Anyone's kids majoring in Physics?

[Sadie22]

A double major in physics and math enabled some of my sons' friends to do hands-on research as undergrads, which helped win them more scholarships and have published articles as undergrads. They all went on to specialize in math in graduate school, though.

 

[Sadie22]

My son is in a Phd program in Physics. One of the benefits of Physics is that often Phd programs are fully or partially funded. The student will have to teach or do research but funded tuition and a stipend is an amazing benefit. It doesn't appear that there is much funding for Masters programs.

This is true for math as well. No tuition, a large enough stipend to cover apartment, groceries, and other living expenses, and teaching experience to boot can mean graduating with a Ph.D. debtfree with a choice of fellowships and eventually tenured positions.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

My dad has a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and a Masters in Physics.

This is his opinion on the subject of an undergraduate degree in Physics:

He said the best piece of advice his dad ever gave him was telling him NOT to major in physics for undergraduate because it would be a worthless degree if he did not go to graduate school. So on his dads advice, he majored in electrical engineering and got his masters in Physics. He is so beyond grateful for his dads advice because he was right....if he had not gone any futher, he would have had a BS in engineering which would have been useful...but if he had a BS in Physics without going to grad school, he would have basically been at a dead end.

My dad has worked in the defense contracting industry in various companies for the past 35+ years. He is technically an engineer, but his Masters degree in Physics gives him a huge edge in what he does. He uses physics and calculus everyday.

DsonIL majored in engineering for 2 years, then decided that physics was his "true love". He got his degree in physics and was getting great offers for grad school, but decided to get a "real" job LOL and is now a project engineer for a defense contractor. They just bought a new house and all is good!

 

[MissMelissRoths03]

Physics is a good major - similar to engineering, and a physics student with good grades will be able to get into design and system engineering type jobs. A Masters and PhD will get you farther and open up opportunities for more research directed jobs as well as analyst and management positions. All in all it is a good alternative to engineering. I think that physics is a better fit for some than engineering, and it allows you to get into the engineering field from a different route.

 

[DopeyDame]

I'm an aerospace engineer, and probably half of the peopel I work with on a day to day basis have either a BS or MS in physics (the rest are a blend of various engineering degrees). If you want to do hard-core physics research you need and advanced degree, but getting a job in a technical field with a physics degree and good grades won't be any harder than it would be for most engineering majors. As a PP mentioned, if he's interested in med school physics is also a great option - med schools get a TON of premed and bio applications, so a physics student really stand out.
Also, a lot of consulting firms (Booze Allen, Accenture, E&Y, etc.) love physics majors - they have been thought to think through complex problems in an orderly manner, and that's an invaluable skill.
Good luck to your son!

 

[Tinijocaro]

A little update. DS is now 19 and just finished his second year at University at Buffalo, majoring in Physics and minoring in Math. He ended up getting a Presidential scholarship which is enabling him to get his undergrad completely debt free. Room. board and books are also included.

He still has plans to get his phd. He is going to Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland for a 10 week summer internship. This is the type of experience that will help him when he goes to pursue his advanced degree.

An interesting thing about physics majors. Many people who work on Wall street or in finance have physics degrees so that is another option for him, although I don't think that interests him. Having the dual physics/math degree will enable him to work in similar fields as an engineer. He is currently learning computer coding for his internship.

So far, things are really working out for him as a physics major.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Dang. Not that it would have helped with the decision but I had a funny Sheldon quote from You Tube But there's a line before it that can be interpreted as family unfriendly.

Sheldon walks into Howard's lab. "So this engineering huh? Where the noble semi-skilled laborers execute the vision of those who think and dream. Hello Oompa Loompas of science,

 

[Tinijocaro]

That's pretty funny!

 

[chartle]

My brother majored in physics and does health instructing at a nuclear power plant.

My wife works for the University of Pittsburgh as a lab tech, all the radiation safety guys were physics majors.

