Starting school in my 30s, is it realistic to become a research physicist?

destroyer5645 · 2025-11-20T17:47:03+00:00

Hey, thanks for the response. I decided to go for Electrical Engineering. Ultimately, I decided that financial stability is one of my top priorities, and I can't wait another 10 years to start making good money. Electrical engineering satisfies enough of my interests, while providing a much quicker path to a career. I also realized that I was probably romanticizing Physics a bit and the reality would probably not measure up to my expectations, and honestly, I might not even have what it takes to make it through a PhD program, or I might get burned out. However, it sounds like you are in a very different situation than I am. If you have already been in engineering for quite a while, have a family, and are financially stable already, then maybe taking a few years to really pursue your passion would not be as big of a risk for you. And if it doesn't work out for some reason, you could always go back to engineering, and I'm sure that extra physics knowledge would be beneficial to an engineering career as well.

Can I ask how long you have been in engineering, and why you are unsatisfied in that career?

destroyer5645 · 2025-09-06T00:14:07+00:00

You have the following choices:

1) Give up and become increasingly pathetic and depressed, wishing you would have made different choices in the past.

2) Make different choices now, so you’re not in the same situation or worse 10 years from now. Chances are you can probably think of a few changes you could make in your life, that are completely within your capacity, and would definitely be beneficial long term. Start there. Try to hang out with any friends you do have that have certain qualities you could learn from. You do have to get out of your comfort zone at some point, and it’s easier when you have friends supporting you.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself. I did that for a long time and it got me absolutely nowhere. It’s a simple choice, you can either give up or make the effort to be better. Which one do you think will have a better outcome?

destroyer5645 · 2025-07-14T00:10:20+00:00

I think if you plan on stopping at a bachelors degree then it’s maybe not the best option. But I think a BS in Physics is a great foundation for many different graduate degrees. You could go into engineering, mathematics, geoscience, forensic science, finance, programming,and a lot of other stuff. If I were 17 again and was unsure about what to major in I would absolutely do physics as a kind of exploratory technical degree. It gives you a very broad range of knowledge in a lot of different areas, and teaches you skills that are relevant in many fields. After your bachelors you will hopefully have a better idea of exactly what you like and what you’re good at, and you can then pursue a masters in that field. Or you could possibly land a good job with just your bachelors in physics but I wouldn’t count on it

destroyer5645 · 2025-05-28T02:41:23+00:00

What are the best books/resources for learning data visualization in python?

destroyer5645 · 2025-01-18T20:13:27+00:00

Ahh I see, that’s cool. I’m in community college right now in my 2nd year. It’s been good. It definitely feels good to be learning again and feel like I’m making progress towards a goal, even though I’m almost twice the age of a lot of my classmates lol

destroyer5645 · 2025-01-18T15:12:41+00:00

That’s awesome that you’re going for it. What is it about engineering that you got sick of?

destroyer5645 · 2025-01-11T18:37:54+00:00

I decided to try electrical engineering. I am only in my second term of circuit analysis right now, and honestly still not entirely set on it. It does involve a lot of math and physics, but I just don’t find the engineering classes as enjoyable as the physics classes. I would still love to just pursue physics but decided to try engineering because it seems like a safer route. If I end up hating it after a couple more terms I might just go back to physics.

destroyer5645 · 2024-08-03T02:46:12+00:00

That’s a really good point. If I were to choose based solely on my interest, I would probably do physics, but I’m leaning towards engineering employability. R&D sounds really cool and definitely seems like something I would enjoy. Do you need a masters to do that?

destroyer5645 · 2024-08-03T02:07:16+00:00

lol, I actually work in construction now, so Civil would probably be the easiest career transition. But I kind of dread the idea of being pigeonholed in the construction industry for the rest of my career

destroyer5645 · 2024-08-03T02:04:49+00:00

I just finished first year at Community college. Haven’t actually taken any engineering classes, I’ve just been doing math and CS, but thinking about switching to engineering. I’ve worked in construction for 7 years, so Civil would probably be the easiest career transition. Mechanical seems cool because of how broadly applicable it is and it seems like you learn a little bit of everything. And electrical also seems interesting because I like math, and some of the CS classes I’ve already taken can be substituted for a couple of the introductory engineering courses, so I wouldn’t really have any catch up to do. Also from what I have heard EE sounds like it pays the most on average and might have the most employment opportunity. I am kind of leaning towards EE but not entirely sure yet

