- #1
Hertz
- 180
- 8
Hello there,
So I'm 23 years old, been passionately studying physics for some time now. Oh it's been fun and fascinating, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I could apply for my B.S. in physics any day now. I've always been great at physics. My conceptual understandings, my neat and unique organizational skills, ooh I get giddy just thinking about it. I mess around with all types of mathematical modeling on scratch paper just cause I love it and I feel it's in some way useful.
Anyways, I'm older now, and that stuff doesn't seem to matter. They've got me driving places and studying code. But this isn't what I learned in school. This isn't what I'm good at and it isn't what I enjoy. And every day I feel more and more like my passion for theory is useless. I'm supposed to know what I want to study. But I don't know general relativity, I don't understand inflation, how could I possibly make such an important decision? They're paying me 8.25 per hour. I feel like I'm being used. Here I am immersed in student loan debt being paid poverty level wages to do non-physics.
On top of that I'm kinda depressed, I have no girl in my life, my everlasting social circle seems extremely stagnant.. I'm supposed to have applied for grad school, but I haven't, I haven't taken my GRE and I feel like I let down my research group during all this so I don't even feel like I have a research letter of recommendation.
To distract myself from all of this I look up to the TV just to find that Donald Trump is running for president.
On one hand I feel like I should "finish what I started" and go for the PhD, but on the other hand I feel like this is an extremely important time in my life and maybe I should consider taking another direction. Maybe focus more on what's going to make me money. Or maybe something more drastic like going into politics or another field in philosophy. I do care very much so about politics lately. And do you even think I could compete in grad school with this type of mindset?
Anyways, any advice, any questions? I really want to travel. I know the world map like the back of my hand but I've spent my whole life in Utah. I'm learning German because I was thinking I might be able to get involved in research in Switzerland or something. Do you think that's a likely possibility?
Apologies for the perhaps overwhelming post. Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
So I'm 23 years old, been passionately studying physics for some time now. Oh it's been fun and fascinating, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I could apply for my B.S. in physics any day now. I've always been great at physics. My conceptual understandings, my neat and unique organizational skills, ooh I get giddy just thinking about it. I mess around with all types of mathematical modeling on scratch paper just cause I love it and I feel it's in some way useful.
Anyways, I'm older now, and that stuff doesn't seem to matter. They've got me driving places and studying code. But this isn't what I learned in school. This isn't what I'm good at and it isn't what I enjoy. And every day I feel more and more like my passion for theory is useless. I'm supposed to know what I want to study. But I don't know general relativity, I don't understand inflation, how could I possibly make such an important decision? They're paying me 8.25 per hour. I feel like I'm being used. Here I am immersed in student loan debt being paid poverty level wages to do non-physics.
On top of that I'm kinda depressed, I have no girl in my life, my everlasting social circle seems extremely stagnant.. I'm supposed to have applied for grad school, but I haven't, I haven't taken my GRE and I feel like I let down my research group during all this so I don't even feel like I have a research letter of recommendation.
To distract myself from all of this I look up to the TV just to find that Donald Trump is running for president.
On one hand I feel like I should "finish what I started" and go for the PhD, but on the other hand I feel like this is an extremely important time in my life and maybe I should consider taking another direction. Maybe focus more on what's going to make me money. Or maybe something more drastic like going into politics or another field in philosophy. I do care very much so about politics lately. And do you even think I could compete in grad school with this type of mindset?
Anyways, any advice, any questions? I really want to travel. I know the world map like the back of my hand but I've spent my whole life in Utah. I'm learning German because I was thinking I might be able to get involved in research in Switzerland or something. Do you think that's a likely possibility?
Apologies for the perhaps overwhelming post. Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks for reading.