I’ve got a master’s in engineering physics but now work in data science. Here are some reasons I “lapsed”:
- I would have loved to be a physicist in 1921, but being one in 2021 is very different. I’d be surprised if there is a single leap in understanding (comparable to general relativity or quantum theory) in my lifetime.
- Machine learning on the other hand is making huge progress. It’s a really exciting time to be working in the field.
- Personality-wise I’m not cut out for academia. My friends who are physicists describe it as essentially a feudal system… I don’t like being beholden to some boy’s club.
Also, the idea that my friends who are physicists are the “true elite” and that their contributions are so much more valuable than mine… I remember one of them actually saying that his most significant contribution is probably that he educates a lot of engineers (and yes, he’s a successful tenure track researcher).