I Regret Quitting Astrophysics
marcelhaas.com
I Regret Quitting Astrophysics
1–10 of 146 posts
Re: I Regret Quitting Astrophysics
#2Interesting that the pay difference didn't come up at all. I would've thought that would be a big change from Academia to Business.
Re: I Regret Quitting Astrophysics
#3Most of the regrets here seem to be about quitting academia or "meaningful" work rather than astrophysics per se.
No reason why as a data scientist he can't pivot from financial services into something more research oriented within industry, or back into academia; the pay will likely be much less in the latter case, but the opportunities for work on a more meaningful track with like-minded people will be there.
Re: I Regret Quitting Astrophysics
#4I think passion rules everything for most of us - unless we have passion for money :)
Re: I Regret Quitting Astrophysics
#5It was interesting to see the author specifically call out the joys of working in a University environment. It is a unique environment, and working with/for some of the smartest people in the world is a nice perk.
Re: I Regret Quitting Astrophysics
#6> Being at the forefront of figuring things out about the workings of the Universe is amazing, and unparalleled in any business setting.
This is the key attitude to gauging whether it's worth sticking it out in academia. I tell people you really need to be 'obsessed' with science (indeed, obsession is really a key concept: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riaYwt0gf20). Just being interested in problem-solving isn't close to enough to put up with the low pay and rather tough working conditions. There's lots of interesting problems out there in industry.
Re: I Regret Quitting Astrophysics
#7I think this guy should stop regretting. He used to do astrophysics and there were things he didn't like about that. He's now doing data science and there are things he doesn't like about this, and looking back (with a bit of rose tinted glasses) at his life 7 years ago, he has regrets.
Newsflash: the vast majority of jobs out there are not that fun. That's why you get paid. If they were a lot of fun, you'd be the one who pays, just like you pay when you go to a concert. Some jobs are meaningful. Working for Moderna and making a vaccine that's going to save millions of lives, that's meaningful. Finding a cure for a certain type of cancer, it's meaningful. But saying that astrophysics is meaningful because some internet surveys find it to be "the sexiest job in the world", that's quite shallow. 99.9999% of the jobs out there don't end up with you saving the world. You just do some stuff, get paid for it, and then go home and live your life with your family and friends.
Re: I Regret Quitting Astrophysics
#8Interesting that the pay difference didn't come up at all. I would've thought that would be a big change from Academia to Business.
If you have to work somewhere like Silicon Valley, a lot of the pay difference might get eaten by housing.
Re: I Regret Quitting Astrophysics
#9This reminds of a colleague's joke: what do you call a physicist a few years after they get their degree?
A data scientist!
I only completed my undergrad in physics before shifting to tech, but I've seen many instances of people working in software/programming/data science roles after their undergrad/grad studies in physics.
Re: I Regret Quitting Astrophysics
#10The mind has a way of tricking us into remembering many of the good things and fewer of the bad ones(or sometimes even rationalizing bad things into good ones). Not to say that the regret here isn't valid, but just to be careful how much stock to put into missing the 'good ole days'.
"The people who questioned my decision to become an extronomer were right. I was wrong. It seems too late to get back in."
This mindset irks me because this individual strikes me as being bright, talented, curious, and hard working. You are not wrong because you took a leap in life and it didn't work out perfectly, its a valuable learning experience. It is different if you assess the opportunity costs and risks and rewards with going back to astrophysics and decide that it is not worth it and move on...but to say it is 'too late' is you pouting and trying to let yourself down easy.