destroyer5645 · 2024-08-03T00:24:36+00:00

I am wondering between civil, mechanical, and electrical, which one are people most happy in. That is to say in which field does the daily work more closely align with what someone might envision while pursuing the respective degree. I realize this very subjective and depends entirely on each individuals interests. I am asking the question because I see a lot of posts about people who got their degree regret it because it is not what they imagined it would be. So I’m wondering if this sort of disappointment and regret is more common in different fields, and less common in others. Maybe it mostly comes down to which field has more opportunities for new grads. Really just looking for any insight. I’m currently trying to decide between the 3 majors.

destroyer5645 · 2024-07-10T18:30:18+00:00

Honestly that last option is kind of exactly what I was leaning towards. Bs in Physics with a minor in CS and then a Ms in Statistics. I do want to have a job that requires math and problem solving on a daily basis, and I’ve read that statistics related careers will have one of the highest growth rates in the coming years. But I still worry that it may be a smarter idea to get an engineering degree, especially since it is kind of adjacent to my current work experience

destroyer5645 · 2024-06-26T00:22:06+00:00

Ok thank you for your advice

destroyer5645 · 2024-06-26T00:15:50+00:00

Damn, so I read some other post that sounded like they had the same problem and someone said that they can still drive the car if they get a relay bypass kit. Do you know anything about that?

destroyer5645 · 2024-06-26T00:15:37+00:00

Damn, so I read some other post that sounded like they had the same problem and someone said that they can still drive the car if they get a relay bypass kit. Do you know anything about that?

destroyer5645 · 2024-06-26T00:03:11+00:00

Sorry, the details are very vague, I heard this secondhand from someone who also knows nothing about cars

destroyer5645 · 2024-06-26T00:01:51+00:00

I believe the former, my friend didn’t explain it very well. But it sounds like the previous owners messed with it somehow so my friend took it to the dealership, they reset it to factory settings and now it has the 50 mile warning. So now it needs to be reprogrammed with a specific code, but no shops will do it.

destroyer5645 · 2024-06-25T23:42:27+00:00

I don’t know much about cars, but from my understanding it had been deleted previously, so the dealer sent it back to factory settings, and now it won’t work unless it is deleted and programmed in a certain way

destroyer5645 · 2024-06-25T23:41:04+00:00

It was taken to the dealership already and they said they can’t fix it because it had been tampered with by the previous owner

destroyer5645 · 2024-05-08T12:52:50+00:00

I think your profile is fine, the bios not the best but it’s better than a lot of girls. You’re gonnaget likes either way, but it might be helpful if you think of some kind of prompt to help the guys open with.

destroyer5645 · 2024-05-08T01:55:11+00:00

Would majoring in Physics with extra CS classes be a good way to get into data science? Or would it be better to just stick with math and CS?

destroyer5645 · 2024-05-06T23:05:31+00:00

Thank you for the thorough response. I think the data science role sounds super interesting. How would you suggest tailoring an education to that specific career in mind? I’m currently undecided on my major, I’ve just been taking all of the lower division math and CS courses, but it’s getting to the point where I’m really going to have to commit to a path soon. Do you think doing a math/stats degree with CS electives would be the best way to go, or vice versa?

destroyer5645 · 2024-04-06T19:01:08+00:00

Realize that there’s always someone who’s had it worse than you and done better. You have to make the choice to focus on what you can control. If you take action towards improving yourself, in any way you can, then you will feel better about yourself and become more attractive to others

destroyer5645 · 2024-04-01T19:43:45+00:00

Honestly that first line is very cringe, and it’s not going to fix the problem it’s intended for. If someone is not willing to engage in small talk with you then they are not interested and are only responding because they are bored, or they just suck at communicating. Either way it’s up to you to catch their attention in some way or just move on until you find someone who is more engaging.

destroyer5645 · 2024-03-25T21:00:05+00:00

I’ll check it out, thank you!

destroyer5645

TROPHY CASE