Astrophysics Degree vs. Theoretical Physics vs. Computer Science - Developers

Choosing what degree to undertake, thoughts?

Which are you most passionate about? They're all good ideas and have pretty good job markets compared to other jobs, but it really comes down to what you prefer to do most.

[QUOTE=huntingrifle;47328536]Which are you most passionate about? They're all good ideas and have pretty good job markets compared to other jobs, but it really comes down to what you prefer to do most.[/QUOTE] Yea that's my stumbling block, I'm equally passionate about each subject.

[QUOTE=Neophyte;47328541]Yea that's my stumbling block, I'm equally passionate about each subject.[/QUOTE] Double or triple major.

I don't know much about what exactly Astrophysicists or Theoretical Physicists do, so I can't really recommend anything based off of personal opinion, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in the United States, [URL="http://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/physicists-and-astronomers.htm"]here[/URL] is some expected figures regarding salary and degree requirements for Physicists. Granted it's for the US an you're from the UK, it's not going to exactly represent what it could have in store for you, but it's a rough estimate. I couldn't find a similar website for the UK, unfortunately.

[QUOTE=Mastermind of42;47328583]Double or triple major.[/QUOTE] UK Degree.

[QUOTE=Neophyte;47328612]UK Degree.[/QUOTE] Some places here will give you CS + physics, though it's probably going to be a lot less of the physics you're actually interested in unless they let you choose the units you take of it.

I think you're gonna get a slightly biased answer on this subforum, since most here are programmers, i.e. it's close to Computer Science.

Go with the one you enjoy using the most while considering the one you'd have the most trouble learning on your own outside of University. That said, don't make the mistake of thinking of CS as learning to code, you'll mostly be learning the theoretical stuff behind it.

If you like them equally, take the one that will be the most difficult to learn on your own. A lot of physicists end up as programmers, and CS is a relatively easy field to self-teach. As a physics major, you would be learning problem-solving anyways, which is a pretty big thing in software. You also open up job opportunities for combining programming and physics, whereas if you specialize in only CS, you're locked out of that whole field.

Just make sure you actually can see yourself do whatever you choose. A lot of people fall in love with the idea of a subject rather than the subject itself.

[QUOTE=war_man333;47332816]I think you're gonna get a slightly biased answer on this subforum, since most here are programmers, i.e. it's close to Computer Science.[/QUOTE] Astrophysics is a thing you will never be able to get bored with, I imagine, there is always a concept to study. There is just so much stuff in space.

[QUOTE=J!NX;47346045]Astrophysics is a thing you will never be able to get bored with, I imagine, there is always a concept to study. There is just so much stuff in space.[/QUOTE] "Studying deserts is a thing you will never get bored with. There are so many grains of sand in a desert!"

Would really recommend against doing any sort of joint Physics+CS degree. I'm doing MEng CSAI at York and everyone i know doing CSBusiness/CS+Phys is having an insanely hard time because they still haven't specialised in anything and are being taught at a very high level across a really broad range. In my eyes, a degree is to start you on a path and help you find what you want to do. Ideally you want to start broad in 1st year and narrow down to just a few topics in your final year.

[QUOTE=Occlusion;47346620]Would really recommend against doing any sort of joint Physics+CS degree. I'm doing MEng CSAI at York and everyone i know doing CSBusiness/CS+Phys is having an insanely hard time because they still haven't specialised in anything and are being taught at a very high level across a really broad range. In my eyes, a degree is to start you on a path and help you find what you want to do. Ideally you want to start broad in 1st year and narrow down to just a few topics in your final year.[/QUOTE] I have to agree with this post If your institution is anything like anything else I've seen, you probably will have similar requirements between those degrees. Start off sampling courses to fulfill some general requirements, and then when you get a better feel for each of the fields, you can make a choice of which to pursue. Chances are you will still have electives required for each degree anyway, so its not like you will waste any time or money by trying out some classes for each field. Further, you can probably upgrade your degree from a single major to a double major by taking the classes that are different between the 2, if you feel adventurous.

We're very similar in that aspect then, but i'm already doing Computer Engineering. I hope to do astrophysics later or at least work with computer science applied in astrophysics.

You're asking us to maker a major decision in your life? Really? I'm pretty sure you already know what you want to do, but you're not 100% sure about it and are looking for confirmation here. guess what, it's impossible to know for 100% that one choice is the best. Inform yourself on all these subjects if you haven't already. Then pick the one you not only think you will like but also be the best at.

I had a hard time deciding between Engineering Physics and Computer Science/Engineering. In the end I chose CSE partly due to friends and partly due to the the job market. I also reasoned that with CSE I'll be capable to work in any place that requires the use of computers in some way. After just three years of studying I've been offered to work on projects involving controlling of interactive artwork, mathematical analyses of "clouds" in the Milky Way, agent based simulation of societal crises and many more. So I think there's a potential to work with physics and many other fields even if your main focus is on CS, while that may not be true if you only studied astrophysics or physics.