- #1
CRichard
- 20
- 1
Hi everyone. I apologize, I’ve posted about the situation I’ve been going through before but I wanted to ask a different question. I've been feeling frustrated for a while with what I've been studying. Right after I graduated undergrad with a biology degree in 2013, I went into a PT program, but withdrew after 1 year after realizing PT was not for me. During the year after that, I wasted some time after my withdrawal (I think I fell into a sort of depression) and then got a part-time job at a private chemical lab and took a class as a prerequisite to a clinical lab sciences program. I was accepted into the program, and began full-time classes this fall. I've been doing fine grade-wise, but have been frustrated. The main thing is, in the last few years I've gotten to really enjoy math and physics. My main regret from undergrad is not majoring in math and physics. In math, I love how, starting from basic postulates and using logic, you can rigorously prove interesting theorems. For physics, I love how you can describe the world (using math). I love, for instance, how Maxwell predicted the speed of an electromagnetic wave using rules that had been established for electricity and magnetism, and that speed turned out to be the speed of light. Or how Einstein had his insight about gravity in general relativity, and made mathematical predictions that explained things about mercury’s orbit. One day I would like to look into these 2 revolutions mathematically and understand how they actually were discovered. But I’m also excited about more simpler, “less exciting” physics. I think I have caught (or always had but never realized) the math/physics “bug” and would love to learn more about them, but I made a mistake and majored in the wrong thing in college. I do like biology and chemistry to a certain extent, but it’s not the same and I often can’t help but feel frustrated that I’m not studying what I feel is my true passion. I believe I can make it through the CLS program academically, but I believe I would be more motivated in studying math/physics. And my worst fear is that I make it through the program but hate / can’t handle / get burnt out quickly from the job itself. To be clear, I don’t have a specific career in mind for math / physics. I’ve considered teaching because I really love learning and love watching good lecturers who are entertaining and clear. I think I would like lesson-planning and preparing demos and activities. However, the problem is that I have really bad social anxiety and have struggled to relate well, especially in public speaking. I’m trying to improve in that area. I’ve considered other career paths, like engineering, computer science, and actuary. I guess my main reason for questioning my career choice is not that I am envious of another career (although I do like the thought of teaching possibly), but mainly that I love studying math and physics. I really want to study them on my own, even if I’m not taking them formally because they are fascinating to me. I would like to study calculus (single variable and multivariable), linear algebra, differential equations, probability, statistics, and discrete mathematics for math. For physics, I’d want to study classical mechanics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. After that, I’d want to hopefully study differential geometry and general relativity. I don’t know if that’s feasible for self-study with a career on top of that, but either way I’d like to keep going as far as I can. I know this sounds crazy and there’s a lot of drawbacks to withdrawing again to pursue a completely new subject. I still live with my parents (turning 25 soon) and they have already spent a lot of money for my education. In total it’s about $73,705 for my first bachelor’s, first year of PT school, and this first semester of the CLS program (which is 2 years long). I hate myself for that and wish I was more a lot more aware earlier on and knew what I wanted to do, and was proactive in college. Moreover I don’t have a clear concept of what I would want to do with my physics/math education, apart from possibly teach (if I can get past anxiety hurtles and the difficult situation with common core education in the US today). As for CLS, I’ve heard a lot of different opinions on it. There is a lot of job security, since there is a shortage of jobs (not many people hear about it or are interested in it). However, I’ve heard a lot of different opinions (good and bad) on the stress level and job satisfaction. I’ve enjoyed some of the lab work so far, but haven’t enjoyed other parts too. All I know is that I really enjoy math and physics. I was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences and if anyone thinks my situation is a “consider it more and go after your passion” situation or “you are crazy and stick with what could be a stable career and try to get it as soon as possible” situation.
Sorry for the long post, and thanks for any advice.
Sorry for the long post, and thanks for any advice.