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I recently reinvigorated my interest in the really sexy fundamental physics stuff that drew me to the field in the first place. Particularly high level theoretical stuff like quantum gravity and dark matter. I'm actually going to be doing some work on a dark matter experiment next semester so maybe that would give me some good background to go into graduate work in that sort of field.
Just how impossible is it to get involved in these fields in a meaningful way. I know the odds of getting a job doing physics at a research school are like 1/5 to 1/10, but does that paint the whole picture? Are those people actually actively trying as hard as possible to get jobs, or do they figure it is a hopeless cause and not apply?
Right now I feel like I'd only want to do physics as a career if I am in one of the really fundamental fields, how do people typically reconcile this and end up in something like condensed matter?
How are thing different in observational astronomy? If I ended up going that route?
Just how impossible is it to get involved in these fields in a meaningful way. I know the odds of getting a job doing physics at a research school are like 1/5 to 1/10, but does that paint the whole picture? Are those people actually actively trying as hard as possible to get jobs, or do they figure it is a hopeless cause and not apply?
Right now I feel like I'd only want to do physics as a career if I am in one of the really fundamental fields, how do people typically reconcile this and end up in something like condensed matter?
How are thing different in observational astronomy? If I ended up going that route?