Question

Although I doubt somewhat whether this question is really appropriate for this site, I hope it gets answered anyways. I guess, what I'm wondering is:

1. How does one get to work as a theoretical physicist and - probably more importantly - what do theoretical physicist actually do all day long?

2. How are theoretical physicists distinguishable from mathematicians? Does a physicists day look very different from that of a mathematician?

3. I have a great interest in physics, but I'm not really much interested in doing experiments: Would it be advisable to do my bachelor in mathematics and try to get into theoretical physics later on?

4. Is there a real chance of getting into research afterwards? (not that any kind of answer to this question would ever stop me from trying...)

Well, I hope this question is acceptable.

I think 1) might for example be answered by giving a link to a blog of a working theoretical physicist, who gives some insight into his or her everyday life, or some kind of an essay on the topic. Of course any other kind of answer is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Kind regards

Answer 1

If you want to work as a theoretical physicist, it would be advisable to get a little bit of grounding in experimental physics anyway. So my answer to #3 is, if you want to get into theoretical physics, get a Bachelor's in physics, not mathematics, and take at least one or two experimental courses.

I work at a university where students often do shoddy work in the undergraduate experimental courses, because "I came here to study theoretical physics and I'm not interested in experiments." What they don't realize is that most of our professors in theoretical physics are of the opinion that to be an excellent theoretician, you primarily need to be a well-rounded physicist, with both theoretical and experimental skills. These students run into trouble when they're looking for internships or final projects, because no professor will accept them.

(I edited this answer, because I didn't mean to imply that you had to be an excellent experimenter to be a good theoretician. If you don't enjoy experimenting, then you don't enjoy experimenting. Just don't dismiss it or ignore it altogether.)

From Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal: