What degree? (1 Viewer)

[Dumbledore]

i have been unable to decide for a long time between 3 degrees:
physics
engineering(mechatronic)
computer science

as i am now, my best subject is Computing followed by maths then physics
but my favorite subject goes from physics to maths then to computing.
i am finding 4u maths currently easier than physics but i find physics alot more interesting.

1. What degree is best suited to me?
2. should i do a double between 2 of these or is it to much work as i've heard uni is alot harder than the hsc (though i'll admit i don't work very hard atm) , if i do which 2?
3. if i were to choose mechatronic, should i do a normal mechatronic at UNSW or the mechatronic(space) at Usyd, all my friends are going to UNSW but space is an interesting topic for me, is "space" a genuine prestigous(forgot how to spell) extension or just something to lure people.
although i most likely won't get the marks for this degree i can still try put it first preference and hope for a lot of bonus points

thanks

 

[Joel8945]

i have been unable to decide for a long time between 3 degrees:
physics
engineering(mechatronic)
computer science

as i am now, my best subject is Computing followed by maths then physics
but my favorite subject goes from physics to maths then to computing.
i am finding 4u maths currently easier than physics but i find physics alot more interesting.


1. What degree is best suited to me?
2. should i do a double between 2 of these or is it to much work as i've heard uni is alot harder than the hsc (though i'll admit i don't work very hard atm) , if i do which 2?
3. if i were to choose mechatronic, should i do a normal mechatronic at UNSW or the mechatronic(space) at Usyd, all my friends are going to UNSW but space is an interesting topic for me, is "space" a genuine prestigous(forgot how to spell) extension or just something to lure people.
although i most likely won't get the marks for this degree i can still try put it first preference and hope for a lot of bonus points

thanks

I sort of was in your place.

I in year 11 and 12 wanted to consider engineering or physics or maths as an area of study! I personally love physics and I love maths and I had heard that engineering gave both (not that physics doesn't - It probably looks at maths in more detail than engineering), so I wanted to do something that allowed for either to be an option and that is what the Melbourne model offers (also chemical engineering interested me but I couldn't fit in chemistry).

So now I am doing the melbourne model science degree that I can pick either:

- major in maths (pure or applied) followed by an honours then PhD or a Masters of science (in some maths field that is related to applied or pure) then a PhD later. I love my calculus (partial derivatives, double integrals, etc).

- physics (mathematical or normal physics) followed by an honours the PhD or a Master of Science degree then PhD later. In physics it is interesting but some things like optics you feel as though it has been dumped on you. In physics I have a real interest in nuclear, particle, quantum, etc. At high school special relativity was fun and interesting but at a uni level it requires a lot of conceptual thinking and really going over stuff to understand it (general relativity is for people with Masters degrees).

- Engineering major in either Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, (Maybe chemical - but that option may be out the door). Engineering is still something I'm investigating and just looking at and seeing what you do. Next semester we look at dynamics, electronics, converting numbers to binary quantities and a lot of stuff revolving around how circuits really work such as symbolisation of circuits, etc. This stuff looks just too fun to pass up. One thing I have found in the first semester in engineering is that the projects are fairly hard and the marking is very critical and you need to work as a team to get a good mark.

The degree is great because I can still pick stuff as diverse as this and really picking any of them I don't think I would be disappointed in, only, I fear what I could miss had of I chosen the others.

If you want to try and go for double degrees as it will be hard work but your options will be open. As for what degree to do that really depends on you, but, I will say unless you have actually seen what you can do as a mechatronic engineer (for example) and have developed a passion for it you really wont know that much about it so unless you really know that mechantronic is for you I personally would do an engineering degree that keeps everything open. Where I go mechatronic engineering is in the master of engineering degree so you can either major in electrical or mechanical (software I think) and then do mechatronics. Basically with the master of engineering you have theory classes and then you do a project that you choose so if you like mechatronic engineering you could choose from a whole variety of projects (I think atleast).

I hope this helps

 

[ianc]

1. What degree is best suited to me?

i have no idea... Physics is a lot harder at uni -- it's pretty much all applying maths and calculus to solve physical problems. A good taste is the "mechanics" topic of 4 unit maths.

also, when you say you are good at computing, does this mean you are good at programming? because if you are good at programming and really enjoy it, then you would be well suited to a computer science degree, which is pretty much all programming with a bit of maths thrown in

2. should i do a double between 2 of these or is it to much work as i've heard uni is alot harder than the hsc (though i'll admit i don't work very hard atm) , if i do which 2?

It's not "more work", because you only ever do the same number of subjects per semester. However it does mean you will be at uni for another year or two, and after four years you may have had enough (I know I certainly will).

If you want to be an engineer, then from a career point of view there's not much point doing a double degree, because you shouldn't have any trouble finding work as some kind of engineer in Australia.

so if you just want the double degree for the second piece of paper, then i say don't waste your time

3. if i were to choose mechatronic, should i do a normal mechatronic at UNSW or the mechatronic(space) at Usyd, all my friends are going to UNSW but space is an interesting topic for me, is "space" a genuine prestigous(forgot how to spell) extension or just something to lure people.
although i most likely won't get the marks for this degree i can still try put it first preference and hope for a lot of bonus points

the only reason the whole space engineering thing is popular is because it is not a very common degree, and people think that if they do it, they will automatically get highly paid awesome jobs at nasa.

my personal opinion is that it is better to do a broader degree, and then this will give you a lot more choices and flexibility when trying to find work as an engineer.

from my point of view, even mechatronic engineering is too specific -- don't rule out straight mechanical engineering or straight electrical/computer engineering.

hope this helps, but go to the university career days and try to talk to as many people as you can to get a broad range of opinions. also remember that you are not locked into a degree, you can easily switch to another degree when you are at uni.

good luck for the hsc

 

[Dumbledore]

just wondering, is there more maths in physics or engineering (i like maths, especially the 4u integration and mechanics)

 

[Uncle]

just wondering, is there more maths in physics or engineering (i like maths, especially the 4u integration and mechanics)

more or less from course to course.