/sci/ - Science & Math

>>8941148
which meme is that? The one where Witten et al.[math] >> [/math] Tooker?

>>8941148
Physician here. Just finished my major, i'm earning 80k starting.

>>8941148
wow this post is really insightful

Physics needs complete dedication and a lifetime of sucking it up.

Physics has come to a dead end. There are no more "leads" so to speak. Computer science is the future. Only superintelligence can show us the way foreard.

>>8941158
>theoretical physics
>works ass off for muh ideas
>underpaid and likely not employed in his field
>wants to be a mathematician
>software jockey instead

>applied physics
>fucks around with lasers
>300k starting
>employable anywhere
>fucks your wife more than his own

tell me /sci/, why would you ever be a theoretical physicist over a research engineer?

Did you fall for le ebic mysteries of le universe maymay? Or are you doing it so other people think you're cool and smart? (hint: you're not)

If you really want your ivory towers then go into pure mathematics or drink bleach posers

>>8941167
>i'm earning 80k starting.

Which currency? Yen? Renminbi?

>>8941196
crypto ONLY

>>8941148
I fell for the meme too, but I have hope

>>8941196
USD

>>8941148
I also fell for this meme

What meme? I only see opportunities of having BIG BLACK ASSETS in my ass. I literally feel euphoric when I think about it, physics is truly an overwhelming experience.

>tfw the job market is so utterly shit in your country it doesn't matter what you major in, you'll still be unemployed.

>>8941148
cs minor and you will be fine.
calm down faggot

>>8941148
>tfw Math PhD
>300K starting
>any job i want
How is life treating ya, poorfags?

>>8941178
No idea if you're joking or not, because its kinda true. The superintelligence part is bullshit, but if you want to invent or discover new stuff, the chance that you can do that in physics is much smaller than in cs. Not in the practical programming part of cs, but the theoretical branch.

>>8941789
>says he's rich
>still trolls anonymously on a taiwanese origami forum
How dumb are you?

>>8941148
>I fell for the physics meme
As did I. Now I am partner in a patent law firm.

I hope you all feel sorry for me.

>>8941284
>cs minor and you will be fine.

too late. I already have my M.Sc. degree

>>8941238
Untrue, I'm a fresh out engineering making 65K plus killer benefits, ya dig

>>8941148
should have studied economics and finance

>>8942456
>Now I am partner in a patent law firm.

I got an job offer from one of these firms, but I rejected it, because I hate bureaucracy. Fuck this shit.

Okay, be straight with me. How likely is it that I can get a cushy 100k tenure track job in academia? I'd consider myself gifted, but certainly not a genius.

>>8942842

An overwhelming majority of physicists start in industry over academia.

You can end up in academia but I'd expect to have some experience in industry beforehand. Payment in academia depends on the institution and your position.

>>8941178

>Computer science is the future

Now that's a meme

>pursuing associates in science
>dont know what to major in when transfer to uni

seems like college is all bullshit if you dont know the right people anyway

>>8941167
That's a shit salary for an M.D.

>>8941238
tfw spanish

>tfw too smart too understand physics

>>8942854
That's reality. Just compare the development of physics with computer science the last few decades.

>>8942967
Like the part where nanofabriaction techniques and new nanostructures preceed any meaningful progress in CS?

>>8942908

>interned at SAP during undergrad
>coding staff is 50/50 CS Bachelors and Physics PhDs
They don't call it Sammelstelle Arbeitsloser Physiker for nothing. Unless you're severely autistic/rich or education is free for you, physics is the wrong subject.

>>8942976
Progress in hardware is certainly speeding up CS, but if you think CS wouldn't btfo the pace of physics or pretty much any other field without this, then you're delusional.

>the world won't cater to my passions and interests
>better just give up and follow the rest of the code pigs and engiqueers
No wonder you all gave up, it was never meant for you anyway

>>8943263
>muh pashun
>muh internests
Good luck waking up at forty when your wife that makes more money off her advanced menstrual sciences degree leaves you for Norman McNormieson CFA, solely because he's not completely autistic and can actually hold a conversation about something other than 50-dimensional manifolds and quantum chromo-memetics. Enjoy getting all the angry calls from kids you never had the time to have while alternating between rotting in lab and sucking off MBAs for grants on that new shartgon lazor and small hardon provider.

