How much does a community college professor make?

Should I take this Physics class at Palomar College with this Professor?

• Hi. I know this situation is weird, but let me explain. I am a student at Palomar community college that plans on being a computer science major when transferring. However, I really want to be an engineer. I'm blocking myself from being an engineer because I need to take a calculus-based physics class as part of the preparation requirements for transferring to an engineering major. However, I am hesitant at taking the Physics 230 class at Palomar College. This is because the professor there is extremely hard and 50% of the class usually fails in the class. He is the only professor at Palomar teaching this course. His name is Takashi Nakajima and he has the reputation of being extremely hard, but extremely rewarding because he teaches physics in a different way. Here are the student reviews that have taken his class. http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=256935 Most of the students show favorable views to him, but do say he is a hard professor. I've also talked to people who have taken him and they say the same on campus. I mostly hear that you'll have to take the class twice because its so hard. Here is mainly why I am indecisive about taking the class. I'm scared of lowering my transfer GPA because he is so hard. The professor even has a warning letter he emails to the students saying his class is hard. http://pcpepso.com/coursework/physics/230/230_231_warning_letter.pdf I've read his warning letter and I accept his reasoning for it, but I still can't decide if the risk is worth it. I would risk failing and having to spend another semester retaking the class and making my process to graduation longer. If I don't take it I can transfer to a Cal State or UC and graduate in the 4 years I planned on. I am somehow attracted by the students reviews on how rewarding the class is and how I will be better at physics in the long run and maybe just a smarter person as well. I genuinely like being in the classroom learning about science. Physics is one of the classes that is interesting to me. This is like one of those adult life decisions I need to make. I'm 19 and I've never had such a hard decision in my life. So should I stick with my plan and just transfer to a four-year university as a computer science major and graduate faster or change to an engineer major and spend another year at a community college and try to pass a class that is more difficult than a university's physics class yet extremely rewarding in knowledge and understanding of physics and slowing my path to graduation? I know if I stayed at Palomar my parents would be upset because they want me to just graduate and get a job so that I can start earning my own money and live my own life. If you read all this and looked through the links, thank you so much for going through all this. I really appreciate it if you can give me words of wisdom to help influence my decision. This decision is just so hard for me.

• Answer:

  Are you planning on going to CSUSM. You should have went to Mira Costa community college like me. however if you can't do a basic phys/calc class you prolly wont make it as an engineer since engineers must be EXTREMLEY profficent in math which includes the equivlent to calc 2 and other phys classes.