these discouraging threads are so confusing

[urooj asar shadab]

I am a Physics graduate and I'm so confused by reading all the discussion here everyone is discouraging juniors from opting physics as a subject.
being a science student I have always found other subjects from social science group very difficult to digest. After reading the syllabus and senior's opinion on this forum I hardly settled to opt for US history, Pub administration and mercantile law.

now y'all are telling me not to go for my base subject?? feels like no other choice is left for me

P.S I'm not an expert in Physics and my academic record is not that excellent but I've studied+solved past papers from last 10 years and found 75-80% questions from both papers familiar, doable and not-out-of-this-world. But still everyone is making me feel that I have made a bad decision.

[Dire Wolf]

If you have found 75-80 percent questions familiar and doable then what else do you want?

Those who are not recommending it must have their own reasons but at the end of the day you are one who has to study and attempt that paper.

Note: I am not a Physics graduate but those having four years degree in it should be able to cover it unless they have obtained their degree by only surface level knowledge like most of us. If that is the case then they should decide accordingly.

[MonstarAshar]

Originally Posted by urooj asar shadab

I have always found other subjects from social science group very difficult to digest.

This is exactly the reason why technical degree holders are not advised to opt for their degree's optional subject.

Overconfidence and unpredictability are the reasons why people recommend NOT opting for your Degree's optional subject. So much so, even aspirants having degrees such as IR, Sociology etc suffer because they become overconfident and end up not preparing for the subject (because they've studied it for 4 years).

Also, choosing subjects such as US History, Public ad etc enhances your knowledge and POV for CSS as a whole. You can even use the knowledge and arguments from these subjects in English Essay, Current Affairs, Islamiat and Pak affairs. Such a subject combination also forces engineers, doctors and science degree holders to come out of their comfort zone of facts and figures and to develop writing ability skills. All in All such subjects give you an overall advantage.

BUT, since you've argued that you have found 75-80 percent doable, then surely do opt for Physics. With proper prep you'll have the numerical advantage over other students.

At the end of the day it is only a 200 marks subject, rest of the 400 marks optional subjects remain just as important. Just don't be overconfident or focus solely on Physics alone and you'll be fine.

[Muhammad Ali Chaudhry]

Well ,if anyone has said it that you must not go for your degree subject, then they are not right really.
If you read examiner's report of previous CSS exams ,then you will know that many times examiner is of the view that aspirants must have some educational background in the subject.
I think people just give their opinions here. No one is quite sure about anything. At the end, it's upto you really ,that which subject you have to opt or not. If you feel comfortable with physics, and as you said you have got bachelors in it,then you must go with it. I have seen engineers taking physics as an optional and scoring good marks. In this subject you can get more than 170 marks, maybe more than 180. This is an advantage of science subjects. As you are feeling uncomfortable with social science subjects,then I think now you know which subject to choose.

At the end it's you who have to give exams. I selected one or two subjects just on the opinion of others,and got low marks in them. So , it's better to go with the subject that you feel will work good for you. So that atleast you can say that it was my own decision.

Give some time for physics, being a 200 marks subject.,I think,It needs 1.5 months. And if you see past papers , then you will come to know that after solving past papers of last 10 to 15 years,you will be able to solve every question. Because there is a repitition in questions.

Best of luck.

[MarsEntangled]

Go for Physics. If you won't then who would? What upper level courses did you take in your 4 yeses? I am assuming you did a bachelors.

I would advise the opposite to people taking the exam. Physics is a hard subject, one of the hardest degrees to get. The books recomended in the syllabus should tell you, Kittel (well done even use it for general study, it's a reference book, meant for people who already know the subject), Griffiths (Both ED and QM, it took me a year of course work to go through them).

The papers however are easy, pretty way in fact for anyone with a credible BS degree. Deriving the Schroedinger equations should be child's play for those who have taken physics.

Cramming is not a good option for those asking. You might route learn the equations but a slight deviation from what you have memorized and all goes down the drain. For example you memorize the derivation of metric tensor in spherical co-ordinates and I change the frames and you don't you where to begin. Or say you solve a question for some general potential with a cubical geometry, I change it to spherical and it's a totally different question.

So choose wisely. I wouldn't recommend Physics to anyone who has no prior knowledge. From QM alone, you need to know Liberal Algebra, Calculus, Differential Equations etc.

[MarsEntangled]

Go for Physics. If you won't then who would? What upper level courses did you take in your 4 years? I am assuming you did a bachelors.

I would advise the opposite to people taking the exam. Physics is a hard subject, one of the hardest degrees to get. The books recomended in the syllabus should tell you, Kittel (well done even use it for general study, it's a reference book, meant for people who already know the subject), Griffiths (Both ED and QM, it took me a year of course work to go through them).

The papers however are easy, pretty easy in fact for anyone with a credible BS degree. Deriving the Shroedinger equation should be child's play for those who have taken physics.

Cramming equations is not a good option for those asking. You might rote learn the equations but a slight deviation from what you have memorized and all goes down the drain. For example you memorize the derivation of metric tensor in spherical co-ordinates and I change the frames and you don't you where to begin. Or say you solve a question for some general potential with a cubical geometry, I change it to spherical and it's a totally different question.

Having said that, these papers promote route learning in the way they are designed like those notes questions(Who asks those in a physics exam). So you might get away with only a superficial knowledge of the subject if you get lucky but it's a gamble. In a proper exam, a 1-2 months prep will get you nowhere, no matter how good you are. It takes people years to go through these subjects.


So choose wisely. I wouldn't recommend Physics to anyone who has no prior knowledge. From QM alone, you need to know Linear Algebra, Calculus, Differential Equations etc.