- #1
Starbug
- 17
- 0
Hi,
I'm thinking about whether to try for a Phd or not and am having some doubts. I have quite a few reasons for wanting to do it, most of these are quite broad and general though, and I've yet to settle on a specialism that I'm certain is right for me. I think I'd like an academic career because I love physics generally, I would be really dissapointed if my education had to stop at undergraduate level, I'd want a job where there a challenging puzzles instead of just drudgery, I think it would be a really nice working environment, it'd be great to spend my days in an instituition of learning and getting to hear about other people's research. I think I'd really enjoy teaching undergraduates as well.
However, I must admit when I look at a lot of the research topics that are offered I'm a bit anxious about committing myself to three years focusing on just that one topic. So I wondered, do people think it's a bad idea to start a Phd if your attitude to the topic is more along the lines of "that's could be an interesting problem", as opposed to "that's fascinating and profound and will keep me awake at night".
Also, I wanted to ask about career progression after you finish your doctorate. How much freedom do you typically have to get positions researching areas away from your specialism? Is it even possible to make quite large career jumps, say from something in medical physics to econo-physics or similiar? (The reason I ask is that there are quite a lot of diverse areas that interest me, obviously I can't work in them all at once, but it'd be good to know to what extent I'm closing down future options.)
I'm thinking about whether to try for a Phd or not and am having some doubts. I have quite a few reasons for wanting to do it, most of these are quite broad and general though, and I've yet to settle on a specialism that I'm certain is right for me. I think I'd like an academic career because I love physics generally, I would be really dissapointed if my education had to stop at undergraduate level, I'd want a job where there a challenging puzzles instead of just drudgery, I think it would be a really nice working environment, it'd be great to spend my days in an instituition of learning and getting to hear about other people's research. I think I'd really enjoy teaching undergraduates as well.
However, I must admit when I look at a lot of the research topics that are offered I'm a bit anxious about committing myself to three years focusing on just that one topic. So I wondered, do people think it's a bad idea to start a Phd if your attitude to the topic is more along the lines of "that's could be an interesting problem", as opposed to "that's fascinating and profound and will keep me awake at night".
Also, I wanted to ask about career progression after you finish your doctorate. How much freedom do you typically have to get positions researching areas away from your specialism? Is it even possible to make quite large career jumps, say from something in medical physics to econo-physics or similiar? (The reason I ask is that there are quite a lot of diverse areas that interest me, obviously I can't work in them all at once, but it'd be good to know to what extent I'm closing down future options.)