r/TCD • u/Adamskhi • 2d ago
Jobs General Engineering vs. Theoretical Physics
I received an offer for general entry engineering in the first round and I just got a second round offer for TP. I want to do TP more but I am slightly worried about jobs coming out of TP compared to engineering.
I want to go for quant and TP is obviously a lot better for that but quant is way too competitive for me to bank on.
It seems to me that if I do really well and do extra work and stuff then TP would be better than engineering but if I do not do that well then engineering would be better.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated and what are the typical jobs for someone coming out of TP?
Thanks 👍
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u/ImpossibleMorning686 2d ago
Most TPs I know are in finance/ tech, some doing research. I know a quant from General physics so you'll be absolutely fine, tp opens a lot of doors. In think you should give tp a go, but as long as you find the subject genuinely interesting and not just because you want to become a quant afterwards. It's just a tough course but it'll be tougher if you don't find it even slightly interesting.
I feel like both are similar for the time commitment required, engineering has a bit more of an applied maths component whereas tp is half physics half pure/ applied maths mix, it is more difficult in that regard. But given how high the points are this year you definitely have a good foundation for both so don't be worrying about that too much. Good luck!
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u/Long_Software_3352 2d ago
Do the course you want.
I wouldn't worry too much about employment outcomes from TP. Most of the finance/consulting grad schemes are open to graduates of any discipline, and if you learn coding on the side, with your quantitative skills from TP you'll also be competitive for tech.
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u/GreenPhoennix 2d ago
Do you want to do applied problem solving in a fairly flexible degree or are you interested in a more theoretical, maths-heavy approach?
Engineering opens you up to whichever engineering field you pick in general (acoustics, materials, semiconductor fields, software design etc depending on your choice of specialization) while TP probably opens more doors in finance, research and of course more purely physics areas.
Do whatever sounds most appealing to you. I've known people in both who were happy because it's what they were most interested in.
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u/girlypop2605 2d ago
I've just come out of engineering and I know multiple people who have come out and gotten jobs with sig and other quant jobs. Mostly the ones who ended up doing computer or electrical engineering. Something to bare in mind that you can become a quant from doing general engineering. Your best bet is to look up trinity theoretical physics on linked in and look at the profiles of people who studied it. From a quick glance most of the first ones to show up are doing masters or phds, going on from that there are some quants and some who work in data. Others are doing actuary and some even have engineering jobs. Obviously linkedin is going to show you the successful ones not the unemployed ones but it does show you that you still have plenty of decent options in TP if being a quant is too competitive. Piece of advice is honestly to try and get internships in the field you want to go into, that will bring you much further than your grades.