>>8941185
because i want to be a mathematician, but paid money. also i like software design, so being a computational physicist is fine for me

>>8942829
>in your country
read before you post, or are your people psychic??

>>8943241
>Sammelstelle Arbeitsloser Physiker
keked

>>8943241
>product is epitome of autistic dysfunction
>actually crafted by professional autists

like pomgrenade

>>8943352
>overengineer your product and obfuscate documentation
>drive all the competitors into the ground and create a monopoly
>aggressively market yourself as world leader in ERP and CRM solutions
>charge seven digits for mediocre distributed RDBMS and a plotting engine full of ugly hacks
this is what winning at life is, sciencelet

>>8941148
>graduated in economics
>got job at bank that involves simple math and an ok amount of thinking
>120k/year plus bonus

is there a more comfy field of study?

>>8943377
>graduated in math
>got a job at MBB consulting that involves no math and lot of thinking
>120k/year + bonus + going to be a boss of your boss in 3 years
I'm gonna say yes.

Some of you are retarded talking smack on computer science when you can't even get a job with your dumb degree.Lmao you laugh but you'll be crying when we automate your shitty pointless job hahhaha.Join the dark side and help plunge the world into chaos while we automate your jobs hahah

>>8943404
How are you going to automate any math-related jobs when passing Calculus 2 with a C- is the extent of your mathematical ability?

>>8943413
Someone sounds butt-hurt. C- seems more of a you grade.

>>8941148
I'm going from a philosophy bachelor to being a physics undergraduate, how fucked am I?

>>8943499
According to my English professor, philosophy is by far the hardest major of all, so don't worry you'll be well prepared for those triple integrals in electromagnetics class

>>8943600
>taking triple integrals is hard
>this is your brain on physics

>>8943606
It's not hard if you're a philosophy major, everything is super easy compared to philosophy dude

>>8943413
holy fucking rekt

>>8943618
Kek. I'm a math grad with only hobbyist interest in philosophy, but I very much doubt that some autistic physics faggot that thinks undergrad calc methods are some arcane inaccessible magic for geniuses would be able to get through Fichte's or Husserl's work, let alone understand it. Please, do go on with le funny memeing.

>>8943626
Is the contrary true too? I can read Heidegger and Hegel no problems. Will undergraduate physics seems hard to me?

>>8943626
I'm not even a physics major lel untwist your panties and enjoy the memes gayboi

>>8943633
It shouldn't if you study diligently. Undergrad is bretty easy.

>Going to UNI when the job prospects are null
>Instead of working from 15 and living with parents until 30 while saving every dollar, offsetting it into their mortgage until you can afford to use the equity to buy a place of your own, have mates live with you and pay board in cash for your disposable income, while you own the place you live in and plan to invest in field of your choosing or just expanding in the housing/land market.

>>8943711
>working from 15
>living with parents until 30
>having roommates after 30
living the dream I see

>>8943711
Everything about this sounds awful.

>>8941178
>Physics has come to a dead end. There are no more "leads" so to speak.
They've said this every generation you tard

>>8941178
>Only superintelligence can show us the way foreard.
No it can't, garbage in garbage out. With physics experiments however we can actually find new leads for theory, cf the R problem that LHCb is investigating

>>8943761
>>8943780
Enjoy slaving for rent and uni debts.

>>8941148
>tfw fell for the 'physics is a meme' meme

>>8941178
Only because you and others think this way. Science hardly excites anyone anymore, everything is about money or fame instead of discovery.

>>8943291
And I'm glad past physicists were brave enough not to listen to people like yourself so they could give us modern physics

>>8943829
>implying I paid for education
>implying I don't have a mortgage
>implying I don't have an interesting job
I wanted to add something edgy, but I'm really not sure what would be insulting to man who isn't Italian and lives with his parents until 30.

