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Hi, I'm a current applied/experimental physics undergrad (materials and nanoscience), just finished my freshman year. but I'm interested in theoretical physics borderline philosophical/philosophy of science etc but I don't have the most knowledge about the specifics and technical details, that's why I'm here. I don't want to pursue an undergraduate degree in theoretical physics because I feel like it locks the door for a lot of career opportunities while experimental physics doesn't. Plus I think it is easier to bridge the gap between them if I go through with applied physics through self study or separate courses but not so much when switching to applied physics from theoretical since you need access to a lot of laboratory equipment. I was convinced that the difference in terms of rigor between the two was very minor but I recently started attending a theoretical physics summer school and was genuinely lost and had no idea what was going on which made me consider transitioning to a theoretical physics undergraduate degree which was not intended but I still am convinced that it is just because I only took basically introductory level courses during as part of my freshman year's syllabus. I have been interested in theoretical physics before college but I just wanted to have a safety net. Would having a degree in applied physics harm my chances to go into theoretical physics later on that it is better to transition early or should I just go on to have an option b if academia didn't go very well so I could work in tech for example. Obviously I am not an expert on any of this I just liked the idea of theoretical physics for its purpose and what it aims for but I am genuinely lost and even wondering if physics was a good fit in the first place.
Due to a high volume of similar posts, there are weekly threads to handle questions related to the following topics: Conceptual or close-ended questions Careers Education Textbooks Please see the sidebar for details on these weekly threads