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Which university/country to apply for phd in physics.

Joined
8/23/12
Messages
2
Points
11
Hey everyone,

So here's my situation. I'm currently a masters student in Physics, in Malaysia (South East Asia). I am very interested in computing and numerical methods, and I would ultimately hope to take a PhD in Physics, and be a researcher in theoretical physics. Then I've heard about quant - and the job fits my interest quite well. Given that physics jobs are quite scarce, I would think it's a good alternative career to consider.

Ideally I would like to continue pursue phd in Physics (interest reasons). But I would need to make myself available to quant too. I'd like to iron out the details and get input from you guys:

1. I'll need a very numerical field in Physics. I am currently in laser physics (quite a little of matlab and simulation), but I plan to get Lattice QED in PhD. Is there any other fields that are highly numerical that I should consider?

2. Where should I get my PhD? I have originally planned to get my PhD in NZ. But a quick search seems to show that quant arn't highly sough after in NZ either. Is there any place I should consider? Does US companies generally need PhD in US? Ideally I won't want to get into US since I already had my masters - going to US would take me another 5 years again.

I'd hope for advises and mentorship - Really need to learn from the success ones!
 
What areas of physics are you interested in? Lattice qed is dead field.
 
Hmm... I'm interested in anything that needs tons of numerical/simulation - I'm still open to choices.
 
And why are you interested in that? Are you sure you're not just telling yourself you're interested in numerical/simulation physics to give yourself the best shot at being a quant?

Hint: simulations are used to simulate something. What is the something that you are interested in? The simulations/numerical methods are merely a tool.
 
1. Statistical mechanics, rather obviously.

Which areas of statistical mechanics? All of the profs I interviewed with in statistical mechanics were interested in analytical stuff. Very little numerics.
 
What areas of physics at doctorate level focus on numerics? Of course there's an analytical slant. It's what the analytics are about that carry over; after all, arxiv.org qfin split off from cond-mat.

More in AnonKhoo's neck of the woods, a friend of mine who crossed over has spent years investigating application of Reggeon Field Theory to finance, fwiw.
 
If you're interested in computation and numerical methods, perhaps a degree in computational and applied math is more suitable.
 
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