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/sci/ - Science & Math

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5420097 No.5420097 [Reply] [Original]

/sci/, I was recently accepted to a prestigious university, which career is more useful/better to pursue: Physics or MechE. I like physics better, meche seems safer. General Physics/MechE discussion thread

>> No.5420120

self bimp

>> No.5420125

What the hell is MechE?

And don't expect to make any money doing physics. It'll be rewarding, but not financially so.

>> No.5420131

define "safer".

>> No.5420134

>>5420125
mechanical engineering

>> No.5420135

>>5420125
Mechanical engineering.
And yeah, I know. But 50k a year doing something I really love is better than 100k+ a year going through the motions, imo.
>>5420131
Job security, financial.

>> No.5420147

>>5420135
With a PhD in physics, you'd likely make at least 100k, according to bls (US).

>> No.5420148

>>5420135
>50k a year
>physics

Yeah it's gonna be more like 35k. It's peanuts unless you discover something amazing.

>> No.5420156

>>5420147

Nonsense, you need to actually discover something before you'll get a decent wage. The path of the postdoc is fraught with people who are earning not much doing other people's experiments. One day, you get a breakthrough and become a reader, and then you push to about 70k, then if you gain a fellowship, you become obscenely wealthy.

The fellows mistreat the postdocs. The readers, and the researchers mistreat the postdocs. And the postdocs mistreat the grad students. The grad students pass this on to the undergrads!

>> No.5420165

>>5420156
I'm guessing you're a grad student. Which university?
>>5420147
Don't be silly. Even so, I'd need a job first, which is hard enough as is. Although a degree from MIT makes it easier, I would assume.

>> No.5420171

>>5420156

Nah I'm not a grad student. I'm an undergrad, but on the path (hopefully) to the postgrad path. I have a lot of dealings with the postgrads cos I'm arranging to work for my department this summer. Doing experiments using lasers to look at molecules. Should be fun!

I shan't reveal which uni, because I don't want to be identified. It's not in the US though.

>> No.5420196

>>5420171
interesting stuff. I'm looking at particle physics. Hoping for an undergrad research position next/the following year.

>> No.5420214

Engineering, hands down, no questions asked. Physics is pointless at the undergrad level.

>> No.5420217

>>5420214
I plan on getting a PhD

>> No.5420220

>>5420217
No problem. Do engineering first as a fallback and work on the PhD later.

>> No.5420222

>>5420220
Engineering only goes through basic physics courses. There are many many credits that I wouldn't be getting pursuing an engineering degree. I wouldn't even be close to an undergrad, nevermind a graduate degree in phy.

>> No.5420236

>>5420222
If you're smart enough, you can self-teach what you're missing out on. But if you really want the lecture experience, then you can double major if you have the work ethic for it.

I'm not an engineering guy myself, so it's not like I have a stake in the matter, but I do know that engineering is magnitudes safer and more lucrative. That's my sole reason for recommending an engineering degree. Again, even if you don't want to do it, it would be wise to have it as a fallback in case you didn't make it in the physics world.

>> No.5420239

>>5420097
Money-wise the spread is greater with physics: you have the dirt-poor postdoc toiling away at minimum wage 80h/week with the foolish hope of one day becoming a professor, but you also have the quant with a six-figure starting paycheck.

Engineers usually can start wherever something needs to be built, repaired, improved, identified, planned, etc...
Stating wage should be decent, esp. if you are from a good university, however I think it is very rare to find an Engineer who really makes a lot of money.

Of course if you really like research, go for physics.

>> No.5420257

>>5420239

This man speaks truth.

For me, I want to do physical chemistry. I have no hope of ever making money. Ever.

>> No.5420265

>>5420239
I like research. Is a research job essentially guaranteed with a physics degree? (regardless of it being very difficult work).

>> No.5420281

>>5420265
Short answer is no.

>> No.5420292

>>5420281
well that kind of sucks.

>> No.5420312

In California a physics major winds up as a code nigger or an engineering technician at lower pay than people with degrees in that field.

Practice saying this 10 times a day, "But i can do anything an engineer can do."

>> No.5420465

>>5420265
>>5420281
Actually I would say yes.
Its probably going to be a job without decent pay and a 2 year limited contract, but those arent too hard to get.
You always have Professors looking for grunts doing the dirty jobs at minimum wage.

Finding a good research job, yes that might be hard.