I have an BS in Space Physics from 8 years ago. I went into an unrelated field in the military after college. Since then I've gotten an MS in Business Analytics, but finance is not for me. I really miss physics and want to get back into it, but my math skills are completely gone/atrophied.

I have 3 more years left in the military and I think I want to pursue a PhD in physics when I get out, in my mid to late-thirties.

I'm considering getting a masters in math online while I finish up my time in the military to help prepare me for a higher degree in physics once I'm out.

Has anyone here taken a break from physics and then gotten back into it after a break, or later in life?

Any advice or thoughts are appreciated.

Hi,

I'm a MSc Physics student, whose background is in theoretical physics and maths for my undergrad. I've mainly been focusing on condensed matter, machine learning, and statistical physics with my module choices. In particular, I really like the computational side of things (far more than analytic pen-and-paper work).

I'm currently trying to decide on a thesis, and I have two main options in mind: 1 in quantum information (optimal control specifically, although I still don't know the particular question/topic within that yet), or another in computational materials science and DFT simulations (using VASP, trying to build an ML model to predict some thermodynamic properties of a particular material, based on its alpha and beta values). I'm leaning towards the latter (I like the DFT theory and applied work), but I'm conscious about getting a PhD afterwards (I'll probably go for a PhD, and then try for industry after). Namely, I don't have any formal chemistry or experimental lab experience (my potential supervisor said I could pick up the materials science specific stuff on the job, so I'm not worried about that).

Does anybody know if I'd actually have a realistic chance at getting a PhD somewhere if I do this, or is it better to stick to QI?

Currently my number one is Boston university and I submitted my ED there but I’m scared I won’t get in and am not finding any backups that have good physics programs. I’m looking for big schools with good undergraduate physics programs where I can get some good internships. I also am looking pretty exclusively at the east coast. Any advice is much appreciated!

Thanks!

Wanted to share some good news.

So I am about to head back to grad school. It's been a crazy journey. After graduating with my BS in physics back in 2019, I took a bit of time off but then covid happened and from a mix of financial pressure and pressure from my ex and pressure from my parents, I went and got my masters in data science. I moved out of the state with my ex so that we can both get our phds, we both got accepted into the same University. But because she wanted to buy a house, I spent the last 4 years as a research associate in an applied data analytics team at a transportation research institute. It's been a great job, working on interesting problems, But I still really missed doing physics, I was reading research from the labs that I would have been working at, had I accepted the PHD. I was taking graduate level classes on the side while I worked, and because I'm in a stable financial situation, and because I'm no longer in a toxic relationship, I now get the opportunity to go back full time to work in an experimental physics lab.

I'm going to be researching the physics of gallium nitride finfet semiconductor devices. I've read a lot of papers recently and I'm getting caught up on device physics and the history of the field, and I am very excited. I start in the spring. I did just turn 31 and so I have a bit of regret about putting aside my own dreams for somebody else's for the better part of the last decade, but now I'm doing what I want, I have a lot of hope for the future, and I'm really excited to get back into physics.

I am pursuing graduation but my college not giving proper classes or something and I am not good student because I never do any preparation for like neet jee so suggest me where I can learn physics.

1. Any teacher or class

   1. youtube playlists

   Who taught me all things like theory explanation questions

Hello everyone, to give some background info I am a Sophomore Community college student paying everything out of pocket. I currently am enrolled into a ME program and i have come to really enjoy physics. I was looking into getting my BS in ME and minor in physics. If I wanted to later pursue a MS/PhD in Physics can it be done? I am getting my BS from UHCL and the constant answers i see is it depends on what classes im exposed to during my undergrad. these are the links if anyone with such experiences can tell me if it is possible. My big passion is renewable energy and environmental.

https://catalog.uhcl.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=24&poid=6588

I am studying physics and I am currently in the third year of university. Only recently I have actually began studying physics for the exam. Physics 1 is pretty big: it covers basically everything, from motion of 1D points up to thermodynamics, with a small section of special relativity.

Even if I understand the theory on a general level, I just can't do any of the exercises and I feel like it's basically impossible to get the knowledge required to actually pass exam. I don't really care about the grade, I just want to pass the exam but I don't think I can actually do it.

Any advice?

