Physics with Astronomy

PaulRooney

I have this course down on CAO, but a few people have told me it's very tedious and boring.
However i've always had and interest in space sciences...the big bang, black holes etc
Is there anybody doing this course that has any opinions?

And also what job prospects are available with that degree

Garf

Heya PaulRooney.


I'm a 2nd? (going into 3rd?) year Physics with Astronomy student in DCU.


First and foremost, it's a physics degree.

In first year (and the first half of second year), this course is exactly the same as the "Applied Physics" course in DCU. One can even switch between the two courses within that time, if they go through some form process.

There is also "Physics with Biomedical Sciences", which shares the great majority of modules (at least in 1st and 2nd year) with these two courses.

Together, these three make up the DCU Physics courses, and the class numbers are so low (less than 30 in total), it's like a leaving cert class - everyone knows each other, and it's ridiculously hard to not make friends! Note that the Physics courses do share some modules with other courses, so one will get some of the big college class experiences, at least!


Some people join Physics with Astronomy just for the astronomy. They either end up dropping out (usually just before or after final exams in 1st year), or join in on the physics-bashing with the majority of the Bio-Med class. :pac:

If ya think physics is grand (or better), then you'll be grand (or better).


There is a nice module in 1st year called "The Universe" which is very interesting for the space-lovers. But at 2nd year and onwards, the Astronomy/Space modules seem to get difficult and the labs tedious. The Astronomy labs (some (1/4) of the labs in 2nd year, and (don't know how much of, yet) onwards) are less physical in nature than the Applied Physics labs - i.e: ya just go into a computer (Linux) room for hours on end analysing images. It bores the hell out of me, but I've never been a labs guy.


The job prospects for physics are quite versatile - I went to a job prospects presentation for Physics students in DCU in 1st year, and there were some really random places graduates ended up: a HR (or something) for Google; a on-the-scenes radar analyser (or something) on an oil (or something) ship; and a game developer (or something). Check out this link for a list. And of course there is always teaching/research.

The possession of a physics degree is proof that the holder really understands things.


Anyways, I wish you the best on your leaving cert/CAO results!

--LOS--

PaulRooney wrote: »

I have this course down on CAO, but a few people have told me it's very tedious and boring.
However i've always had and interest in space sciences...the big bang, black holes etc
Is there anybody doing this course that has any opinions?

And also what job prospects are available with that degree

Hey, I would say this course is far from tedious/boring. I think people who might say that just have the wrong idea about what it means to study a subject like this at college level.........It's all well and good to be fascinated by beautifully illustrated astronomy documentarys but you just have to realise that studying a subject like this is far more fundamental, heavily mathematically based, the astronomy side of things is quite computational, you will spend a lot of time running linux software like IRAF and MIDAS reducing and analysing astronomical data. A lot of people have the wrong idea about astronomy in the first place and end up being turned off it. But overall it's going to be a minor enough part of the course especially if you don't even pick an astronomy-based final year project which you dont have to.


As for career prospects, they are very good, here's a nice article to show that there's still plenty of prospects for people with degrees like this out there during the jobs crisis....
http://www.independent.ie/education/latest-news/some-graduates-in-physics-earning-euro100000plus-2676373.html

GL

lithiumoxide

I graduated from Physics with Astronomy a good few years back and really enjoyed it.

Unlike Applied Physics students, you will get to go abroad to an observatory (I think it's still Osservatorio di Loiano, not far from Bologna in Italy). As well as getting a feel for observational astronomy on the trip, you might also be brought to other facilities on day trips (we went to the Northern Cross radio telescope in Medicina).

With some luck, you'll get to do a work placement in the astronomy field. I worked at Dunsink and did a load of spectral analysis on massive blue giants, using the data we gathered at Loiano. This work also formed the basis of my final year projects, so it was all nicely interlinked for me.

As was mentioned, first and most of second year are pretty much the same as Applied Physics. When you get to third and fourth year you get into some really cool astrophysics and cosmology, including black holes, relativity, galactic physics, space and satellite technology, etc etc.

Overall, I found it a really fun course and would recommend it.