>chem PhD student
>dreams of living the life of a yuppie kept alive only by my project being partially engineering
>obsess over finding a job when I'm done from here that will get me my high rise apartment
>it's literally the only dream I have
>browse company websites for jobs relevant to my degree and field
>literally hundreds of jobs for "software engineers" and computer scientists
>I have nothing to do with computers while a programmer friend of mine is literally pissing money away on EXACTLY my dream

Just fucking kill me

>>8944142
>chem phd
>does not have jobs offered to him
Just how shit is your GPA? Did you not do any internships at all?

>>8941148
Me too, anon.

>>8943404
>tfw physics invented transistors
>tfw mathematicians invented boolean logic
>tfw computer scientists disown the hard scientists
>tfw computer """engineering"""

>>8942364

Please elaborate. Why is the theoretical branch more amenable to advances that the "practical programming" branch? Can you give examples of possible theoretical advances that can be made in CS?

>tfw wanted to do physics because interesting and didn't think about career
>tfw went for math instead after talking with some smart people
>tfw 300k/hour internship wage

>>8944225
Not him, but think about how the early sciences stemmed from philosophy. Science a few millennia ago was intuitive, and so was conceptualised by humans. But with the advent of relativity and later quantum physics, it's very hard for someone without a thorough understanding of both mathematics and modern physics to make a reasonable hypotheses. Computers can be programmed to "understand" both of these. While a human has to comprehend the answers a computer gives us, for the first time in a century or two we are able to make advances in physics through trial and error by simulating them on a computer.

His statement also has a more literal meaning, as computer science has the more abstract purpose of the quantum-ish physics of "information".

Or he might be referring to the bounty of new "discoveries" waiting to be made in CS as opposed to physics. Though I'd call them inventions instead of discoveries unless they're particularly elementary and revolutionary, but all that stuff was thoroughly experimented with decades ago, so the only way we're going to get any actual base-level computing discoveries made is if a new kind of logic is discovered, such as memristor technology or whatever the fuck a quantum computer is, and that's the sort of thing left to physicists. Wetware computation never.

[math]\frac{1}{2}[\math]

>fell for the physics meme
fuck it dawg i enjoy it

>>8941185
theory mixed with computation skills is industry gold senpai

>>8943761
welcome to leafistan
you do not get a choice

>>8945960
Me too, except I've got to start and finish 4 lab reports and a lab within like 35 hours, I am not confident.

Is Physics interesting?

>>8944222
>""""invented"""" boolean logic

I guess we better thank Newton for INVENTING gravity too XD

>>8941167
Did you mean physicist? You don't "major" in medicine. Unless that's a European thing.

>>8946541
I wouldn't say discovered, since like mathematics it isn't an explicit existence outside of human brains, and mathematics itself possess no predictive capabilities like a physical science does. I'd say physics was "discovered" because physics represents a series of theories with predictive capabilities, same with the other physical sciences. But mathematics, as well as computer science and in general "logic" doesn't strike me as something that was discovered.

Another way of looking at things is whether they stem from physical observations or not. The physical sciences, quite possibly by definition, do so. Mathematics, or any kind of logic, were purely conceptualised by the human brain, at least at a base level. But large parts of mathematics could well be abstractions of physical laws, especially things like vectors, cross-products, and divergences. Statistics is kind of in a grey area because it was discovered to describe probabilities and such, and because of this I don't think it is possible to perfectly define the boundary between "invented" and "discovered".

For example: Were gold or silver discovered? Yes. Were constantan or invar invented? Yes. But was electrum discovered or invented? Gold and silver are often found together, so it wouldn't be surprising if they were refined together thus being discovered, but the actual use of an alloy called "electrum" must have come later, after electrical sciences emerged.

>>8941185
>implying fucking wives gives better orgasms than going balls-deep into string theory
>implying anyone with intellect to successfully make it in hep-th would care about money
Butthurt brainlet engineer

Is Physics degree different in USA? Most of my seniors that graduated (at least the ones with 3.75++/4.00 CGPA) got jobs as engineers. Our course has a lot of applied physics classes. I'm still 1st year so just meme tier physics for now. I'm from Malaysia btw.

