Is Physics a meme degree? Why is it often considered a top degree on here on par with engineering...

It's a meme degree with which you can do nothing

Physics is mathematics with a touchable science purpose, so nerds who like math but also like general science theories usually picks physics as major.
Now when you like general science theories and knowing how things work, but you're not that into math, you major on chemistry, like I'm doing.

This is not exactly true. We use a lot of math yes but we are not applied mathematicians specialized in nature's law. We have are own problems that we work with. You don't know physics if you study only math and surely physicists cannot approach the depth of mathematics with our math knowledge.

It's a meme degree. Like when American college students major in Biotech as if they're ever going to compete with Azn-tier genetic engineers.

Should have picked engineering then

Data science better suited to physicists.

I've been wondering this myself, as I'm interested in physics and really want to take it. But everyone around me continues to tell me the job market for physics majors where I live is nearly non-existent, and only the top, best-of-the-best graduates can find and hold a job in their field.
It's a real shame because it's what I show the most interest in and my grades aren't good enough for Physics Engineering.

>>you can't do anything with a bachelors in physics.
>Not the case.
>t. Physics MASTERS
I've got a degree in engineering and in physics, and I've yet to find a single employer that has given a single flying fuck about my physics degree

A BS in physics is useful only for getting into grad school

I kek'd

Pure meme.

If you're interested in Physics then you want a degree in math so you can learn cohomology so you can pursue real research otherwise you are just doing applied math for the most part with a Physics degree. My friend has a bachelors in physics and works pushing buttons at some atom collision research lab ffor about $55k a year or so he did hardly any proof centric math.

And I could've gotten in with a bachelors. Not exactly a "gotcha". I don't mean it as an insult, but if you can't find an employer who is impressed by your physics degree, then you're probably too autistic at interview.

>cue the wired article on physicists at silicon valley that gets posted here all the time
But yeah, more maths, stats, simulation experience, and experience working with data than an engineer; physics is better for data science.

There's no reason to brag about, kid. If physicists are changing their career and learning a totally new area, it's because working as a physicist isn't paying them enough.

I thought the "t. whatever" thing meant "thanks whatever"

This doesn't make sense in the context of your post. Can someone tell me what "t." means?

It means regards

But that is working as a physicist. It's applying the theory and formulas used for studying the universe to a very specific subset of the universe.

>People actually work in industry instead of doing actual physics and raking that sweet grant money while scartching their ass 24/7

You're like little kids, lol.

The job market for almost every degree is limited as fuck if you are not ready to move

>Shut the fuck up and pursue your passions. Anyone who tells you otherwise probably hasn't been jobless after completing a degree they didn't want.
What if you are passionate about History, Sociology and other humanities-tier subjects? Are you telling me you won't end up jobless just because you're following your passion?

> It's applying the theory and formulas used for studying the universe to a very specific subset of the universe.
That's called engineering not physics.

Call it what you want; at the end of a day, I can do anything an engineer can do but better. While engineers are memorizing formulas and whining about "le engineering problems," we're studying.

Every field will land you up in a considerable job as well as would leave you jobless equally without considering if you like it or not, it doesn't matter that way, hunting / finding a job takes a different steps than simply following your passion

>Is Physics a meme degree?

No -- physics is a foundational field, like math is. In other words, it's a field that forms the foundation of numerous other fields.

You can't go wrong studing a foundational field like math or physics. The toolbox you build by studying those fields is among the most valuable toolboxes you can have for general problem solving.

> I have no more arguments but let's pretend I'm still winning.

> While engineers are doing their jobs, we're shitposting and trying to feel superior in an anonymous forum.
fixed

Physics majors end up competing with Engineers for the same jobs, but with a massive advantage.

>The toolbox you build by studying those fields is among the most valuable toolboxes you can have for general problem solving.

To bad the general problem solver market is flooded right now. And no one seems to be hiring people with a degree in "general problem solving".

