Is Dual-Majoring the Key to Securing a Job in Physics?

[div4200]

I currently a college freshman in engineering, but I am beginning to doubt my choice of field. It's not that engineering is necessarily unpleasant to me; I respect appreciate what engineers do. It's just that I've realized that it's too "applied" for me, in other words there is not enough theoretical science and too much focus on practical applications. I've come to realize that my real interest is in physics. But while I know that engineering jobs are in demand, I've heard that it's hard to get a jobs with physics. I COULD dual-major with something like comp. sci., philosophy, or even electrical engineering. So I guess I really have two questions:

1. How easy is it to get a job with a physics degree and what kind of jobs could I get? (I'm not sure if I'm planning to go to grad school).

2. If I dual-majored, how would this change things? For example, would physics + comp. sci. help me get a job programming physics engines, and would physics + philosophy prepare me for work in theoretical physics / grad school?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Pengwuino]

Philosophy won't help you one bit as far as working as a physicist.

The job prospects depend on what you're looking for. If you want to teach high school, you'll have people throwing money at you to become one. If you want a good position in academia, it's the exact opposite, your chances are slim to none. If you want work in industry, it varies but the prospects in general are really good if you don't just half *** your way through school getting C's and not trying to really improve your skills. The only physics grads that I know who aren't employed in their field either A) never even tried to get employment in their field or B) never tried to really gain programming skills that are necessary in the real world.

I don't think it's really necessary to get a dual major in CS though. I suspect it's like the time I've wasted taking math courses to improve my mathematical skills. Theres a few weeks where you really learn some interesting things that you can relate to your physics work, but in the end you could have just learned it on your own off to the side and not spent all the time doing... mathy stuff. heh. In the end I'm sure employers won't say "Oh look a CS degree, he must know what he needs to know", they'll ask "Do you know X, Y, and Z languages that we use?" and CS degree be damned if you didn't pick those languages up on the way

 

[nlsherrill]

I currently a college freshman in engineering, but I am beginning to doubt my choice of field. It's not that engineering is necessarily unpleasant to me; I respect appreciate what engineers do. It's just that I've realized that it's too "applied" for me, in other words there is not enough theoretical science and too much focus on practical applications. I've come to realize that my real interest is in physics. But while I know that engineering jobs are in demand, I've heard that it's hard to get a jobs with physics. I COULD dual-major with something like comp. sci., philosophy, or even electrical engineering. So I guess I really have two questions:

1. How easy is it to get a job with a physics degree and what kind of jobs could I get? (I'm not sure if I'm planning to go to grad school).

2. If I dual-majored, how would this change things? For example, would physics + comp. sci. help me get a job programming physics engines, and would physics + philosophy prepare me for work in theoretical physics / grad school?

Thanks in advance!

answer to questions:

1.Its actually not hard to get a job with a physics degree. I forgot who posted statistics recently of 2010 physics graduates, but there were only a small percentage that were unable to secure jobs. Most of the jobs I do believe were engineering based however. You can pretty much guarantee you won't be getting a "physics" job though.

2.A double major in physics and some kind of engineering/computer science would make you highly marketable, but probably not much more than just with an engineering degree. I commonly see electrical engineering/physics and sometimes aerospace and physics. As for Philosophy, I hate to say but that would be pointless for a physics major. If you look at this history of philosophy, you see that once natural science and empiricism came around, philosophy started conforming to whatever science seemed to uncover. This is apparent now especially since the formulation of quantum mechanics. If you wanted to double major in something along with physics with the intention of going to graduate school for theoretical physics, then mathematics would be the top choice.

 

[div4200]

So do most physics majors eventually go on to the engineering industry or grad school for engineering? In other words, do most physics majors accept that becoming a research physicist is a pipe dream? Or no?

 

[lubuntu]

So do most physics majors eventually go on to the engineering industry or grad school for engineering? In other words, do most physics majors accept that becoming a research physicist is a pipe dream? Or no?

Becoming a research physicist is a broad respect is not a pipe dream. I think you mean becoming a tenure-track professor, which is very difficult but not impossible.

I'd imagine very few physics majors go to engineering grad school. I think about half go for a Ph.D. in physics and the other half get jobs of various kinds including programming and engineering type positions.