Guys, I'm supposed to specialize next year in something, but I really don't know what to fucking choose, every specialization has something interesting. Choose my specialization for me PLEASE


Astrophysics - g. relativity, cosmology, celestial dynamics
Meteorology - Hydrodynamics, chaos
Condensed matter physics - Superconductivity, superliquidity, quantum states, cool as fuck lab equipment
Optics - Quantum optics I guess?
Biophysics - I know nothing about this and from what I've read it sounds shit.

>>8946788
Particle physics not an option? Astro or condensed matter

>>8946794
Yeah it is but who the fuck wants to do that lol. I don't wanna be a cog in the CERN machine.

>>8942829
What type of engineering?

>>8946797
>>8946794
It also involves just making code for their bullshit detectors 90% of the time.

Why astro or condensed matter? Those are my favourites too.

>>8946794
There are also other options like theoretical physics, geophysics and mathematical modeling

>>8946799
Condensed matter seems most important for continuing to push technology forward - its given us semiconductors and has much more to give. Cosmology is fascinating in its own right and dynamics is applicable to commercial satellites and hopefully the coming rebirth of spaceflight.

I guess the difference would be whether you want to work in a lab or program simulations.

>>8946724
>le smart people dun care about money
Keep deluding yourself, freshie.

>>8946842
Who are you speaking for, brainlet?

>>8946850
Non-autistic population.

>do master's in cosmology
>realize I'd rather work with the observatories themseleves rather than with the data they provide

>>8946842
The only really smart people that care about money on this planet work for rentek. That makes a dozen of them with pretty much 0 impact on human knowledge. Wew lad, sure showed those intellectually above you.

>>8946860
>really smart people
>no true scotsman
Yes. Get back to me after overcoming your insecurities, bubbah.

>>8946862
Feel free to show the mathematicians and theoretical physicists that do it for money. I'm willing to bet that even among phenomenologists, you won't find anyone notable that does. Rentek employs pure mathematicians, undeniably very good ones.

>>8946866
>you are only intelligent if you do scientific research for a living
Holy... How is that undergrad freshman year going?

>>8946870
>muh zuckey is smurt, billy bill too, buffet is surt right?
Maybe compared to you. There are many far more intelligent people. Even among undergrad freshmen you tool

>>8946882
>hurr muh straw men
>hurr you're dumb
Nice arguments there, autismo.

>>8946788
Condensed matter / Solid State / Optics
have future because can be applied to advance the Electronic Industry.

Astrophysics, Astronomy, String Theory are memes
>"muh" dark matter & energy > >"muh" wormhole >"muh" black holes >"muh" string theory >"muh" extra dimensions >"muh" Habitable Zone Exoplanets >"muh" Dyson Sphere Meme Star >"muh" Universe Accelerated Expansion >"muh" Alcubierre Drive.
But Many-body problem in Celestial Dynamics seems promising.

>>8946788
Particle Physics is promising, but still a bit meme
>"muh" Higgs Boson >"muh" Large Hadron Collider Colider

Plamas Physics
>Aerospace industry always has demand for Plasma Physicists.

Biophysics / Medical Physics
>Halfway between Medicine & Physics.

Meteorology (Fluid/Chaos)
>Fluid Dynamics & Chaos Theory are very Interesting.
>However you'll get involved with a plenty of Environmental Engineering bullshit.

>>8946797
>I don't wanna be a cog in the CERN machine.
what did he mean by this

>>8946883
Keep deluding yourselve, wage cuck. There will never be anyone of importance who would put money over Nature

>>8946889
Are you actually retarded or do you not have any arguments for why somebody shouldn't study astro/theoretical physics ? Jesus fuck I hate people like you so much. I can't imagine what kind of a spastic memelord are in IRL.

>>8946891
Single experiments are usually concluded by a large collaboration of dozens of research groups, each of which contains dozens of particle physicists. A particle physicist really doesn't have a handle on the actual experiment he is doing, most of the time they're just focused on solving their part of the whole thing, which can be a bit dissatisfying.

