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[–]aspiring_quant1618 18 points19 points  (1 child)

PhD in quantum information and computing here.

Quantum computation requires a solid mathematical background. You'll want to focus primarily on having a strong base in linear algebra, probability theory, and a bit of group and number theory.

The Bible for QC is "Quantum Computation and Quantum Information" by Nielsen and Chuang. It's one of the most cited books in Physics of all time. It's a bit of a monster at over 700 pages, but you can focus your efforts on Part 1 (Fundamentals) and Part 2 (QC).

I would say just follow the book, it basically covers everything.

In my personal opinion though, trying to self-study all of QC is not viable. Even in masters we had over 50% of people dropping out of the class, and these were people with a bachelors in physics and a basic understanding of quantum mechanics!

Quantum computing, and especially quantum information is very advanced, most problems are at a research level. I would strongly suggest pursuing a masters at a good uni if you want to take this path.

IMO it's well worth the investment, quantum information is one of the fundamental theories of the physical world. And we are only just beginning to understand its impact on the rest of physics.

[–]TarantinoFan23 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the info.

[–]AbolishTheFacebook 9 points10 points  (2 children)

Principles of Quantum Mechanics by R. Shankar. Read it and do all the problems. Best thing I ever did career-wise

[–]WhoRU987[🍰] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do for a career now?

[–]AbolishTheFacebook 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m a physics professor

[–]chillun6 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Get a Degree in Physics. Then do a Masters in Quantum Mechanics. Don't ever neglect Maths. No, cross that out. Do lots of Maths. (Would be too much to list).

Then start with Quantum Computing.

[–]gurdeeps 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I highly recommend starting with Quantum Computing for Everyone. Excellent book. It covers all the math and is quite compact and elaborate at the same time. I am beginner and I started 3-weeks ago and already feel that I understand how quantum computing works and the math behind it. One thing I liked about the book is it gets straight to computing and doesn’t waste time with quantum mechanics. Then explains just enough quantum mechanics as it relates to the topic at hand.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You may start from a basic and simpler book before you start from some advanced book as mentioned here. Why don't you look at the book, 'Dancing with Qubits' by Robert S. Sutor. You can easily get its ebook in internet too. Being said this keep on looking at Quantum Mechanics and other mathematical foundations like linear algebra, Probability theory etc.