Physics Degree - Useless? (1 Viewer)

[Drdusk]

Hi guys I know this may sound like a stupid thread but I need some urgent advice.

So ever since I was in primary school physics has always been my passion. I really like it to the point where I just do olympiad questions in my free time. I'm sure I can take it in uni.

However everyone has been trying to convince me out of doing this. If I do a physics degree I will definitely do a PhD in it but every one is saying it's a useless degree. Should I follow my heart or is it just a waste of time for me?

I know this thread has been created before, but I also want to know would I need to attend a top uni like MIT or harvard in order to even land a research career anywhere?

I've been accepted into the Physics course at UNSW already but I just feel flustered at what everyone thinks at my decision!

Thanks.

 

[sida1049]

Do it. Some trading/finance firms have been known to include physics majors in their hiring itinerary, since people who study physics are good at problem solving. A lot of physics graduates end up in being experts in machine learning, which are definitely in high demand by employers nowadays. Ultimately what a physics degree gives you is a quality education in being adept at solving complex problems, and that's pretty valuable.

If it helps, do a second major in computer science or maths or statistics or something. That definitely helps too.

 

[jazz519]

I think main thing is you have to do what you want to do. It's not like HSC where you will do the subject for two years. This degree you choose will influence things down the line, and it will probably be harder to keep motivation in another degree if it doesn't interest you. I myself had these types of comments from family friends telling me to do stuff like law, medicine etc., but at the end of the day if you are good enough in the degree you should be able to make something out of it. I'm doing a chem major and physics minor at UNSW currently 2nd year, and also planning to do a PhD later in chem. I would say physics degree alone if you don't do a PhD I can understand why people are telling you it is useless in terms of there probably isn't a lot of application you can do with it in real life (cause most of that is in engineering or you could probably go into some finance places which I heard before hire physics people sometimes) but research or teaching in a uni eventually is something that pays decently and is something you can do if you plan to a PhD. Also, you don't need to go MIT or Harvard to become a researcher. UNSW has a quite a decent research presence in sciences so I wouldn't really worry too much about that

 

[Drdusk]

Thanks!

I was just a bit concerned because already Science is really competitive and then you got world class graduates from MIT, Ivy leagues, so I thought that it would be impossible with UNSW.

Well people are going to doubt me but I'm just going for it now.

 

[sida1049]

Thanks!

I was just a bit concerned because already Science is really competitive and then you got world class graduates from MIT, Ivy leagues, so I thought that it would be impossible with UNSW.

Well people are going to doubt me but I'm just going for it now.

Don't worry about it. Like jazz said, research here isn't bad at all. Don't worry about competing against students across the world; at uni, it's "you do your own thing". You'll focus solely on your own research, which is often in a very specific/niche area that not many people work in anyway.

 

[sida1049]

I just punched in the keywords for my research area into Google and only 6 pages came up.

 

[tyrone97]

Just a warning: UNSW Physics is very good in first year, but it is trash from 2nd year onwards (labs are hell as well). You will have to learn it yourself from websites like Mit opencourseware. UNSW completely ruined physics for me. So make sure you keep your comp sci degree as a back up. Most of the jobs in industry that would hire you for physics (eg. analytics, trading etc.), will also hire you just based off your comp sci degree.

If you are looking at research don't worry too much about what you need for a PhD. Focus on getting through undergrad first and you will be more clear on what you want to do. To be honest, going through UNSW may kill all desires of doing a PhD in physics (all of my friends in physics started off wanting to do PhDs , now we all hate it).

Source: I am a 4th year, just finished my degree at UNSW in Physics.

 

[Drdusk]

Just a warning: UNSW Physics is very good in first year, but it is trash from 2nd year onwards (labs are hell as well). You will have to learn it yourself from websites like Mit opencourseware. UNSW completely ruined physics for me. So make sure you keep your comp sci degree as a back up. Most of the jobs in industry that would hire you for physics (eg. analytics, trading etc.), will also hire you just based off your comp sci degree.

If you are looking at research don't worry too much about what you need for a PhD. Focus on getting through undergrad first and you will be more clear on what you want to do. To be honest, going through UNSW may kill all desires of doing a PhD in physics (all of my friends in physics started off wanting to do PhDs , now we all hate it).

Source: I am a 4th year, just finished my degree at UNSW in Physics.

Oh thanks for your input, I appreciate it

Sorry to bother you but could you please expand a bit on why its trash after 2nd year?

Are the lecturers just not good or something?

I'm fine with learning online, I've been doing an online course in undergrad phys these holidays from MIT anyway.

Oh and congrats on your degree!

 

[Drdusk]

You can land a physics research career in Australia if that's what you're after. However, Australia's research scene is abysmal. Research money is tight enough as it is, and the scene is highly political. The ARC (Australian Research Council) is responsible for divying up the funds, and they typically fund projects that are perceived as interesting from a layman's perspective. As a result, there's a significant amount of time spent fighting for grant money. My advice is after you finish your honours, try to get into a reputable US institution for graduate school.

If you plan to work in Australia, then you don't really need to worry about graduates from MIT, CalTech etc, since they're not going to come down here where the research scene is so much smaller when compared to the US. I have plenty of friends who have PhD's from Princeton, Cambridge, MIT, Harvard, etc, and none of them came back here, the reason being that the academic positions and research grants are too limited.

If you become a professor at a uni like usyd or unsw you also do research along with it as well right?

Also would I need specific kind of marks to get into a reputable US institution? Like for example first class honours with a really high mark?

Thank you