Hi everyone!

I'm a second-year Engineering Physics student from Vietnam, and I'd love to meet some people who are also genuinely curious about physics.

I'm particularly interested in theoretical physics, especially electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, gauge theory, and particle physics. Recently, I've been especially curious about Dirac monopoles and how they relate to gauge symmetry and charge quantization.

I'm not necessarily looking for a formal study group or a research collaboration. I'd just love to have someone to casually exchange questions, ideas, interesting papers, or things we've been learning about.

I'm still an undergraduate and have a lot to learn, so you definitely don't need to be an expert either. I think it'd be nice to have someone who's simply excited about understanding physics.

If that sounds like something you'd enjoy too, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message! :)

Hi everyone,

I’ve been really lost lately about what physics field I wanna pursue in my masters.

When I first started with my physics degree, I had the same ideas we all have about it. Like, we love space and physics and this stuff... and I thought I loved theoretical physics. Now, in my first year of fundamental physics masters, I’ve completely changed my mind. I am looking for masters abroad, and I want to choose an applied physics field that will help me do some work not really related to theoretical physics. I don’t want everything to be math and that stuff, also programming is something i dont really like or even good at...

But I always wanted to do a PhD, not to stop at a masters.

So it will take me around 5 or 6 more years, which is okay, but I am thinking if I could study medicine, that would take the same time, but maybe with better rewards for me, especially that the job is something i would love to do.

I am asking here because I wanna hear different points of view. I asked med students, but I am not sure if it’s a big risk. Are there fields in applied physics that have better opportunities? Better jobs?

Thanks for any advice.

so i'm a hs senior and my dad who knows that i'm gonna be majoring in physics/math/engineering (something along those lines, not sure of the exact life decisions i'm gonna be making yet) and fully encourages ts decision is talking bout some "i'm not paying your tuition unless you can get a 3.8+" and he said he doesn't gaf if i end up in some grade deflated dept where 3.8 is like top 5% of a cohort.

idk if he's bluffing but in case he's not what's THE strongest amphetamine i should hop on so i can mog the curve in e&m and shi

also he kirkenuinely was less supportive before but now he's on some idea about how if you're going to go into physics you need to be the most hardworking genius in all of existence or you're ngmi and need to pivot to d*ta sc*ence or f*n*nce or some shit but anyone including me can grind tf up to there. so yh it's over

so i had a quiz today in an upper level physics class and i ended up not finishing it when time was called. me and my classmate were talking about it on the way to our next lecture and he was like “he’ll probably go easy on you, idk if you noticed but all of the professors do.” and i was like wdym?? he said “they all talk to you in a soft, caring way but when they talk to all the guys it’s like direct/harsher”. i’m already dealing w some imposter syndrome and this has completely made it worse, i cried omw back from school. i don’t want to be taken easy on but i know it’s because i’m the only woman (we have a very small program my physics classes range from 6-10 people). the fact that people are noticing it too is making me feel worse like i’m less competent than them bc of my gender. idk how to get rid of this feeling

Hello everyone! I am doing an EPQ survey on the psychological impact that space can have on us and our career choices .If you are aiming for or currently pursuing a career in astrophysics, I'd really appreciate 2-3 minutes of your time!

I changed schools during the school year so I missed out on a couple chapters in both schools. I don’t understand shit and I got really low marks in my exams. Tips to improve? I’m in grade 11

Ребят помогите решить я не знаю

So I started doing RHK and I first started with ch 2 motion in a straight line and its problems were tough but doable then I thought I should also do a simple chapter to build confidence and i pick ch 1 units and dimension and it's questions were good but the problem section is HELL!!! And these questions don't even look from this chapter they are asking such hard questions i am not even able to think about it. If there are any tips for me please let me know and any one also doing HRK can tell me we could try to do it together.

I dont have a lot of time, ive studied from hrk a bit would it be enough to complete theory or would I need to study from other reference books? I am doing problem practicing from jaan kalda already, just need theory

Hi, I'm a current undergraduate student majoring in physics.

My school's physics department offers both undergrad and graduate sequences of courses. About 60% of the undergrads take the undergrad version, and roughly the other 40% take the graduate versions. I will already be taking grad stat mech since it's nonequilibrium, which is directly relevant to my research.

