to this thread (https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/3-year-b-s-physics-vs-4-year-b-s-m-s-vs.960117/).) I do hope to go on to a PhD program.
As far as career dreams go, I can't really imagine myself existing outside of academia, so that's one reason I'd like to become a professor. However, I do understand that I'll need to consider many alternatives, due to the high demand for tenure-track faculty positions and limited number of spots.
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