Atomic Physics-Nuclear/particle Physics

College Majors
1

<p>hello I have a question would it be best to major in atomic physics or nuclear/particle physics? I know Atomic physics was big back in the day, now the popular field is nuclear/particle physics… But still i should be able to find a great job with an atomic physics degree as I would with a nuclear/particle physics degree right??</p>

<p>ryan</p>

2

<p>A BS will qualify you to teach high school. You’ll be looking at a PhD for any kind of research position, though I know ONE guy with a masters at FermiLab who at one time was in the radiation safety group.</p>

<p>For some info, Check out:</p>

<p><a href=“Home – Physics World”>Home – Physics World;
<a href=“http://www.fnal.gov/[/url]”>http://www.fnal.gov/&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.hr.lanl.gov/jps/jobsdb.asp?JobType=UC&Order=DatePosted&RecScope=EX[/url]”>http://www.hr.lanl.gov/jps/jobsdb.asp?JobType=UC&Order=DatePosted&RecScope=EX&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Yeah, you’ll have a lot of time to decide your focus in physics–as an undergrad, you just major in “physics” and then find your speciality in grad school. What kind of “great job” are you looking for? Most careers in physics are academic, meaning you won’t make a ton of money, but enough to comfortably live on. I’d suggest your best move would be find the thing you’re most interested in and focus on that. If you’re simply looking for a high-powered career, I’d suggest staying away from physics–you won’t make too much money or have a lot of power. Only pursue it if it’s something you feel passionate about. </p>

<p>Now, I’m not trying to scare you away from the field–I encourage you to look into it. Physics is a really interesting and cool area of study. If you’re still generally exploring it, try checking out The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene, Cosmos by Carl Sagan (not only physics, but still a really good book), or some other popular books on physics. If you think you’d really enjoy studying that stuff, then consider majoring in physics.</p>

4

<p>I’d like to clarify on something UncleFreezus referred to as it’s misleading: only 1 in 20 physics majors actually end up being physics professors in academia and the like! More info here on what to do with a physics degree- <a href=“http://dept.physics.upenn.edu/undergraduate/whatdo.html[/url]”>http://dept.physics.upenn.edu/undergraduate/whatdo.html&lt;/a&gt;
As for what to do for your degree I’d advise you to just go for a BS in Physics for now as I doubt any school would allow you to specialize so much in physics at the undergraduate level (nor would you want to). Eventually you’re going to be aiming for a PhD in physics to specialize, so you’re looking at a lot of education on the topic but the upside is you get paid for grad school (something most people don’t know about!). And no one will ever think less of anyone who graduates with a physics degree, so be sure to look into it thoroughly.</p>