>>8946889
>Particle Physics is promising, but still a bit meme
>>"muh" Higgs Boson >"muh" Large Hadron Collider Colider
Butthurt burger detected. Hows that SSC coming along?

>>8946937
>intelligence
>importance
Nice goalposts, my underage friend.

>>8946937
>There will never be anyone of importance who would put money over Nature
>single most powerful man in the world today is a trust fund babby with BSc in Econ
really made me think there

>>8946782
anyone can answer this? genuinely curious.

>>8947029
Physics ≠ Engineering
Unless you're a hardcore scientist, you try to get an engineering degree because that's where the money is at. If you couldn't get in (as is the case with me and likely others), you'll probably be studying physics instead. Physics doesn't teach you anything nearly as practical as an engineering major, hence the low employment outside of labs. If an employer has a chance to hire an engineer, he'll employ the guy with an engineering degree, not a lab jockey. The high employability is the reason why engineering is such a competitive field both to get into and to remain in. In what kind of country do physicists get given actual responsibilities?

>>8947131
>If you couldn't get in
In which fucking country is engineering harder than physics. None of the engineering majors I know could handle 5 semesters of analysis, quantum theory or statistical mechanics.

>>8947161
The content of upper division physics is significantly harder, but there are fewer students so entry is less competitive. The impaction of engineering programs in state schools is ridiculous.

>>8942842
Probably close to null. At least assume it's null, that way if you have to pursue it anyway, you won't jump off a building when you're done. My plan is to do my math phd, hunt around for postdocs for a year, fail to do that then become an actuary.

>>8942829
I'm the same, I start in a few days.

took a year off after finishing degree, no experience, no internships, decent grades. Engineer rocks

>>8942829
>>8947283
>tfw part of the /noncuck/ crew

>partied hard in high school
>went to community college w/ fee waivers for everything
>transferred to mediocre state school (20 minute drive from house, no dorming or anything) for engineering
>tons of free time due to easy classes
>had tons of fun when not doing mandatory studying or working part time job
>got /fit/ and fucked bitches
>graduated with no debt
>over $50k starting
>still live with parents (this is good)
>going to purchase a small apartment complex soon with free money, to live in and have cucks pay me
>tfw you've made nothing but good choices in life

>>8947340
You should try yourself in advertising. I liked the way you presented being an underachieving mediocrity as a good thing.
>still live with parents (this is good)
Work on that maybe. Kek.

>>8947345
t. $100k in debt

I'm already building my real estate empire at 24. I will be the next Donald Trump. What are you doing?

>>8947368
Making six figures 3 years after school.
>paying for education
>paying for a shitty education
I feel sorry for you, anon.

>>8947368
>I will be the next Donald Trump.

you will be the next orange clown idiot
fucking wow

>>8947384
t. Wage cuck

Don't be upset that I'm /Chad/ding it up and you're not. You'll be working for me.

>>8947391
>discriminating against someone because of their skin colour
how intolerant of you
you can be far more progressive than that, my leftist friend

>>8943800
experimentalists

>>8946724
String theory is almost surely a lie. Just exchanging second order poles for first order poles. If you're really balls deep into it, does it worth it? I have a chance of going into it as an undergrad. Should I?

>>8947391
racist

>>8947192
What this guy says. I have no doubt that third year + beyond physics will be more difficult than engineering, but there's none of the job competition in physics that you get with engineering. The only reason why first year engineering is difficult enough to get people to drop out is because it's been deliberately made more difficult to weed out the weak.

>tfw 256/260 points needed to get into engineering
>tfw surrounded by brainlets who barely got the 160 points needed to get into physics

Well atleast you didnt get an arts degree

>>8947868
Just pick up polchinski and see what you think. Even if it's false, there's plenty of interesting stuff you'll learn. Witten was able to get the fields medal, the highest math award, by geometry that was done in string theory. It uses many fields of math. If you're not interested in math then it's probably not worth the effort.

>>8942442
>being this new

>>8947942
I am interested in math. A lot. Thing is that the mathematician in me tells me to go for it, whereas the physicist in me tells me to run away fast.