They all want people who can solve specific problems.

It's Sunday, why would I be working right now? Or are you another wagecuck engineer working 80 hour weeks to please your (((boss)))?

>And no one seems to be hiring people with a degree in "general problem solving".

No -- you completely missed the point. A lot of disciplines use math and physics as tools for solving advanced problems. It is so much easier for someone with a math or physics background to learn how to solve hard problems in those fields.

In fact, in some disciplines, the most advanced problems are really little more than just thinly-disguised math or physics problems. (Think, for example, signals analysis in EE.) If someone is known to be able to handle math or physics well, then it's much more likely they will be successful in the more advanced areas of the disciplines that are based on them.

Basically, what you posted was a good example of something a typical HR idiot would think.

ever taken a math course and one of the practice problems is: so a financial insitutions needs blah blah, so a guy is making a ramp blah blah,

the real world APPLICATIONS is why you take the list of courses

>Is Physics a meme degree

It's an add-on degree. Only a fool would single major in it.

Because you're an underpaid elementary school teacher and you need to compliment your income.

>Have always gotten fantastic grades
>Could study literally anything I wanted
>Choose Physics because employable
>See this thread

I'm two years in boys. Someone please blow the meme-sayers the fuck out PLEASE

...

feels bad man

Yes. If you go into the more applicable fields, you still aim for rare R&D jobs. It's completely ok to study it if you are in the topic, but going into Astrophysics or High Energy Particles is career suicide. Basically the same situation as lib arts majors: Do it for your personal interest and fulfillment, but prepare to work somewhere else.

nah aim for optics and you are golden user.

Honestly unless you are a strong candidate for major prizes in your country don't even consider going theoretical. What's the point? You'll end up doing second line research in a shit university for shit pay. On the other hand if you go applied and are moderately smart (like you claim to be) you'll do big dosh in the industry.

We need less shitty papers polluting the scientific landscape, they only add noise. Unless you are a literal genius go do something practical and live a nice life.
Honestly, all these >mfw unemployed retards just made poor decisions and deserve their fate.

It depends. If you're a brainlet you become a teacher, if you're smart you go in research.

This is what physics teachers will tell you and it is mostly false, engineering jobs require... well engineering, you cannot pursue a PE license without a bachelor's from a accredited engineering program.

What do you think of taking mecheng and physics together?

I don't think not legally qualifying for engineering positions should be considered an advantage.

>but with a massive advantage
[doubt]

So the consensus is a bachelors in physics is a good springboard to do postgrad studies in engineering e.g msc aerospace engineering?

Wrong.

Lol, no. For research jobs, the guy who got a computational physics master's will get the job. For engineering jobs, the guy that did both BS and MS in engineering will get the job.

here, can't recommend, but I will admit it was quite a bit of fun

Explain to me why though. In the UK, BS in physics will get you into many engineering masters in some very prestigious unis

It's different in the UK. You can be employed as an engineer (and work towards CEng status) provided you come from a mathematically literate background and can demonstrate your competence, which means show you've worked in a particular area of engineering for a few years (I think it's something like 7 years). Incidentally that's more or less the condition for someone with an engineering undergrad.

lol, no it won't. that makes no sense. physics majors don't learn what engineering majors learn.

look up the entry requirements

just realized you were talking about a second rate country, nevermind

why so mean?

You're retarded.
Anyone that has a BS with practical engineering applications is a viable candidate to be in an engineering position, however an Engineering Masters is what will get you on tracjk to actually be an engineer, as a p.engr needs X amount of hours to be acquired. Most engr degrees will get you to be in a co-op program, basically guaranteeing you a job.

Will I get a job if I pursue theoretical physics? Or am I doomed to work in McDonald's?

It will, but Engineering Council UK will not allow anyone to become a Chartered Engineer (when you actually start to make good money) unless you have an accredited undergrad degree from IMechE/RAeS etc.

