- #1
Niles
- 1,866
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Hi
I have a BS in Physics, and have to begin my master thesis in 3 months. During the past couple of weeks, I have been talking to various professors at my university, and I have narrowed it down to either
First option During my undergraduate studies I never really liked doing experimental physics.However, I followed basically all optics/laser courses, since I find them particularly interesting and they didn't require much experimental work. What I like about doing this is that PhD/job prospects afterwards will be pretty good according to my professor. Most of his master students have either gone straight to the industry or continued with a PhD.
Second option I have always loved computational physics, and I will have the possibility of doing my thesis with a heavy load of computational methods such as Finite Element Methods and such. My professor told me that I basically decide by myself what the ratio is between theory and numerical work -- this I like very much. What bothers me is that I don't see the same security after the thesis as I do with the first option, and I would hate to end up some place where my MS is essentially useless. Also, the possiblity of a PhD seems lower here than at the first option.
The courses during my MS have basically been divided 50/50 between quantum/laser optics and FEM. Now that I have put my thoughts to paper, I would like to get some feedback. Of course I don't expect anybody to tell me what to pick, but if you have an opinion or any other useful experiences, feel free to let me know.
Best.
I have a BS in Physics, and have to begin my master thesis in 3 months. During the past couple of weeks, I have been talking to various professors at my university, and I have narrowed it down to either
- First option: Fibre/laser optics (experimental)
- Second option: Phase field models (theoretical/computational)
First option During my undergraduate studies I never really liked doing experimental physics.However, I followed basically all optics/laser courses, since I find them particularly interesting and they didn't require much experimental work. What I like about doing this is that PhD/job prospects afterwards will be pretty good according to my professor. Most of his master students have either gone straight to the industry or continued with a PhD.
Second option I have always loved computational physics, and I will have the possibility of doing my thesis with a heavy load of computational methods such as Finite Element Methods and such. My professor told me that I basically decide by myself what the ratio is between theory and numerical work -- this I like very much. What bothers me is that I don't see the same security after the thesis as I do with the first option, and I would hate to end up some place where my MS is essentially useless. Also, the possiblity of a PhD seems lower here than at the first option.
The courses during my MS have basically been divided 50/50 between quantum/laser optics and FEM. Now that I have put my thoughts to paper, I would like to get some feedback. Of course I don't expect anybody to tell me what to pick, but if you have an opinion or any other useful experiences, feel free to let me know.
Best.