Re:What Does Any of This Have to Do with Physics?
by 21 on Thursday December 29, 2016 @03:30PM
(#13279863)
Beside the fact that it's interesting, I think there's also a bit of prestige involved, nobody bats an eye if physicists say "we are improving the world, advancing man kind", as opposed to the same smart man becoming a financial trader, where lots of people will say that you are scum living on the back of others, or even a software developer working on something like ads.
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Re:What Does Any of This Have to Do with Physics?
by rawnlq on Thursday December 29, 2016 @03:34PM
(#13279903)
The same writer also wrote about his finance career: http://nautil.us/issue/31/stress/what-i-learned-from-losing-...
Re:What Does Any of This Have to Do with Physics?
by jayajay on Thursday December 29, 2016 @10:12PM
(#13282227)
This is so true, I feel like I have to justify to people what I'm doing with my life and why it's important and even necessary, which I wouldn't have had to do if I stayed in my physics PhD program. It's actually rather depressing, to be honest.
There's nothing spectacular about writing code for apps which I wouldn't even use and which will probably flop within a year. But when I was a student, I felt like what I was doing was actually important. Writing apps and websites for people who will end up using time and money on them feels so unimportant in that "Oh, do you really wanna be selling sugar water for the rest of your life?" kind of way.