Computers?

Sarah98

Hey I was thinking of becoming a doctor. Im also really interested in computers and engineering. But I don't know what kinda jobs would be available. Is it a good enough course to choose?
Also Maths is my fav subjects but I dont know if I will find a good future job with just maths in my pocket.
If anyone have any ideas or info for help please feel free to contact me

godtabh

I'm confused. Do you want to be a doctor or do something with maths/engineering/computers?

Assuming you want to do it all a former class mate of mine did Mechanical engineering, bio mechanical research masters and then became a doctor in Ireland. I also know some one who did something similar here but did the doctor part in the UK.

Dr_Bill

Maths & Computers are an excellent mix particularly if you decided to take up programming with software engineers currently in short supply with strong demand.

Sarah98

godtabh wrote: »

I'm confused. Do you want to be a doctor or do something with maths/engineering/computers?

Assuming you want to do it all a former class mate of mine did Mechanical engineering, bio mechanical research masters and then became a doctor in Ireland. I also know some one who did something similar here but did the doctor part in the UK.

I'm strong in maths and I love computers.
But I don't know what course to do with them. I would like to become a doctor but many said it's too hard and PhD is easier and faster. If you have any other suggestion I would be happy to hear them. I don't mind what course to get a PhD in because I love all the above subjects plus biology and chemistry.

Sarah98

Dr_Bill wrote: »

Maths & Computers are an excellent mix particularly if you decided to take up programming with software engineers currently in short supply with strong demand.

I keep hearing this but I would like to know what kind of job it would be. Is the pay/time good. What do you need to do/study etc The least I want to do is get a PhD in any Science subject and then along with it a PhD in maths or engineering.

riffmongous

You want two PhDs? Are you aware of how much works goes into getting just one?

You could always double up by doing physics, as it's roughly a combination of maths, engineering and science with a lot of computer work. But there weren't a whole lot of physics jobs out there in Ireland for bachelor and master degree students when I finished, a lot of classmates had to go into finance or software programming to get jobs.

frozenfrozen

Do any computer science course you like the sound of, and you'll never be without a job as a woman in technology. There are companies crying out for girls at the moment.

The choice now should be whether you want to work in computers or as a doctor, forget PhDs before you even have your leaving cert done.

Sarah98

riffmongous wrote: »

You want two PhDs? Are you aware of how much works goes into getting just one?

Ok fine. Maths,Chemistry and Biology are my strongest subjects at the moments. I don't care in what course I can get a PhD. I can study computers and maths after I acquire a PhD from biology or chemistry course maybe.

riffmongous

Sarah98 wrote: »

Ok fine. Maths,Chemistry and Biology are my strongest subjects at the moments. I don't care in what course I can get a PhD. I can study computers and maths after I acquire a PhD from biology or chemistry course maybe.

What about physics? It has everything you want I think. If you do go down the phd route in biology and chemistry you will end up doing a certain amount of math and computers, but they will probably just be tools rather than you actually doing much interesting with them

Sarah98

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Do any computer science course you like the sound of, and you'll never be without a job as a woman in technology. There are companies crying out for girls at the moment.

The choice now should be whether you want to work in computers or as a doctor, forget PhDs before you even have your leaving cert done.

There are so many opportunities in computers but I love science also. I was thinking to be flexible. That I can take a break from being a doctor(PhD) and go into computers from time to time.

Sarah98

riffmongous wrote: »

What about physics? It has everything you want I think. If you do go down the phd route in biology and chemistry you will end up doing a certain amount of math and computers, but they will probably just be tools rather than you actually doing much interesting with them

I never tried out physics. Will it be connected with chemistry or biology?
You just got me thinking if I do get a PhD in biology and chemistry then I can also get a job in computers because I would kind of learn about them...

frozenfrozen

You most certainly will not get a job in computers with a biology or chemistry PhD.

riffmongous

Sarah98 wrote: »

I never tried out physics. Will it be connected with chemistry or biology?
You just got me thinking if I do get a PhD in biology and chemistry then I can also get a job in computers because I would kind of learn about them...

Did you have any physics for Junior Cert? If you are good at maths and have a practical mind you will be good at physics. Have you any friends who study it from whom you could borrow a text book and get a read of it? You can connect it to chemistry or biology in certain areas, although it is not the most efficient way of doing it. If you do a science degree in university, (especially general science) you will have the option of taking classes in maths,physics, chemistry, biology and computer science for the first year. This would be your best bet and you can see which ones you like the most.

Hm, this would be a really bad way of going about it though, a PhD will take in total, 4 year bachelor degree, 1-2 year masters and finally 3-4+ years for the PhD, you see by the time you have the PhD anyone who just did a regular bachelor degree in computer science and then started working afterwards would have a huge experience advantage over you, and after spending so much time on the PhD you do not want to be competing for entry grade jobs with bachelor students.

RossieMan

Just because you get a PhD doesn't mean you'll be good at any job.

You should get out and try it before committing so much time to it.