Nope:
iop.org/membership/char-sta/chartership/ceng/page_38083.html
>If you do not hold an accredited MEng degree, then the basic requirements are that you have a degree in physics or a related subject and demonstrate the missing engineering parts of your degree through a MEng equivalence report.

i'm mech eng is basically physics + administration + design minus the electromagnetic part.
I did mech eng and then majored in applied math (or comp physics or whatever you wanna call it) so I had to learn electromagnetism in a very mathematical way (variational bullshit everywhere to understand why FEM worked), so basically i'm now better than you in every way possible.

But the thing is, you are 2 years in your physics degree, so major into something applied that is being used in day to day technology like optics, and you will have plenty of work and good paying ones.
But you need to major, if you planned to just get the BS and find work you are either delusional or your country has different standards for physics than mine.

fuck I misquoted, meant for

>kid
No, it's because physics research isn't as interesting these days. Pay could be one reason, but it's pretty much just lack of interesting research within physics. Physicists are still better suited to research than engineers.

This thread is scaring me.

I'm in my third year in Physics/Planetary science double, so pretty much Astro but with asteroids instead. It's too late to change anything.

At the very least, the planetary research I'm doing has a huge computational aspect. Will it be enough for me to pursue a masters in computational physics?

Yeah, that's statistics in a nutshell.

>tfw neurobiology major
who else here /fakestemthatisunhirable/ here?

i was too much of a brainlet for comp sci

Sadly, in my university, engineering was essentially a subset of physics.
Physics was like engineering+.

Why do people assume that because there's no direct field that their degree leads into, it's pointless?

>too much of a brainlet for comp sci

You will be fine. A degree doesn't have to lead directly into a job. It's the same as anything; if you're autistic at interview, you'll fail. If you don't have experience in work, or in specific skills your employer is looking for, you won't get jobs. If you have a STEM degree, your chances on that alone are better than someone without a STEM degree (for basically any job).
As a physics/planetary science grad, your skills are more than jut physics/planetary science. Unless you want to be employed for physics/planetary science, you're going to have to show how physics/planetary science is transferable to other fields. Having strong maths and programming skills already put you ahead of many other grads (even likely better than CS). You just gotta sell yourself.

Don't let the memes scare you. You can do anything you want with a physics degree. If by whatever chance you need a masters to do something specific, physics will get you into that masters.
Most of Veeky Forums are engineers; just remember that when you see all the hate for physics.

wanna fight?

I guess that helps. I've also worked an internship at a decent tech company since highschool, so I guess that'll help.

Don't get me wrong, they use the most obscure language I've ever heard of, and all they had me doing was unit testing product code, but at least it'll help on resumes, and it paid well.

Then you're perfect. Intern experience in technical role, maths and computing. If you bill yourself as some desirable kind of professional (like data scientist) you'll be headhunted easily.

what about me ? what do I do?

How to git gud at P-Physics, Veeky Forums?
I cant solve elaborated problems and I got bad grades
Math is a bit easier, I got good grades and shit

From what I've seen, the name of the game is experience. Just having a degree wont cut it, you need internship/coop experience by the time to graduate.

What do you want to do? Bill yourself as whatever you want to be. If you already have experience, you're doing well compared to other grads.
You just gotta be able to bullshit the HR, and impress the technical. If you look for work at a small tech startup, just be yourself since it's a different culture there.
You might have to use stupid buzzwords, or use the same language as some high up person's linkedin profile, but ultimately they'll assess you on your ability to grow, and whether your strengths match what they're looking for.

This really depends on the field, and the position you're looking for. Degrees that lead directly to graduate jobs (like CS) will help you get in, but won't help you climb. If you're hired in a graduate role in a field not directly related to your degree, then they've already recognised your ability to grow, and getting subsequent jobs is easier once your foot's in the door.

do more physics.

Smoke weed and read your textbook and talk a walk.