>>8942842
Very unlikely. With proper motivation, taking grad courses and doing research, you can easily make it into a top 10 university. However making it to academia after that is much harder and requires luck in having the right people leaving academia.

Honestly, assuming you're math or physics, just learn programming and build up experience with that. It's a nice skill to have and gives you a back up plan. The /sci/ wiki on cs is better than /g/'s.

>>8947969
String Theory is a really big subject. Depending on which direction you go with it, what you do could vary significantly. In some cases your work could be indistinguishable from pure math.

>>8947906
>tfw BA in Physics

>>8948004
Isn't the at-the-end-of-the-day goal to find a true theory for quantum gravity?

Also, suppose I go for it. Can you suggest any nice undergrad thesis theme to hunt for it? (current level: halfway through qft, GR, Diff. Geom., statistical ft; have one full year ahead)

>>8948013
>Can you suggest any nice undergrad thesis theme to hunt for it?
It depends on what you are most interested in.

Stringy Cosmology?

Gauge/Gravity Dualities? If so Condensed Matter, QCD, Holography, etc.?

Stringy Geometry? (i.e. stuff like Kahler Moduli, Calabi-Yau geometry, Mirror Symmetry)

D-Branes? If so from a more physical or mathematical point of view?

String Phenomenology?

>>8943291
i have mixed feelings and emotions

>>8948332
I have none of either of those. You should become a physicist like me. You should castrate yourself and remove all your body hair. Become a newtype.

>>8948008
Why do so many people on this board claim that physics degree is either a meme, or a bad idea for a degree?
t. military fag about to enroll in le higgs boson master race degreh next year

Math applied math double major:

Now that I'm in the field, I sometimes wish I had done comp sci + applied math. Sure I wouldn't know deeply about Hilbert spaces/measure theory but I've used that exactly 0 times since graduation

>>8946805

Math modeling. No doubt

>>8948973
Undergrad CS is a meme.

>>8948837
>about to enroll
You'll soon find out. Physics is the nice guy that got cucked by the real world for engineering. I think everyone in the thread is just salty, me inclusive.

>>8948992
That doesn't mean knowing a programming language as basic as python isn't useful as fuck when it comes to data processing, but that also doesn't mean you have to take a CS course to learn a programming language. It still helps a bunch.

>>8948837
Because it's a bad idea career wise. Academia and research is the only places for physicists to shine. Of course you can go into IT or finance or engineering, but you will always be behind specialists. Even math has much better industry career prospects. Don't go into physics unless planning to work in research or already set for life and doing it just for personal interest.

>>8949003
which one has the most fulfilling research career in general? physics or maths?

>>8949039
>physics: making groundbreaking discoveries about the universe using state-of-the-art technology
>math: sitting around making shit up with a pen and paper

>>8949039
what is maths research if not telling a computer to do something and returning a day later to see if it's passed the 1% completion mark yet.

>>8949039
Ignore the summer children's replies. Fulfillment depends entirely on you, your interests and aspirations. Both fields are vast and have completely different types of research to be done. At the same time there is a lot of common ground: many mathematicians concern themselves with mathematical physics, many physicists come up with new math for their theories. I'd recommend acquainting yourself with modern research topics in both and talking to people already involved to get some overview of the practical side.

>/sci/ doesn't get OP is making a pun.

>>8947868
>almost surely a lie
You heard this from Woit? He's irrelevant in hep-theory. As for whether it's worth it, it depends on what you want out of it. All the low-hanging fruit is already gone so if you want to do it to become famous, don't. If you have a chance to go for it, then go for it. It's worth it even if you don't think it leads anywhere. And i'm pretty sure that, as you get more familiar with strings, you will see why it's actually a very promising theory.
Read stringwiki and get yourself familiar with it, then choose topic of your thesis. There's a lot to be done.