Sarah98

frozenfrozen wrote: »

You most certainly will not get a job in computers with a biology or chemistry PhD.

Ok but if I do computers I can only get a job in computers and nothing else? I heard if j do a science subject I can get a job anywhere.

Nonoperational

You seem to be over fixated on getting a PhD. That's a completely different consideration to your primary degree.

Also, a medical doctor is a completely different thing altogether. Decide what area you like and tailor your primary degree to that. Forget about PhDs until you are in final year in college.

Sarah98

riffmongous wrote: »

Did you have any physics for Junior Cert? If you are good at maths and have a practical mind you will be good at physics. Have you any friends who study it from whom you could borrow a text book and get a read of it? You can connect it to chemistry or biology in certain areas, although it is not the most efficient way of doing it. If you do a science degree in university, (especially general science) you will have the option of taking classes in maths,physics, chemistry, biology and computer science for the first year. This would be your best bet and you can see which ones you like the most.

Hm, this would be a really bad way of going about it though, a PhD will take in total, 4 year bachelor degree, 1-2 year masters and finally 3-4+ years for the PhD, you see by the time you have the PhD anyone who just did a regular bachelor degree in computer science and then started working afterwards would have a huge experience advantage over you, and after spending so much time on the PhD you do not want to be competing for entry grade jobs with bachelor students.

I like that idea of general science. So then I can choose after that first year to study 1 from the 5 courses? What if I like to do a mix will they let me choose biochemistry for example or other courses that are mixed?

riffmongous

Sarah98 wrote: »

I like that idea of general science. So then I can choose after that first year to study 1 from the 5 courses? What if I like to do a mix will they let me choose biochemistry for example or other courses that are mixed?

Depends on the degree and at which university you do it, but it should be possible, you just need to find the right degree course.

Just as an example, in Maynooth I did a degree in Experimental Physics with Astrophysics, in the first year I did courses from Experimental Physics, Mathematical Physics, Chemistry and Maths. At the start of the second year I dropped Chemistry and then the next year dropped Maths and for the final two years did a mix of Mathematical and Experimental Physics,. The whole time only Experimental physics was compulsory and other people took courses from computer science and biology instead of what I choose. There was also the option to do General Science where you could pick any subject you wanted.

riffmongous

I also see you have another thread where you are more interested in medicine and caring for people, well there are courses in physics (probably also in chemistry and biology but I am not aware of them) that can lead to the medicine area, not as a 'medical doctor' of course but many of the modern technologies used in cancer treatments are physics based. We did a course on nuclear physics that had a strong focus on these areas, CAT scans, NMRI, as well as the radiation treatments and we had a field trip to an oncology centre somewhere in south dublin, I forget where now though. One of my colleagues went on to do a masters in this area afterwards I think.

Sarah98

riffmongous wrote: »

Depends on the degree and at which university you do it, but it should be possible, you just need to find the right degree course.

Just as an example, in Maynooth I did a degree in Experimental Physics with Astrophysics, in the first year I did courses from Experimental Physics, Mathematical Physics, Chemistry and Maths. At the start of the second year I dropped Chemistry and then the next year dropped Maths and for the final two years did a mix of Mathematical and Experimental Physics,. The whole time only Experimental physics was compulsory and other people took courses from computer science and biology instead of what I choose. There was also the option to do General Science where you could pick any subject you wanted.

I'm starting to understand now. Thank you so much for having the patience to put up with me. I using the information from today I think I'm getting the whole picture on what I'm really interested in. I never thought about physics but seems a really good choice since it's a science course and also inludes Maths. I'llsee into it before 6th yr because then I really won't have time. Thank you and also to all who helped also.

riffmongous

Sarah98 wrote: »

I'm starting to understand now. Thank you so much for having the patience to put up with me. I using the information from today I think I'm getting the whole picture on what I'm really interested in. I never thought about physics but seems a really good choice since it's a science course and also inludes Maths. I'llsee into it before 6th yr because then I really won't have time. Thank you and also to all who helped also.

No problem, I remember back then not having a clue about what these things really entailed, and no one ever explained it to me so I am happy to help.

In most general science degrees you wont need to have studied physics beforehand for leaving cert either so no pressure there. I'd say grab a textbook and have a read of it, flick through all the different chapters first as there is a lot of variation there (from optics to electronics to fluids and nuclear physics) and see which parts interest you the most, good luck!

Sarah98

riffmongous wrote: »

I also see you have another thread where you are more interested in medicine and caring for people, well there are courses in physics (probably also in chemistry and biology but I am not aware of them) that can lead to the medicine area, not as a 'medical doctor' of course but many of the modern technologies used in cancer treatments are physics based. We did a course on nuclear physics that had a strong focus on these areas, CAT scans, NMRI, as well as the radiation treatments and we had a field trip to an oncology centre somewhere in south dublin, I forget where now though. One of my colleagues went on to do a masters in this area afterwards I think.

That definitely sounds really interesting. I did hear there is bio-physics but I never thought much about it. I try the physic area because it seems to have what I want. Thanks so much