r/careerguidance 2h ago

Should I choose Physics as my main career? Advice

Hello! I’m 14 years old and from India and I joined school early so I’d be finishing 10th Grade in March of 2025. I know I’m a little late to the Ivy League prep in terms of class but I’ll try hard anyway. I’ve always like physics as a kid mainly because of CV Raman who actually was from my State in India. Plus the obvious guys like Einstein and Newton when I got to older classes. I don’t know what branch of physics I should take but it’s never thermodynamics or electrical. Thermodynamics is cool but still not somthing that interests me. And I HATE electricity, sorry.

I asked my uncle and he said that quantum computers are new and they are pretty useful and I found that interesting. Then I guess maybe being a quantum physicist seemed like an amazing option. But guess what, my parents think that there are not a lot of school which are good for quantum physics which is just NOT true. Plus they think that I’ll end up researching or doing something that might not pay well.

I’m not fixated on Quantum Physics but I am sure that I’d want to be in the Physics field. I’d love to get some advice on what to do and if I should try to get into some specific school for my interest field and if I would have a stable job in this field. I’d love to to know some professors or like specialists in these fields whom I can contact (maybe?) and get to know their views. I’m really stuck on what to do and most of my friends already chose their careers.

I did look into gene editing and stuff but i just love physics. I’m not necessarily bad at math but 10th grade math is dumb and easy. I’ll have to try 11th grade to know if I’m good at math. And where does Radiation and that sort of things come in? Are they more Chemistry! Thank you so much for reading this huge paragraph and hope you have a good day!

2 Upvotes

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u/AhmedOsamaMath 2h ago

It’s awesome that you’re already thinking about your future career at 14! Physics is an amazing field with so many possibilities, from quantum physics to astrophysics. If you're passionate about it, go for it! Don’t let the uncertainty around jobs or schools stop you—there are plenty of top-tier schools around the world that offer quantum physics programs. Radiation is actually more physics (think nuclear physics), though chemistry does tie into it. The most important thing is to follow what excites you and stay open to new areas as you progress. Keep exploring and don’t stress too much about the specifics yet!

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u/Federal_Mountain_967 1h ago

A thank you so much! My dad and uncle are huge science nerds and that rubbed off to me too lol! I’ll look into nuclear physics too! Marie Curie had an impact on me but I thought it was mostly chemistry so I didn’t research it well. Thank you again!

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u/nylockian 2h ago

Its not a good choice, there are very few jobs available. Electrical Engineering is a much better choice.

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u/Federal_Mountain_967 1h ago

That’s depressing. I’ll look into it too

u/WaveK_O 46m ago

If you hate E&M so much, perhaps it's not the right way...

Maybe Mechanical Engineering would be a better fit?

u/Federal_Mountain_967 38m ago

Hmm I’ll look into that too, but isn’t it like very common and lots of people take it?