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FWST: He got a bachelor's degree from TCU at 14. Now he's graduating with a master's at 17.

TopFrog

Lifelong Frog
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He got a bachelor's degree from TCU at 14. Now he's graduating with a master's at 17.


By James Hartley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Carson Huey-You, the youngest person to graduate from TCU with a bachelor’s degree, is about to take another leap in his academic career.

He will earn his master’s in physics at age 17 and will be one of 738 TCU students to walk the stage Dec. 21.

The young prodigy has been studying at TCU since he was 11, achieving his bachelor’s at 14. Home-schooled from before he could sit up on his own until he was 5, Carson has always shown a talent for science and math, his mother said.

“I’ve known since I was young that I wanted to do physics,” Carson said. “It started when I was watching ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy’ when I was home-schooled. There was never any question about it, no going back and forth with things like ‘I want to be a doctor’ to ‘I want to be a physicist,’ to ‘I want to be a firefighter.’”

Read more at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/h...es-graduating-with-a-masters-at-17/ar-BBYesfK
 

Limp Lizard

Full Member
...and now he has to go to work.
Actually going to work is not next, he will be getting his Doctorate. Often in the hard sciences one goes straight to the PhD with no Masters' in between. A masters degree in the hard sciences is pretty useless unless you want to teach in a junior college or high school. There are few jobs for a masters degree that will not also take a bachelor's degree.

A doctorate, OTOH, especially in Physics and Chemistry, is a whole other thing. The vast majority of good science jobs are for PhD's. Plus you start out making 1.5-2 times what a masters degree person with a few years experience would make, while doing a much more interesting job.

As far as "go to work" goes, graduate school in Chemistry or Physics is a year round thing with very long hours, for the few dollars that is brought in by your fellowship. Even a 60-hour week in industry would be a break, and that for a very good salary. And those are rare. The only downside compared to school is that your recognition is often due to factors other than your work. The people that back-stab, get buddy-buddy with the boss, plays the many political games gets promoted, often taking credit for others. This happens less at the Doctorate level and in the scientific professions in general, but is still there. It can be minimal in well-managed companies. But a nightmare in others.

The only way the workload is as much as graduate school is if you work in academia, for less money. But that apparently is a very satisfying job.

Outside of the political games, the worst thing about jobs after the degree is often the tedium of short-term goal seeking, the day-to-day grind of a limited focus of an industry job vs the joy of invention and exploration of new concepts in academia. i.e. boredom.

Apparently that kind of graduate school is difference from the experience of many here, but is the only kind with which I have any experience.
 

Slomo37

Active Member
Actually going to work is not next, he will be getting his Doctorate. Often in the hard sciences one goes straight to the PhD with no Masters' in between. A masters degree in the hard sciences is pretty useless unless you want to teach in a junior college or high school. There are few jobs for a masters degree that will not also take a bachelor's degree.

A doctorate, OTOH, especially in Physics and Chemistry, is a whole other thing. The vast majority of good science jobs are for PhD's. Plus you start out making 1.5-2 times what a masters degree person with a few years experience would make, while doing a much more interesting job.

As far as "go to work" goes, graduate school in Chemistry or Physics is a year round thing with very long hours, for the few dollars that is brought in by your fellowship. Even a 60-hour week in industry would be a break, and that for a very good salary. And those are rare. The only downside compared to school is that your recognition is often due to factors other than your work. The people that back-stab, get buddy-buddy with the boss, plays the many political games gets promoted, often taking credit for others. This happens less at the Doctorate level and in the scientific professions in general, but is still there. It can be minimal in well-managed companies. But a nightmare in others.

The only way the workload is as much as graduate school is if you work in academia, for less money. But that apparently is a very satisfying job.

Outside of the political games, the worst thing about jobs after the degree is often the tedium of short-term goal seeking, the day-to-day grind of a limited focus of an industry job vs the joy of invention and exploration of new concepts in academia. i.e. boredom.

Apparently that kind of graduate school is difference from the experience of many here, but is the only kind with which I have any experience.

I didn’t read all of that, but at what point does being a drama queen factor in? Asking for a friend.
 

sketchy

Active Member
I feel real stupid next to this kid. Impressive on what he has accomplished so far.

No kidding!!
I was always proud of myself for getting my degree 3 years.
However, it's just Criminal Justice, so, what the ^%#$ do I know. :D
JK.....but man, it's damn impressive what this young man has accomplished.
Keep on kickin' ass!!
 

Limp Lizard

Full Member
I didn’t read all of that, but at what point does being a drama queen factor in? Asking for a friend.
I tend to be verbose.
Short version: Graduate school in chemistry or physics is harder than an "real" job, unless your job is in academia. Get PhD, masters is pretty useless in the "real world" if you are a chemist or physicist.
 
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