10. Potential mates flirt harder if they think you understand quantum entanglement (see graph below, origin unknown but probably from a reputable source).*

9. You can go to grad school in about anything you bloody well like.... Yes, really, ANYTHING... including...

8. What? ...and leave the nation without an ample supply of sci-fi movie critics to point out things like, “You know, you really can’t hear explosions in space?”

7. So you’ll have a guaranteed conversation-stopper at hand when an unwanted pick-up artist asks, “Hey, babe, what’s your major?”

6. If you’re lucky you can glow in the dark after your experiments. Great fun at parties!*

5. So that you have lots of options when your kids start to ask why the sky is blue.

4. Because you don’t think that you stand out enough as a shy, tree-hugging, gun-toting, multiply-pierced Trekkie vegan with a penchant for gospel music.

3. Because you used to take your toys apart when you were a kid and now you want to get paid for doing the same thing, but with bigger toys.

2. You want to have something to bargain with when the alien Brain Merchants from Nebulon Six invade the earth.

And the #1 reason why you’d want to major in
physics?

1. You want to make the world a better place to live.

* Thanks to SPS members at University of Texas-El Paso and Sam Houston State University for supplying these reasons.

Unparalleled Career Guide for Physics Students

Don't miss this opportunity to discover the most complete and up-to-date information on career and employment in the physical sciences. AIP's Landing Your First Job: A Guide for Physics Students is on sale now! Purchase this great resource and receive discounts up to 20%.

Contact Paula Melnick at 301-209-3193 or pmelnick@aip.org for your discount. The book is also available online at the AIP Store.