Alistair Barton- BSc. Joint Honours in Math and Physics
Alistair Barton graduated from the Joint Honours Program in Math and Physics. He describes the importance of flexibility in a learning mindset and exemplifies as having such by recounting his experience from McGill Non-Profit Consulting.
Tell us about what you studied at McGill.
I studied in the Honours Math and Physics program. I started off in physics because it was the first subject I felt truly comfortable with in high school, and it opened new perspectives that let me see literally everything in a more interesting light. I added math on a whim.
Math surprised me how different it was from what I expected. In high school, my impression was that math is built around intuition and what the teacher decrees; but once you move beyond calculus, the intuition you have built up is tossed aside and it becomes the study of creating unambiguous definitions that lead to the most “interesting” consequences. I ended up enjoying it so much that I’m now pursuing my Master’s in math (where intuition comes back to play a slightly larger role than in undergrad).
What are some pros and cons about your program?
Cons:
The first con that comes to mind is the workload, which was really only a con because I often used it as an excuse to not do as many extracurriculars as I would’ve liked. Instead, I spent a lot of time studying and struggling through assignments. On the flip side,
the challenge also created some great friendships and fostered an atmosphere of cooperation within the program that definitely enriched the experience.
Pros:
My favourite lesson from the program is
how effective abstraction can be at removing bias.
In physics there’s a constant need to reform and adapt your intuition as you go from topic to topic: the key intuition behind a question in relativity may be misleading in quantum mechanics. To cope with this, you learn to detach yourself from your initial intuitions and to use a different ‘toolbox’ of methods for each question.
In real life, this has led me to approach important questions more methodically: I try to ignore the intuitive answer that immediately comes to mind. Instead, I step back and ask myself what about the question is important and attempt to construct an answer from that.
For example, when deciding what I wanted to do after undergrad, I tried to resist the intuitive answer (“what everyone around me is doing (PhD in physics)”), and instead asked myself what I wanted to get from my twenties (“build skills, explore career options”) and how I could achieve that (I ended up choosing a Master’s largely for the flexibility it affords). I try to use a similar approach for every decision I don’t have much experience with (eg. voting, life decisions, charity donations).
It’s a simple habit, but it’s not always a natural one to follow.
What were some valuable involvements at school that taught about yourself and oriented your goals?
In my final year I did
McGill Not-For-Profit Consulting.
This is a program run by Desautels where students work with local NGOs in a management consultant-like role–most projects revolve around investigating a facet of the organization (e.g. fundraising, expansion, new projects) they can’t investigate themselves, often due to lack of resources.
My team’s project was to help a women’s centre increase their financial freedom by improving their funding and efficiency.
Our work involved researching and ultimately proposing: a fundraising strategy, a detailed restructuring of the organization (including fostering partnerships with other organizations), and setting up a system to track organizational statistics for grant applications.
This was one of the best new experiences I had in university. For one,
it allowed me to explore a career I was curious about, and learn more about the complexities and intricacies of the professional world in general
–not least from the fantastic mentors involved with the program. But this was also important to me because it was an opportunity to give back to a city that I had really enjoyed being in.
What advice would you give to younglings at McGill?
When you’re at university you have a vast range of resources at your disposal to explore any career you might be interested in. You can get involved with clubs, volunteer/intern with organizations in a role/industry that interests you, go to career fairs, talk to professors who may have familiarity with the industry/relevant experience, or even contact local professionals. You don’t even need to aim to get a job out of it, it can be extremely eye-opening to just get an idea of how the job differs from your expectations. Many people love talking and giving advice to others who are interested in what they do, so
I encourage you to push yourself to reach out and make the most of this opportunity.
Personally, my exploration was mostly limited to academia. As I neared graduation, I realized that I have a lot more interests than just research (albeit, it was a strong enough of an interest for me to go to grad school), and
I would’ve explored more careers if I had the chance to do it again.
Anything else you’d like to say?
One thing I noticed about myself in undergrad, is that no matter how hard I try, enjoyment isn’t enough to make me happy. This culmunated in a period where I was enjoying everything I was doing, but would go through spells of depression where I had no energy to do anything. I don’t think I’m alone in this; I’ve heard of a lot of other university students feeling similar things. For me, what ended up helping me shake that funk was finding meaning in life. It sounds cheesy, but
I think it’s extremely important to have something external to yourself that will motivate you to push yourself even when you’re unhappy (in my case it was something along the lines of human well-being).
For you, it could be supporting your family, contributing to human knowledge (or just your own), helping people, or obtaining power/respect. These are all ideals that aren’t susceptible to changes of mood or fortune and can help anchor you. This drive for meaning has become a sort of mantra for me, and I now see an essential component of a dream career as enabling me to chase the values that I find meaningful.