Later, use LSD and do the same.

Look at it this way. A huge part of physics is constantly changing the model of the world that you have in your mind to more accurately reflect reality. Psychedelics are an incredibly powerful tool for changing this model.

I dunno if you're being serious or not, but the important thing is to be able to recognise inconsistencies between theory and reality, which I'm not sure you can do so well when you're high.

I'm not OP /not a physics major

I'm being serious, but also perhaps oversimplifying and expressing myself poorly, but I'm also shitposting while I should be working, so I'm not putting the most time into these posts.

You'd be surprised. But regardless, they are a good tool for changing world view, provided you've still studied the material sufficiently.

Either way, the solution is still "do more physics problems", I just see it as icing on the cake. I just find its personally enriched my life a great deal.

Read a bunch of forbes articles on how to succeed at interview/get the job you want/negotiate your salary/improve your confidence/enlarge your penis.
It's all bullshit, but it's what makes the world go round.

I'm a useless neurobio major

Go to grad school for something more employable then, christ.

I've seen you on Veeky Forums shitposting constantly in self-pity for the past day and a half.

wait what
I've only been here for an hour and a half

you're saying i have to go to grad schooL? really?

>lmao engineers r so dum, not nearly as hard as phyzics
>He fell for the muh rigor meme

huh. I've seen several posts complaining about being an unemployable nuerobio major over the past day and assumed they were all you.

That, or I'm on Veeky Forums too much and my sense of time is severely distorted.

But probably, unless you have some other sort of marketable skill. Most majors like that make it pretty explicit that the only point of the undergrad is to prepare you for grad school in the subject.

Did you program at all throughout your major?

Like I said I started as Computer science but my programming was ass
I just have (some) python

I figured there was something for me with just an undergrad, isn't there a research thing I could do

I don't know

Still read a bunch of forbes articles on getting the interview, aceing the interview, sucking your boss' dick, negotiating your salary, getting a good reference, etc... Everyone has to have some competency in this to some degree. For most people in business, this is their ONLY asset.
You might also wanna look up transferable skills you get as a neurobio major, even if it's just flimsy stuff like "I have strengths in analytical and critical thinking, and an ability to understand and communicate complex ideas through different media". Apply for jobs that match your strengths, make sure you don't reveal you have weaknesses in certain skills they're looking for, and if that's still not enough, pick up additional skills with your own projects or get some extra certifications.
This is a factoid I've picked up; 80% of graduates apply for 20% of the jobs. Most fresh graduates look for big names companies, and completely miss medium-sized companies or startups. It's easy to do, because you'll most likely hear about job openings through recruitment agencies (which - if you can - try to avoid them. They get commission on giving you the worst deal possible, and reveal no information about the company you'll be working for until you apply). Understandably, most companies do their own hiring, and don't go through recruitment agencies (they don't trust them, and don't want to pay commission), so look around.

so how do I hear about the smaller companies ?

Not to shit on you, but this is typically the sort of thing you research before you start your major.

As far as I'm aware, there is literally no research outside of (maybe) being some sort of minimum-wage lab technician with just an undergrad. Research is pretty much only going to be available to masters and PhDs.

So love is over for me huh

become bartender?

unholy trips of truth.

But nah. Don't end your life on my word. Still do your own research on it.

Though in all honesty, bartending might not be bad. Fun, sociable, decent pay, and you can still have time to pursue your interests and talk people's ears off about science while they drink.

Might actually be really great near a college bar. I've been to Indiana University a couple of times just with friends, as soon as the topic comes up that I'm a physics major its nothing but physics and philosophy with random people. Find a place with a good culture and you'd be fine even as a bartender.

Truth be told I don't regret my major at all though and $$$ is not a huge requirement for me as long as I can live off it somewhat independently

some basic lab tech job would probably be fine, or bar tending but I'm not really sure what more education I'd need for that or how the process works

but also :to be a lab tech for or whatever