Anyone interested in biophysics will probably be thinking about where they can study it. However, some may worry about how difficult biophysics is to learn. If you've studied a bit of physics in the past, you'll already have first-hand experience with how tricky it can be.
So what about biophysics?
Whether something is easy or difficult will depend on the person, but there are quite a few factors that will contribute to it. Any major should be somewhat difficult at college, which is why you have to study for several years to get your degree.
But is biophysics that difficult?
Let's see if biophysics is difficult, what can make it difficult, how it compares to other majors, and whether all of it's worth it in the end!
What Do You Need to Study?
Let's assume that you're wondering if biophysics is difficult to study at an undergraduate level. Once we work that out, we can just assume that the difficulty of graduate study and doctoral study will increase in line with the increase in level.
As a quick reminder, biophysics is a branch of physics that applies quantitative physics approaches to understanding biological concepts, systems, and phenomena.
So while you could say it's a bit like getting physicists to study biology, biophysicists are often skilled and knowledgeable in a broad range of areas including physics, biology, math, and even chemistry.
This means that there are a lot of things to learn so count that as one point for “Biophysics is difficult”. The sheer amount of what you have to study can certainly be a shock to a lot of students.
Interdisciplinary Woes
Not only does biophysics include a lot of things to learn, it includes a lot of different things to learn (and differs from physics in some key ways). When becoming an expert in anything, you'll naturally become better in related fields and good at related tasks and skills.
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Somebody who knows how to drive will feel far more comfortable in a different car than somebody who can't drive. However, somebody who regularly drives a variety of different cars will likely be more comfortable when put in a new car.
When studying biophysics, the same is kind of true. If you've never studied physics, you're going to have to start from square one and get used to everything. However, if you have a background in physics, you'll have comfortably laid the foundations for your time studying biophysics.
However, those new to biophysics may find the diverse range of areas of study hard to get used to. You'll be studying physics, biology, math, chemistry, computer science, engineering, materials science, and neurobiology all at once, and sometimes, what you learn in one class won't help much at all with what you learn in another.
You have to wear a lot of different hats as a biophysicist and for some students, this can be a real struggle, especially if they're used to just focusing on one particular field or class and sticking with it until they reach a really advanced level.
How Biophysics Compares to Other Majors
You might think that these complaints or struggles are fairly common to most majors and you'd be right. There are plenty of multidisciplinary majors and lots of students take a broad range of classes across different fields and departments so why would biophysics be any different from another major?
In a lot of ways, it isn't, but even when you consider this, biophysics is up there with some of the most difficult majors.
Basically, biophysics has the same problems with difficulty as chemistry, neuroscience, mechanical engineering, physics, astronomy, aeronautical engineering, chemical engineering, etc. Broad multidisciplinary fields are hard work and biophysics is one of them.
The average biophysics major spends 18 and a half hours each week preparing for class, which makes it the 8th most difficult major in terms of preparation. While it's not as much as the 22 hours a week that architecture majors are spending, it's still a lot!
Do the Math
What makes physics and biophysics difficult is the same reason that some students would rather study biology or chemistry: math.
Every science major will include a lot of math, but if there's one science that really loves math, it's physics!
Your numeracy skills will need to be excellent if you want to study and major in physics or biophysics and if you've always hated math, then biophysics mightn't be for you.
Even students who loved math throughout high school may still come up against some difficult math as they study biophysics, especially if they go on to more advanced graduate and doctoral degrees.
So Is It Really Difficult?
If your decision to major in biophysics hinges on whether it'll be more difficult than a different science major, you needn't worry. While some aspects will be more challenging, others won't be.
There will be difficult aspects of studying biophysics that won't be present in other classes, but there are also plenty of difficult things you won't have to face because you're majoring in biophysics and not something like chemical engineering, astronomy, or mechanical engineering.
However, if you're somebody who's spent their entire life avoiding math and focusing on the liberal arts, then you might just find that biophysics is far more challenging than you could have possibly imagined.
In short, majoring in biophysics should be roughly as difficult as majoring in any other related field. Generally, your classes will be at a comparable level to those of your fellow science majors and while you may have a few with some really difficult topics in them, so will your peers!
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Is It All Worth It?
If you're thinking about majoring in biophysics, then it's very likely because you're interested in a biophysics career. The decision you have to make is whether or not the difficulty of tackling this math-heavy multidisciplinary degree is worth the reward in the end.
For the Challenge
For some, the difficulty is its own reward. Mastering skills and comprehending things that were difficult at first is hugely rewarding and satisfying and if you're the kind of person that relishes a challenge, being challenged in most of your classes will be all worth it.
For many, a challenge is all well and good, but it has to be a challenge with a prize at the end. Fortunately, biophysics is a growing discipline that still has very few students majoring in it. In fact, the best colleges for biophysics still only produce a handful of biophysics majors each academic year.
For a Career in Biophysics
This puts biophysics majors in the lucrative position of being part of a small number of graduates entering a growing field. Demand for biophysics graduates is only going to increase and, at the moment, there still aren't a lot of them out there.
The careers themselves can be really rewarding as well. Biophysics majors can either stay in academia to complete graduate or doctoral degrees or move into research, medical physics, or even developing and advancing biophysics technology.
For the Money
Then there's the money. If you're going to work hard and tackle a major that's considered to be quite difficult, there has to be some kind of payout at the end. Not only does the hard work need to be paid for, but so do your college fees!
The difficulty of biophysics will put off quite a few people, but that just means that salaries are usually quite good. In the related fields of medical physics, too, there are opportunities to earn a good amount.
Like in other fields, salaries scale with experience, seniority, and level. The longer somebody has studied or the longer they're in a particular role or field, the greater their potential earnings will be. For the money-oriented student, this will be about finding the crossover point where it's no longer worth advancing in academia to increase your potential earnings as you could be increasing your earnings more by gaining experience in biophysics jobs.
In either case, you'll be required to challenge yourself and overcome the difficulties inherent in studying biophysics or working in a biophysics job!
Help is Out There
Don't forget that like with any other major or class, you're not alone and you won't be the first person to encounter difficulties.
You can make things easier by getting help. At college, for example, there will be faculty members and fellow students to help you. You can reach out for help from members of the faculty or even work in study groups with your classmates.
If you need help in other areas or prefer the personal touch, don't forget that there is online physics tutoring to help you tackle tricky topics, get the best test scores, or improve your study methods to get the most out of your time between classes.
It might be difficult at times. Just remember that it's not impossible!
You can find out more in our quick guide to biophysics.
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