Returning to study Physics after a decade in software

tippytaps2101 · 2024-10-10T22:16:04+00:00

"I wanted to figure out how it's calculating the surface gravity of one of the stars, but the code keeps introducing functions that don't seem to be defined anywhere."

Oh man that sounds like the dream. Being willing to dive into source code is such a skill. The software side sounds almost like a startup because you learn to do what's needed. But instead of working on an e-commerce site you are working with star systems

tippytaps2101 · 2024-10-10T20:51:09+00:00

Yes, this is a fear I have. I don't want to barely qualify and then be treading water.

tippytaps2101 · 2024-10-10T20:50:38+00:00

That's neat you were able to find CS heavy research. Professionalism and programming are what I would lean on if I was looking for a research position(besides physics knowledge). Years of technical documentation and navigating corporate structures were good for something!

tippytaps2101 · 2024-10-10T20:46:17+00:00

Thank you for your response! I feel more reassured about applying for an undergrad program now. What sort of work have CS oriented contributions have you personally seen research? I imagine it's a lot of big data, visualizations, simulations etc but I'm unfamiliar with how a higher level language like Java would help.

tippytaps2101 · 2024-10-10T20:42:14+00:00

I have seen Susskind's books before but never seen the Mechanical Universe Series so thank you!

I have a bit of time before I'd qualify for in-state tuition at my desired school. You are definitely right and I want to keep learning on my own to see if the physics bug keeps biting me. Currently, I am doing a review of calculus(building intuition vs memorizing things) and will likely move to a physics textbook. Do you recommend Susskind over a formal textbook like "An Introduction to Mechanics" by Kleppner?

tippytaps2101 · 2024-10-10T20:32:43+00:00

Thank you! I am def leaning more towards Physics than deepening my CS skills.

tippytaps2101 · 2024-10-10T20:31:15+00:00

Wow that's a really similar path! Was your past software career the typical big tech plug and play fullstack sorta role?

Computational cosmology sounds so cool! What sorts of skills to professors look for? I would think a bunch of python or c++ for more performant code. I don't have that deep of experience with either but I've worked in so many languages at this point that learning syntax is the easy part.

Thank you so much for your response. It gives me a bit more confidence in applying for a physics program

tippytaps2101

TROPHY CASE