>>8949141
thanks a lot anon. I really love both and am going to start out fresh after my CS degree (in which the only research interesting enough for me is easily available through maths), but I really can't pick one. I'll try to talk to some professors, especially in the physics side, since it's the one I'm in less contact with. Do you happen to know what are some recent (relevant) fields/topics in both areas ? Also, what are some of the top research producing universities regarding physics and maths, if you happen to know, just so I can take a look to the grad school curricula? Thanks a bunch

>tfw 4 semester physics bachelor
>tfw shit gpa and barely passed everything
>tfw already knew from semester 2 that every other degree is more useful in industry than physics
>tfw don't want to end up sitting in university my whole life
Physics really IS a meme. Trust me guys. Unless you're not minoring in CS nobody wants your shitty degree. I fucking hate my life choices.

American education is becoming a meme

>starting physics at uni in September
>see this thread

Should I just give up now?

>>8949153
> gandalf

>>8949229
Same here. Fuck sci

>>8949233
Why'd you pick it? I just picked it because I have no idea what I want to do and Physics seemed semi-interesting and leaves quite a few doors open career-wise

>Mfw about to complete my physics phd in climate science
Salty music and econ majors realizing they are brainlets ITT

>>8949235
Not a lot of requirements to get into a physics degree and it seems really interesting. I met some guy who did his phd on quantum comphting and it really interested me

>>8949238
>climate science

you know the bubble will burst one day?

>>8949238
>physics phd in climate science
This better be a joke

>>8949229
Of course not anon. I'm starting physics too and I'm a brainlet with no math experience. We'll all get there anon! Fuck being a desk piggie or a code slave I want to do something with my life.

literally every physics phd works outside of their field doing math and/or programming without any physics, it's kind of a waste

>no use for physics majors
Should computer scientists and engineers just call themselves physicists and vice versa? They are all distinct fields for a reason.

>>8949187
That's your fault. It isn't a meme.

It just means you weren't competent enough to get through the classes.

>>8949415
Yeah, but if you don't know if you want to be an accountant or software engineer or programmer, etc. then Physics is good because it shows you're intelligent and competent without ruling any of these careers out. Of course if you know 100% you're going to go into programming then you'd be better off doing a CS degree, or if you know you want to go into finance you'd be better doing a maths or Economics degree. But most people don't know 100% what they want to do at 17/18.

Physics is still significantly better than 90% of degrees, and all this knit-picking between Physics/CS/Maths/Engineering is so stupid

>>8949611
Whats better, ee with physics or se with obligatory coop?

>>8942442

>>8941148

Final year petrochemical engineer checking in.

Good to see you physicists and Comp Science pajeets working hard on academia donation wages, I'll need your research and software in 10 years to make more money with less effort.

>in b4 automation

Every oil well, platform, tanker, dock and refinery will need a qualified P. Chem. Engineer to sign off on quality checks / paperwork.

>in b4 green energy

Trump just guaranteed my job for another 25 years

Fresh out of high school brainlet checking in. Planning on going into some sort of environmental science or whatever the fuck it's called. How well would that pan out in your opinion?

>>8946889
Is condensed matter really that good? I go to the school with the #1 program in it, but wondering if it's a meme or worthwhile pursuing.

>>8951501
It depends on what you like. If you're more of a mathematician or you want to work on hard stuff, hep-theory is the way to go (bonus points for string theory). Not that condensed matter isn't hard, but it lacks the beauty of more fundamental theories. Condensed matter is pretty hot stuff right now so it's definitely worth pursuing, it's PhD for free.

>>8950279
Lol have fun competing for the few jobs with all the other petroleum retards who think they're gonna get rich because,"oil Bro" and yeah I'll have fun with my abundance of cs jobs

>>8942967

Could you give an example, or do you have no idea what you're talking about?

>>8951648

>but it lacks the beauty of more fundamental theories

What do you mean by that exactly? Condensed is based on QM and EM, it doesn't get more fundamental that that

Do you mean research is mainly done into the applications? like semiconductors

>>8951739
I mean that as part of your research, you won't be trying to answer fundamental questions about Nature or our universe. Rather, you will be using current knowledge to push technology. But that's totally worthwhile if that's your thing. If you went into physics to change the world, condensed matter is currently the best branch to go into. If you went to physics to push our understanding of Nature, hep-theory (strings in particular) is the branch to go into.