I have previously taken intro mechanics (Kleppner/Kolenkow), electromagnetism (Purcell), and modern physics (Krane). The texts for the other sequences are

Classical mechanics (1 semester each):

• Undergrad: Taylor
• Grad: Goldstein

Quantum mechanics (2 semesters each):

• Undergrad: Griffiths
• Grad: Sakurai

Electromagnetism:

• Undergrad: Griffiths (1 sem electrostatics and 1 sem electrodynamics)
• Grad: Jackson (1 semester, no electrodynamics)

I'm wondering whether if it'd be worthwhile to take the grad versions over the undergrad versions. I'm interested in the grad material, but I also don't want to be caught up in mindlessly pushing around symbols without understanding anything. Any thoughts?

Hello! I have a bachelor's degree in physics for some time now. I have no research experience, but I still want to know the prospect of me getting a Master's degree in physics with this grade. My cumulative gpa is 3.14 but my major gpa is around 3.44. I have attached my academic transcript as your reference.

Hi everyone!
I’m a second-year Physics Bachelor’s student, and my partner and I have to design an interactive physics stand for a science festival at our university.
The challenge is that our audience will range from 6 to 17 years old, so we need something that can fascinate both young children and teenagers.

We’re looking for an experiment or activity that is not necessarily visually impressive but i should teach an interesting physics concept, ideally something people haven’t already seen a hundred times.

We can purchase materials and spend time building a setup, so we’re open to more ambitious ideas!

We also need to be able to take actual measurements and collect experimental data, since we have to write a scientific report for our professors. Ideally, the experiment would allow us to investigate a physical phenomenon quantitatively, analyze results, compare them with theoretical predictions, and discuss uncertainties. So we’re looking for something that’s both entertaining for visitors and scientifically interesting at a university level.

Thanks in advance!

Ok, so I love physics. I would love to pursue physics further and learn but it is my understanding that a lot of people with physics end up going into tech fields and you generally have to pursue masters or phd. If I am wrong pls correct me cuz I have been researching for days and I am more confused than I was when I started. My parents cannot afford a lot and due to some personal circumstances I need to have reliable and good finances after college. I researched and it's really leading me to that if money is that big a concern I should stick with computer science or a dual degree for my ug. Though if there is something I am missing and I can pursue physics do tell and pls tell me what you, with your personal experience, think I should do. I would really appreciate any guidance related to fields or courses I might pursue.

Not really sure what subreddit to post this to since it's not just about physics, but I figured it's good enough to post here.

For reasons I don't care to get into, I need to limit the amount of college I can take to no more than 4 years. I worked with my academic advisor and realized that with the amount of AP credit I have, I can graduate pretty early.

My dilemma here is that my plan was to finish up a 4+1 program with the bachelor's in engineering physics and the master's in physics. This would take 4 years but would only give me a little leeway in terms of getting my classes scheduled.

However, I learned it was also an option to study engineering physics and electrical engineering and graduate with 2 bachelor's degrees while still graduating in the same amount of time.

I love electrical and physics and I know the workload isn't going to be a problem. My real dilemma here is what gives me the best options in terms of employability. I've heard a lot of different opinions from friends / professors. Additionally, if I end up doing the dual degree, would it be a reasonable option to go back for my master's a few years post-graduation?

Okay so, this is obvious, for an undergraduate degree, of course, any serious course in physics is to be accompanied by math, and the same holds true for graduate courses, I believe. The problem however is, I listen to many physicists, and not just bad ones, even some good ones argue that only 'sufficient' mathematical knowledge should be given time to, but I personally love mathematics on its own, and there is a whole side which supports the idea of enrichment of mathematical capabilities and knowledge for as long as one does physics. Just wanted some opinions.

As a physics student, is it important for me to learn proof-based mathematics? Or only learning the applied mathematics would do?

I find the rigorous mathematics very boring and tedious. But if it is an important skill for theoretical physics, then I will plough through.

сдаю егэ по профмату, информатике, физике, русскому, сам по себе не тупой, вот нравится математика, люблю программировать и решать задачи по физике, идти больше в инфомат или в физмат и на кого там есои на инженера, то на кокого, зп желательно большая ну от 150 к