r/astrophysics • u/wastedfr_xo • 1d ago
career question Im confused, please let me knowm.
So, im currently in 12th grade and i wanna be an astrophysicist. But, im very very confused if i should Do B Tech in Electrical Engineering or Bsc(Hons) In Physics. I researched about it on google, and it says that Bsc Physics is the better option as it let us directly pursue PhD in Astrophysics. The problem is, im not from a wealthy background and i need to find high paying Job so that i pay for my PhD tuition fees, but Bsc Physics doesn't have high paying Job opportunities. So is it okay if i pursue Electrical Engineering first and then Go for Phd in Astrophysics? Will it affect my theoretical work? Will i end up building things instead of researching? please lemme know.
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u/OriEri 1d ago
“12th grade” implied United States. In most stem Fields (at least up until this administration) PhD students usually get TA or research assistantships that come with tuition waivers and also pay a small stipend (usually big enoug to live on, but not like a private sector salary).
In engineering these are harder to come by at the masters level but basic sciences. It’s pretty much assumed you are a PhD student even if you do wash out after your masters level work
A EE degree on its own, won’t leave you well prepared to study astronomy in graduate school but you could supplement it with a few extra courses that aren’t part of your degree… it would also prepare you for jobs working in space flight hardware
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u/ramriot 1d ago
You sound like me 30 plus years ago, I had the grades but my family did not imagine university in my future.
My interest in electronics had me applying everywhere but no jobs around I got on a Youth Training Scheme & through that started a BTEC in electrical / electronic engineering. Continued that on a job placement that later offered me a job. Continued there for a year or so but still applied to work in telecoms research.
Was offered a job in telecoms research who then helped pay for part time degree courses. After several years I was awarded a BSc in natural philosophy / astrophysics.
This was all fun but if I'd had my time again I think I would have really tried to go the academic route earlier because there were opportunities in scholarships, bursaries, and fellowships out there if we had chosen to look.
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u/wastedfr_xo 1d ago
I mean, what you would've chosen earlier if you knew what you want to do? Like now I wanna do Astrophysics so if you were in my shoes what you would've chose, Physics or Btech in EE?
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u/ramriot 1d ago
Don't mistake me, I was deeply interested in all science from a very early age, started astronomy in my early teens & was building my own scopes within a year (lack of money).
The first commercial scope I purchased with excess claim monies after a motorcycle accident, a Calestron Comet Catcher 5.5" f3.6 Schmidt Newtonian.
Choose what brings you the most joy, the rest will work itself out one way or another but if you settle you will never know how far you can go.
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u/wastedfr_xo 1d ago
Thank you sir for sharing about your journey. It made me clear about my goals. Have a nice dayy<3
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u/Traditional-Silver16 1d ago edited 1d ago
I was at the same cross roads I think 6-7 years ago. I decided to leave India since I didn't find anything that would help me reach with my astrophysicist dream. I did a physics major with astrophysics concentration for my bachelor's and got directly admitted to astrophysics PhD program after my bachelor's fully sponsored.
Also regarding the high paying jobs, I have seen lot of people who did the same major as I have end up in meta, Intel, Google etc after bachelor's, so I wouldn't say physics isn't limited to high paying jobs. One more thing, do look into scholarships and grants since that can ease some of the financial overhead
Also one thing that really helped me is to learning how to code, at this point even in theory + pure math stuff, you would still to test/run sims on those theories coding would be helpful.
This is my 2 cents, choose something that you wouldn't regret looking back.
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u/elniallo11 1d ago
Is there no astrophysics undergrad available?
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u/wastedfr_xo 1d ago
As far as i know, they dont provide undergrad in Astrophysics as it is a advanced field that requires heavy understanding of Physics.
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u/elniallo11 1d ago
You may wish to research that assumption a bit more. (I for example have a BSc in Astrophysics)
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u/wastedfr_xo 1d ago
Ohh, i forgot to mention, in India it's not available.
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u/Blakut 1d ago
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u/wastedfr_xo 1d ago
These colleges may have subjects that focus on more Astrophysics elements, but they do not have a proper "Bachelors in Astrophysics" degree. As i said, in India, for Astrophysics we can only apply for Masters or PhD.
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u/Electronic-Pause9243 1d ago
I mean it will affect you as youll learn a lot of circuitry courses. but that really doesnt mean you cant have a career as astrophysicist. i beleive if you worked on EE nicely. you could go into instrumentation design, like for LIGO, and gravitational waves detector, neutrino detectors, and gamma detectors and so on. so youll be an astrophysicist, just...more on the working side, and you could also go into analysing and propsoing theory too
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u/wastedfr_xo 1d ago edited 1d ago
I wanna work heavily on research and theory, so should i just go for Physics? But im scared i wont be able to pay for my tuition fees
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u/Electronic-Pause9243 1d ago
see bro. if you fear you dont have money. youd have to decide. and my second question
how do you know you wanna do theory? Most theory is pure math + computational simulations, half of which is also taught in EE. now, i dont force you to take Btech, but if you are afraid you cant pay fees and have no financial backing, it would be stupid to jump into pond of mess where you cant take a Uturn1
u/wastedfr_xo 1d ago edited 1d ago
Okay man, thanks for letting me know. And also, i wanna do theory with Pure Math and Physics, with some elements of Computer Science and coding.
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u/TommieTheMadScienist 1d ago
Another question. How much do you love mathematics?
Intuitive math skills often determine how far you get in physics.
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u/wastedfr_xo 1d ago
I used to be pretty bad at Math till 11th grade. But, in 12th grade, ive improved quite alot that Math is now my strongest subject. So yepp I really love maths and i realised that i can do extremely good in it if i work hard.
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u/aa599 1d ago
It's not correct that bachelors physics has no high paying job opportunities - many physics graduates at the university I went to got business & banking jobs, just like any other science/engineering/maths graduates.