>>8951797
>fundamental questions

>>8951797
>if you want your life legacy to be a dozen footnotes in papers nobody reads
When you put it like that it sounds even more appealing. There are more string theorists than fish in the sea.

>>8943852
That's some bullshit right there. No offense but NASA and countless other enterprises and governments are researching. Look at the james webb telescope that will launch next year for example. Very ambitious project, took forever to build and its purpose is not making money real fast, but to find out stuff about the universe.

>>8951811
Depends on who you get to work with and how good you are, string theory is the place to be. There are other areas of interest in hep-theory that are more suitable for not-geniuses if all you want is to be famous. Even a mediocre string theorist will get to work on some very interesting things. But again, it depends on why you chose physics. I'm not in it to put my name on anything or to make space travel possible, i'm in it to better understand how Nature works. I've never seen a successful theorist that wanted to be famous or even significant. Even the biggest names went for it because they want to know how Nature works. I'd bet my ass on them being in strings even if they were the last person to work on it.

>>8949819
I'd argue coop is pretty obligatory for all of them.

>>8951843
>capitalizing nature
spinoza pls go

I don't see how directly working on current flavor of the month Theory of Everything is necessarily the best way of contributing to understanding of nature. Tangible innovations in less "cerebral" and more down to earth fields strike me as more effective in that regard than countless paper on playing with abstractions and trying to find a reality-congruent math model.

>>8951865
Many people interpret nature as life, Nature makes it clear that i mean principles of our (and any possible) universe.
String theory has been "flavor of the month" ever since it was discovered just how deeply intertwined it is to everything else in theoretical physics. It isn't necessarily the best way, but it certainly deepens our knowledge the most because, well "Theory of Everything". These countless papers on abstractions that you speak have tangible effects on other branches of physics (like condensed matter) and help bring innovation in these fields. The problem string theory is facing isn't a problem of numbers. As you said, there are many people working on string theory. The unconvenient thing is lack of talent in string theory. Low hanging fruit is already gone and we desperately need more talent, not necessarily numbers (but talent eventually comes with numbers). I would gladly exchange 70% of string theorists for another Witten because that's the level of talent string theory requires to keep advancing.

>>8941148
You didin't fall for any meme. Physics is the master race.
>mfw have a masters in physics
>mfw objectively smarter than most of the sheeple wandering around being wagecucks

>>8943626
>>8943291
Samefag. You really need to change your attitude. It's pathetic

>>8947131
You can just become an engineer via a postgrad course.

>>8943413
keked then i realized I got a c- in calc2 but that's because I got really lazy in the middle of the semester

>>8946562
I'm confused, what do physicians in the US major in if they don't have a medicine major?

>>8952997
Anything they want. The most common majors for premeds are biology and chemistry but you can major in art history or something completely unrelated to health if you want.You don't have to major in anything in particular during undergrad to get into med school. You just need to complete a number of prerequisite classes. A year of general chemistry, a year of organic chemistry, a year of physics, a year of calculus, a year of biology, and maybe a semester of statistics and biochemistry are what's usually required. You also have to take a standardized test called the MCAT to be eligible for admission. On top of that you have to be a nearly perfect student in order to get in if you're white or asian, it's incredibly competitive.

>>8946937
you are actually retarded

>>8949187
Physics Premed here (5th semester). Don't think it will be a meme.
feel like I'm miles ahead of the biology/chemistry crowd because they never learn how to actually study.

>>8952758
>pls no bully

>>8953081
>they never learn how to actually study.
Could you enlighten us Anon? How should one study?

>>8953128
hmm I worded that poorly. They don't know how to handle a lot of course work; they always bitch for having to do a 2-3 hour lab report. Study was the wrong word, my bad anon

>>8953152
If they can't handle 2 hours they should reconsider their career choice

>>8952775
That's because while there is huge competition into getting into Engineering right out of HS, the numbers thin considerably by the end of the 4 years. Personally I'm taking a 4 year physics honour course that includes some electronic engineering papers, which might be more in the career zone.