Will the effort required to learn a completely new subject from scratch be outweighed by the better job prospects when one is looking for faculty positions?
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3Only you can answer that, but the more important consideration is: if you dislike doing string theory enough to consider switching, will you have any job prospects if you don't?– Ryan ReichCommented Jun 18, 2014 at 14:36
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10Can't answer the question at hand, but switching to computer science because you think it will be easier to score a faculty position is ... optimistic.– xLeitixCommented Jun 18, 2014 at 14:38
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While I think there is an important question related to what you are asking, as it stands your question does not seem like a good fit since it is not possible to give meaningful answers to questions that focus on perceived effort and benefits.– StrongBadCommented Jun 18, 2014 at 15:51
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2To clarify, I truly believe that there are more positions for CS than for string theory, but there are also much more computer scientists than theoretical physicists on the market. And, likely, you will not exactly have a starting advantage when you are the one that is actually passionate about another field.– xLeitixCommented Jun 18, 2014 at 16:10
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4isn't it true that the faculty position jobs are still much easier to get in theoretical CS than in string theory? — NO.– JeffECommented Jun 18, 2014 at 18:08
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1 Answer
Will your degree actually say 'String Theory' rather than 'Physics'? If so, this is unfortunately narrow, and given the uncertain future of string theory as a field I'd rectify it as soon as possible. How close are you to finishing? I wouldn't dump a Physics doctorate a year from completion to start over in CS. If I wanted to change fields, I'd just do a master's afterwards.
