Recent history of me
You may or may not know that I am no longer pursuing further education in physics or engineering or anything like that. I don't remember if I made a post about it before and I am too lazy to go back through my old posts to determine if I mentioned it explicitly or if it can be figured out from those posts.
So, when I got my Bachelor's in Physics, I was telling myself I would take a year off before heading to grad school. In truth, I had serious doubts that my grades would not present a serious obstacle to admission into grad school. Sure, professors in various departments told me "A 2.89 GPA? Ewwww... but its in physics, that probably means you are smart as hell, it's probably excusable." Even the physics department expressed a similar sentiment. My doubts about those statements later proved justified. It's so much easier to say no to an application than an actual person, especially if they are trying to send you on a guilt trip.
Last summer I sat around my house doing nothing for the most part until my sister onyxsatvil put me into contact with one of the Solid State engineering guys at UNM's Center for High Technology. She works at a day care center where many of the kids and parents are using false names (very odd) and one of her coworkers was this guy's wife. So I went to him, expressed my desire that I wanted to use my physics degree for something useful and my doubt that I would be motivated enough to get a PhD in Physics (which, unfortunately, seems to be the only type of physics degree high enough to snag a job with). Well, since solid state material science is physics intensive, (more so than most electrical engineering students were willing to go at least) we both thought that a masters in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in Solid State Devices would be a good fit. Partly because of my low GPA, the Electrical Engineering Department wanted me to prove I could handle upper division EE courses. So I took the course they designed for incoming grad students who they weren't sure had a good grounding in the physics behind semiconductor devices. It was pretty much a prerequisite for all EE grad students, no matter their concentration.
Well, I passed with a B or something, but that wasn't high enough and the class wasn't easy enough for me to prove to myself that I would survive the first year of grad school. The class was fascinating, but, as at the end of undergrad, my lack of mathematical creativity and speed was a big problem.
At the same time, I was taking a Solid State Physics class with the physics department. It was one of those 'taught once every two years' classes, and it was advertised on a flyer at the CHTM when I visited there, so I had to take the class. It was very interesting to be in two classes about the same subject taught by different departments. The classes meshed together well, the physics department's class was broader in scope and explored concepts in a more abstract and general way, while the engineering department's class went more in depth on topics relevant to semiconductor devices being used today and being developed. Again, a very fascinating class. I got a higher grade in the physics class, but that was probably because I was wading in shallower waters. Taking both classes at the same time was probably beneficial.
With practice, I could master the subject instead of barely scraping through, but that take more money and time. I have already spent enough time as a student, I have to get on with my life.
About two-thirds through the fall semester, I started considering becoming a teacher. My original motivation for studying physics was that I wanted to be the next Carl Sagan and talk physics with the common people. I wanted to teach, I just didn't consider becoming a teacher. Teachers wur dum rofl. And underpaid. And at times undereducated. But heck, I had a Physics B.S., I would be on a higher pay level and a higher certification level than th0s dum teecher5 with just teaching certificates.
So I am studying to be a high school teacher with endorsements for teaching science and math. I took intro biology in the spring since it was the only intro science class I didn't take at Tech, and I am now taking a Principles of Human Development class this summer. Actually, this post was supposed to be about something I came upon in the textbook, but then this became a recent history of me post. I am currently focused on the adolescent psychology part of the book, so I wanted to dredge up memories about high school. Maybe in a later post.
Hopefully I am not just interested in this stuff just for its novelty.
So, when I got my Bachelor's in Physics, I was telling myself I would take a year off before heading to grad school. In truth, I had serious doubts that my grades would not present a serious obstacle to admission into grad school. Sure, professors in various departments told me "A 2.89 GPA? Ewwww... but its in physics, that probably means you are smart as hell, it's probably excusable." Even the physics department expressed a similar sentiment. My doubts about those statements later proved justified. It's so much easier to say no to an application than an actual person, especially if they are trying to send you on a guilt trip.
Last summer I sat around my house doing nothing for the most part until my sister onyxsatvil put me into contact with one of the Solid State engineering guys at UNM's Center for High Technology. She works at a day care center where many of the kids and parents are using false names (very odd) and one of her coworkers was this guy's wife. So I went to him, expressed my desire that I wanted to use my physics degree for something useful and my doubt that I would be motivated enough to get a PhD in Physics (which, unfortunately, seems to be the only type of physics degree high enough to snag a job with). Well, since solid state material science is physics intensive, (more so than most electrical engineering students were willing to go at least) we both thought that a masters in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in Solid State Devices would be a good fit. Partly because of my low GPA, the Electrical Engineering Department wanted me to prove I could handle upper division EE courses. So I took the course they designed for incoming grad students who they weren't sure had a good grounding in the physics behind semiconductor devices. It was pretty much a prerequisite for all EE grad students, no matter their concentration.
Well, I passed with a B or something, but that wasn't high enough and the class wasn't easy enough for me to prove to myself that I would survive the first year of grad school. The class was fascinating, but, as at the end of undergrad, my lack of mathematical creativity and speed was a big problem.
At the same time, I was taking a Solid State Physics class with the physics department. It was one of those 'taught once every two years' classes, and it was advertised on a flyer at the CHTM when I visited there, so I had to take the class. It was very interesting to be in two classes about the same subject taught by different departments. The classes meshed together well, the physics department's class was broader in scope and explored concepts in a more abstract and general way, while the engineering department's class went more in depth on topics relevant to semiconductor devices being used today and being developed. Again, a very fascinating class. I got a higher grade in the physics class, but that was probably because I was wading in shallower waters. Taking both classes at the same time was probably beneficial.
With practice, I could master the subject instead of barely scraping through, but that take more money and time. I have already spent enough time as a student, I have to get on with my life.
About two-thirds through the fall semester, I started considering becoming a teacher. My original motivation for studying physics was that I wanted to be the next Carl Sagan and talk physics with the common people. I wanted to teach, I just didn't consider becoming a teacher. Teachers wur dum rofl. And underpaid. And at times undereducated. But heck, I had a Physics B.S., I would be on a higher pay level and a higher certification level than th0s dum teecher5 with just teaching certificates.
So I am studying to be a high school teacher with endorsements for teaching science and math. I took intro biology in the spring since it was the only intro science class I didn't take at Tech, and I am now taking a Principles of Human Development class this summer. Actually, this post was supposed to be about something I came upon in the textbook, but then this became a recent history of me post. I am currently focused on the adolescent psychology part of the book, so I wanted to dredge up memories about high school. Maybe in a later post.
Hopefully I am not just interested in this stuff just for its novelty.