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astronomy degree?

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  • 14-12-2015 7:24pm
    #1
    bigbaz
    Registered Users Posts: 37 ✭


    hi guys,i wonder could i get some advice on here,

    ive been wanting to return to education for a while now,ive been working as a carpenter since i was thirteen,and in the last few years ive been working offshore as a rigger on oil rigs etc,but my back isnt great,and i feel ive reached a point where id like to use the brain potential i never realised due to circumstances,the only sticking point is maths.

    im fully prepared to learn maths in my own time,and i feel that if i get a handle on the maths ill do well as ive self taught myself basic astronomy principals over the years:meaning i understand things like the laws of entropy,keplers laws,quantum physics in laymans terms,

    to be honest i just wonder also what to expect in regards to the college environment,ive never been and i feel quite worried about it,

    thankyou for reading,any advice would be great!!


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    #2
    ps200306
    Registered Users Posts: 1,601 ✭✭✭ps200306


    Sorry, mostly questions instead of answers:
    • Have you looked at particular courses and are you planning to study at a brick university or online/distance?
    • Are you hoping to get a job out of it or just for personal achievement/fun? (astronomy jobs are like hen's teeth).
    • What's your current level of maths? Most degree courses should include a lot of physics and maths, so you just need to get to their starter level to begin with, and there's a bazillion excellent resources online.
    • Do you have specific concerns about college or just general unease? e.g. assignment deadlines, exams, social interactions etc.


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    #3
    bigbaz
    Registered Users Posts: 37 ✭bigbaz


    ps200306 wrote: »
    Sorry, mostly questions instead of answers:
    • Have you looked at particular courses and are you planning to study at a brick university or online/distance?
    • Are you hoping to get a job out of it or just for personal achievement/fun? (astronomy jobs are like hen's teeth).
    • What's your current level of maths? Most degree courses should include a lot of physics and maths, so you just need to get to their starter level to begin with, and there's a bazillion excellent resources online.
    • Do you have specific concerns about college or just general unease? e.g. assignment deadlines, exams, social interactions etc.

    i was looking at ucd's course,i will be getting a job out of it,i wouldnt be the type to do a degree for the craic lol!
    my maths is crap but im pretty good at learning when i put my mind to it!
    im just uneasy i think about the idea of starting education in my thirties,im anxious at the thought of it,mabye lacking a bit of self belief,dont know what to expect etc!

    thanks so much for the reply!


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    #4
    ps200306
    Registered Users Posts: 1,601 ✭✭✭ps200306


    You can learn at any age. I finished a physics and astronomy degree just a few months short of fifty!

    I don't know the UCD course (I presume it's DN200 Physics and Astronomy with Space Science?). The list of topics looks familiar though. If you want a flavour of the maths you will be doing, have a look at this web site, which is a really great resource for revision and reference. You will likely cover pretty much all the maths on there, along with applications in mechanics and more advanced physics topics. (Don't be put off by it, you'll be learning over a period of years). There's also some good advice on there about how to study maths.

    My advice would be to make sure you get a good grounding in differential and integral calculus -- they are really ubiquitous and indispensable throughout all the sciences. If you want a head start in maths or physics in general or think you might need some extra-curricular help, there are great online resources available.

    Can't help you with the social/college-going end of things I'm afraid. I don't have a lot of experience myself, having never done full time daytime brick uni. Feel free to PM me though if you have any specific questions about maths, physics or astronomy study topics -- not saying I can definitely help but happy to give it a shot. Currently heading off piste to see if I can study quantum field theory on my own (unlikely :pac: )


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    #5
    hytrogen
    Registered Users Posts: 952 ✭✭✭hytrogen


    https://www.edx.org/course/cosmology-anux-anu-astro4x
    This popped up randomly on my news feed the other day and had a look, seems legit but don't know anyone who's ran through it if you're interested?


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    #6
    ps200306
    Registered Users Posts: 1,601 ✭✭✭ps200306


    hytrogen wrote: »
    https://www.edx.org/course/cosmology-anux-anu-astro4x
    This popped up randomly on my news feed the other day and had a look, seems legit but don't know anyone who's ran through it if you're interested?
    Looks really interesting, ta. Looks like there are four related courses, comprised of the first year material from the ANU Astrophysics degree. Reviews suggest a bit of maths prerequisites are needed. That suggests it won't be too fluffy or lightweight. The OP might be able to get an idea from it of material in a full time degree. Start date is a bit confusing -- says 09-Feb-2016 for one of the modules, nothing for the other ... maybe it's "to be announced" or maybe they just follow on from each other.


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    #7
    riffmongous
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 12,753 Mod ✭✭✭✭riffmongous


    Did you stop learning maths when you were 13? Have you done any maths since then? It's an awful lot to learn I would think if you stopped then

    And what sort of job were you thinking of getting?


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    #8
    ps200306
    Registered Users Posts: 1,601 ✭✭✭ps200306


    I reckon someone with good aptitude, diligence, and some mentoring, could study the Leaving Cert higher maths syllabus in max. six months while also holding down a 9-5 job, half that if doing it full time. The syllabus can be found here ... skip to page 16 and ignore the fluffy nonsense up front.

    You'd need to be interested, and a good learner, but someone planning to do third level science needs those attributes anyway.

    Leaving Cert higher maths will get you off to a flying start at college level, which is likely to rehearse some of the same material and take it a bit further. Most college maths will be extensions of stuff at leaving cert level, e.g. Taylor series = fancy differential calculus, Fourier series = fancy integral calculus, and lots of problems with fields and forces are fancy vector algebra. Electromagnetism and quantum mechanics involve quite a bit of calculus, but nothing insuperable.


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    #9
    Peregrine
    Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 26,402 Mod ✭✭✭✭Peregrine


    ps200306 wrote: »
    I reckon someone with good aptitude, diligence, and some mentoring, could study the Leaving Cert higher maths syllabus in max. six months while also holding down a 9-5 job, half that if doing it full time. The syllabus can be found here ... skip to page 16 and ignore the fluffy nonsense up front.

    The OP hasn't studied maths since they were 13. They can't jump into LC HL maths without a grasp of the fundamentals set out in JC. I think learning JC and LC HL maths in six months while mainting a job would be impossible.

    I'd only love to be proven wrong though!


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