Re: Career advice needed.

From: grelbr (grelbr_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 07/09/04 

Date: 9 Jul 2004 04:49:33 -0400

WishfulThinker <tony_external@bluetentacle.com> wrote in message news:<40eaf3be$1@news.sentex.net>...
[snip]
> have been working as a
> software developer.
[snip]
> contemplating the possibility of getting back to school as a Physics
> undergrad, with the goal of eventually engaging in nuclear energy
> research. I just turned 27.

Actually, there is a possibility you might consider. Just hunt
for jobs in the nuclear field as a software developer. Pick
up some of the physics as on-the-job. Depends on what aspect
of nuke you want to work on.

> 1. Am I nuts? Have you ever heard of such a thing?

Sure. Lots of people make bigger jumps than that and wind up
making major contributions. I am reminded of a mule team driver
who wound up doing some very good work in cosmology. (At least
according to Carl Sagan's _Cosmos_.)

> 2. I need to brush up on my rust-encrusted math skills. What areas of
> math should I work on BEFORE re-entering university, and up to what
> level? What other academic areas should I prepare myself on?

The hardest thing starting an undergrad physics program for most
people is the math. You should have at least a solid equivalent
for the most advanced math offered in a good highschool. Calculus,
algebra, functions and relations, geometry, all at least to the
end of highschool level. If math is your friend, you will fit right
in. If math is painful for you, you may not be making a good choice.

It would not hurt to do a quick review of the physics taught
in the final year of highschool. But don't brood over it, as you
will move past that very quickly. Say two days of review.
See if you can get whatever text the senior highschool students
are using these days and power read it.

> 3. How hard would it be for me to re-enter as a Physics undergrad,
> compared to someone fresh from highschool?

Ask the registrar of any schools you are interested in. It will be
very different school-to-school. You should be able to get contact
info for most of them off the web, search at www.google.com.

Ask as soon as possible. They may already have filled many of their
fall spaces. You might wind up getting a spot that was offered to
a student that turned it down to go to another school.

There's a good chance that any given school is holding some spaces
for special cases of various kinds. Many schools don't want to have
endless rows of identical braniacs. They may have some places held
for older students, or students with something special to offer.

Some schools will interview possible special students, so you
should think about how you are going to offer something special
to the school. Just as a hint, being a software developer for
actual money might be a big plus. You could offer to tutor some
of the computer classes. It *might* even get you a pass on
some classes that the other physics undergrads have to take.
So, while your classmates are taking Java (or whatever) you
could be getting paid to assist the prof in that class, and
be getting credit as having completed the course.

> 4. Which undergraduate schools do you recommend, and which graduate
> schools? I prefer good quality public universities. My previous
> stint was at UCLA.

UCLA is a good school. As far as other schools: See if you can find
where the graduates from those schools wound up after graduating.
See if those kinds of placements appeal to you. If college X is
sending all their grads to place Y, and you want to go to Y, then
college X is for you.

If you intend to go on to graduate work, MSc, PhD, that kind of
thing, you have lots of time to decide that. Then you really
want to think about who might be your graduate advisor. Round
about the start of 3rd year undergrad, start really hunting
for papers and proceedings that interest you, and see where
the authors of those papers are from. And, of course, redo your
search on where grads wind up.

> 5. Any other advice is greatly appreciated.

Be prepared to be fairly dedicated. You are going to have to spend
pretty much a full work-week doing homework outside of class or lab
hours. Labs may eat a lot of time also, especially in senior years.
You should pretty much count on not having much time for anything
other than school.
grelbr

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