any point doing a physics degree?

I'm in year 13 and take maths, further maths, physics & economics. I'm currently choosing between doing economics and a physics degree and I've been wanting to do economics for the whole of year 12 but I've always found physics more interesting - I just wasn't sure of the job options, and if you would get paid a lot. I've always heard that it's incredibly difficult and requires a lot of maths.

Is there anyone who does physics at uni I can talk to? Or maybe any careers you know that would be good with a physics degree?

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by moonflower321

I'm in year 13 and take maths, further maths, physics & economics. I'm currently choosing between doing economics and a physics degree and I've been wanting to do economics for the whole of year 12 but I've always found physics more interesting - I just wasn't sure of the job options, and if you would get paid a lot. I've always heard that it's incredibly difficult and requires a lot of maths.

Is there anyone who does physics at uni I can talk to? Or maybe any careers you know that would be good with a physics degree?

I'm not currently doing a physics degree, but I intend to do a joint physics degree. The career options tend to be decent e.g. you can go into engineering, tech (not that you need a degree to go into most areas of tech), physics, economics (don't ask). Physics/maths graduates are also tend to go into actuarial science and quants grad schemes (or so I've heard).

As with a degree in any subject, you can also go into 600+ different careers, primarily because they don't require degrees in the first place.

If worse comes to worse and you graduated with a physics degree but wish to have the option to do a master's in economics, you can always do a postgrad conversion course in economics prior to doing a quantitative economics master's. You're very very unlikely (i.e. I don't know of a case where this is possible) to do an undergrad in economics then a conversion/master's in physics.

Reply 2

Sinnoh

22

Most graduate jobs don't ask for any specific degree, but physics will put you in a good position - it's very numerical, you'll learn how to code, there will be an emphasis on problem solving. These are good skills to have. Finance, software development and consultancy are very common careers for physics graduates.

If you've always found physics more interesting, then apply for physics.

Reply 3

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

15

Original post by moonflower321

I'm in year 13 and take maths, further maths, physics & economics. I'm currently choosing between doing economics and a physics degree and I've been wanting to do economics for the whole of year 12 but I've always found physics more interesting - I just wasn't sure of the job options, and if you would get paid a lot. I've always heard that it's incredibly difficult and requires a lot of maths.

Is there anyone who does physics at uni I can talk to? Or maybe any careers you know that would be good with a physics degree?

Hi,

I'm currently studying physics at Lancaster University. I'd echo what other posters have said; most jobs outside of scientific research do not require a specific degree and as mentioned a lot of physics graduates will end up working in the financial sector anyway. Other career options include tech, consulting, accountancy, data analysis, jobs in the energy sector and scientific research. https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/physics

Personally, I'd recommend studying what you're most interested doing as this is really important for staying motivated for the duration of your course.

In my experience, physics at university is definitely a step up from A-level, but it builds up nicely from first year in layers of difficulty. In terms of the maths content, having strong maths skills is definitely important throughout your degree, but you will likely study modules to help give you the necessary mathematical knowledge. For instance, at Lancaster in first year you study one set of physics modules, one set of maths modules and one set of more practical/skilled based modules in first year. In second year you study two maths modules and then after that any maths content is integrated into other modules. I studied further maths at A-level and it definitely helped with understanding in first year but further maths isn't assumed knowledge so courses will start from the ground up. Physics is definitely a challenging course but I wouldn't say it's inherently more difficult than other STEM courses and being interested in the subject will definitely make it a lot more manageable.

Hope this helps,
Becky (Lancaster University Student Ambassador)

any point doing a physics degree?

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