My son just graduated with a Engineering Science degree which is a broad based Engineering degree and by taking just a few more classes he has 3 minors in Physics and Materials and Electrical Engineering. Maybe he is doing something wrong but I expected him to have his pick of positions at graduation. So far he has had one application that he knows of that has gone past the first screening.

 

[Tinijocaro]

My nephew got a mechanical engineering degree and it took 6 months for him to get a job. He is now doing great, had to relocate to the south but seems happy there.

 

[tina.tina]

I know someone who had a BS in physics who got a job with a DOD contractor declassifying classified technical documents. I've always thought that was very interesting. He had to relocate to DC.

 

[mom2rtk]

Not sure what a physics major would do. Don't take the dept. chair's word for it. Physics is pretty a esoteric field. What does he like about it. The field is quite broad and here are some subfields:

http://physics.gmu.edu/old/department/program/subfields_of_physics.htm

If he can handle physics he is also smart enough for an engineering degree which would be more useful. He could still minor or even double major in physics.

My son went through this decision making process 2 years ago. I really think he has an affinity for physics and wanted to go that direction. But the far greater job prospects in engineering in our area has him majoring in Chemical Engineering instead.

 

[chartle]

Dang. Not that it would have helped with the decision but I had a funny Sheldon quote from You Tube But there's a line before it that can be interpreted as family unfriendly.

Sheldon walks into Howard's lab. "So this engineering huh? Where the noble semi-skilled laborers execute the vision of those who think and dream. Hello Oompa Loompas of science,

"Also isn't Engineering just applied physics".

Says Sheldon as he tries to fix a Battling Robot (and fails).

But OP yes he can do Physics but just make sure the other classes round him out to get the job he wants. There are very few jobs where you spend all day figuring out how far a projectile will go if fired at a certain velocity and angle (assuming no fiction).

Teaching at the University level is very selective and for some hard to make a living. Around here there is an expensive private university that hires way too many adjunct professors. Which if you don't know they are part time, no benefits hired term to term. Many have to teach at a more than one place to scratch out a living.

 

[christineann]

My daughter has BS degrees in Applied Physics and Biology and a minor in Mathematics. She loves physics most. She taught on a physics campus in California after graduation for a couple years to take a break before grad school. She is putting off grad school now because she was hired by an international optics company making a very good salary, especially for a fairly recent college grad. She will spend June in Europe with her company. Not bad!

She won't watch The Big Bang Theory because she knows many physics majors who are just like the characters on the show. She admits that she is a nerd herself.

 

[tcufrog]

My dh majored in mechanical engineering and math and minored in physics. He also has an MS in engineering that he earned while working full time. He now co owns two companies and has had a successful career.

 

[christineann]

My daughter figures she will eventually go to grad school but is hoping her company will help her out with the tuition, as many do. I'm so happy she found a field and a job that she loves.

 

[tcufrog]

I do believe it's wise if you wish to major in something that won't easily lead to a job to also get a second major in something practical. This way you (hopefully) will have a fallback position. There's nothing glamorous about being a broke philosophy major (for example) with a mountain of loans to pay back and no job prospects after college. I'm saying this as someone who really enjoyed her college philosophy class. College loans are almost impossible to discharge in the US through bankruptcy. I majored in history and religion but went to grad school in library science while I worked as a paraprofessional at different libraries. My grad school jobs helped me land the sort of job I really wanted when I graduated from grad school (college librarian) and I was able to use the knowledge I learned in undergrad during my career.

 

[tcufrog]

For some reason when I wish to edit I keep quoting. AAAK! I already thought my laptop was possessed before I came to the DIS tonight but now I'm sure of it.

 

[DopeyDame]

oops - didn't read the update (or realize that I had already posted!)

 

[DopeyDame]

Dang. Not that it would have helped with the decision but I had a funny Sheldon quote from You Tube But there's a line before it that can be interpreted as family unfriendly.

Sheldon walks into Howard's lab. "So this engineering huh? Where the noble semi-skilled laborers execute the vision of those who think and dream. Hello Oompa Loompas of science,

DH and I are both engineers. We were rolling on the ground with laughter at that. We will occasionally refer to each other as oompa loompas of science.