Recent content by 3.141592

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    What does GCE (UK) involve (A-levels)?

    Sorry, I missed this question: Thanks! It also says I don't need the GCSE, what does that mean? The GCSE is the qualification in England that you get when you finish compulsory schooling at 16. Students normally take about 10 of these. GCSEs are the qualification one stage below the GCE...
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    Statistics Project for Employers

    Hi All, I know that to prove oneself to employers in programming, one can try to contribute to open source projects or just make e.g. your own game. Is there something analogous for statistics? I am studying a mathematics and statistics honours degree part-time (I work) and by distance...
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    What does GCE (UK) involve (A-levels)?

    You are very welcome. Hope it helps. :)
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    Mind says Engineering, heart says Physics Don't know what to do

    My opinion is: unless you have the luxury of believing in a paradise after you die, or reincarnation, then do whatever will make you happiest. However much money you make, however fast your many cars go, however big your house, you're going to lose it all when you die anyway. Letters after...
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    What does GCE (UK) involve (A-levels)?

    In the UK it used to be that one traditionally studied for the A-level qualifications from the age of 16 to the age of 18. So, you spent two years studying, say, three A-levels (say, Maths, Physics, Chemistry). Around 2000 it changed so that now the first year of study was called 'AS level'...
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    Should I give up on astrophysics and study something else?

    atyy: Thankyou for reading my perspective. I am studying part-time by distance learning with the UK's Open University. I have to pay my own fees as the government does not give loans for undergraduate degrees if you already have an undergraduate degree. Luckily, I got in a little before the...
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    Should I give up on astrophysics and study something else?

    JakeBrodskyPE: You are entitled to your opinion and while my happiness does not hinge on what you think of me, I would prefer if you would not refer to my advice - which is honest, well meant, and borne from my own experience that you have not lived (as I have not had yours) - as "happy talk"...
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    Should I give up on astrophysics and study something else?

    Speaking of memes, here is Jim Carrey to advise you, from his somewhat unique perspective atop millions of dollars. This ought to annoy the self-styled guardians of pragmatism round here :) And if it doesn't here's this: my entire life I found school easy but boring, except for drama, at...
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    New physics BS grad - job search help?

    Where do you live? In the UK, most graduate jobs require no specific degree. So your physics degree qualifies you to apply to most graduate jobs in the UK. Failing that, just type 'mathematics' into any job search engine and you will find jobs that say things like, 'Degree in mathematics or...
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    How did you decide what career was right for you?

    It's good you're trying to get time with medical physicists. I used to work in HR at the NHS and sixth form kids who wanted to do medicine at uni would call up for shadowing to discover a waiting list of years (just like patients, then. Bazinga, more like 6 months.) Please arrange at least...
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    Admissions What should I do between graduating and applying for PhDs? (UK)

    If you want to do a job that involves physics and is useful for a Ph.D application in the UK, that you can also ditch at reasonably short notice, I would suggest serious contemplation over being a private tutor in GCSE* physics - possibly mathematics as well. Where I live, it is not uncommon to...
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    How do I succeed in math on my own?

    If you have some money, go onto eBay (probably UK site) and look for course materials for a course entitled 'MU123 Discovering Mathematics'. You will find it all designed for students learning at a distance i.e. on their own and quite different to standard textbooks which can be quite terse. I...
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    Approaching potential graduate supervisors

    Hello, I am considering applying to graduate school for study in statistics in possibly a year or two. I know from studying both at residential universities and distance learning that I respond well to supervisors who provide good pastoral support and can have a chat about more than just...
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    Programs That Age-Old Question - Online Physics Degrees

    OU also has a new Mathematics and Physics degree. But I don't know what is available to students in the United States. The OU has a good reputation in the UK among both academics and in industry. E.g. people have gotten into Oxbridge on the strength of their OU undergraduate degrees (and...
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    Carl Sagan's Cosmos and Bertrand Russell

    Also, to George Jones: I have never come across this story about Russell before. Thanks for sharing!
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