The Should I Become a Physicist? Thread

ZapperZ

You're very welcome. Glad it is of use to you.

And good luck with your grad school.

Zz.

titaniumpen

Thanks for the article! I'm still in secondary school but I'm already considering a career in physics (but of course a lot can change). My parents advice me against following the academic route after graduate school, since I'll have to do post-docs with very low salaries, and it's nearly impossible to get a permanent position. This article scared me even more:

http://wuphys.wustl.edu/~katz/scientist.html

The article was written in 1999 but judging from other forum posts the situation doesn't seem to be better nowadays.

I know money should not be the most important consideration when it comes to career choices, but it's still important! I want to earn enough to support my parents and not only myself after all they've invested in my education. If I follow the academic route it seems hard to do so. So, is it a bad idea to become a physicist in academia?

I considered being an engineer, but it just doesn't seem as exciting. It seems that engineers spend a lot of time doing things not directly science-related...

ZapperZ

Please browse or search through this forum. That Katz article has been discussed to death already, and it shouldn't be discussed in THIS thread.

Zz.

ZapperZ

If you missed it, the IoP has published a handy author's guide in helping a first-time authors to published papers in physics journals. It has many overlap with my own guide in Part XIII of So You Want To Be A Physicist essay.

I would think that with both of them, you should get a very good idea on how to proceed. Still, it doesn't replace doing this a few times to get the hang of it.

Zz.

ZapperZ

Not sure if everyone is aware of this already, but there's a series of very useful webinars produced by the APS.

http://www.aps.org/careers/guidance/...rs/archive.cfm

You need to register just one time to view the webinars. These are very useful because the topics of discussion cover a large range, from how to do well in the GRE Physics exam to networking at the APS meetings.

Don't miss it.

Zz.

ZapperZ

The AIP has released the latest statistics on First Year physics graduate students in the US.

http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends...styeargrad.pdf

Zz.

bigerst

thanks 'tis amazin' and helpf'l :P

camjohn

^ZapperZ, why do you think that the percentage of first year grad students sudying applied physics was so low? Applied physics has always struck me as a such broad phrase; wouldn't many of the fields (condensed matter, particles and fields, optics, nuclear physics, biophysics etc) provide numerous instances in which it could be much more applied than theoretical?

ZapperZ

That last sentence doesn't make sense. "More applied than theoretical"? I don't know what that means. "Applied physics", such as condensed matter, etc. can have theoretical aspects. Phil Anderson and Bob Laughlin are theorists in condensed matter physics, and won Nobel Prizes!

So theoretical and applied are not mutually exclusive!

Zz.

saltkraxen

Are the job prospect in for example theoretical condensed matter physics, better than the job prospects in say theoretical astrophysics, i.e. is it easier to get a job as a theorist in a more "applied area", compared to a theorist in a not so applicable area?

EDIT: Also, how is the job situation in say plasma physics? (I'm thinking nuclear fusion and stuff like that...)

dimasalang

YEah its my dream to be a physicist,, but it is not for me... i guess there are very few people in the world being given with exceptional intellect and understanding of the natural world..

ZapperZ

Another periodic reminder that the full So You Want To Be A Physicist essay can be found at the link.

Zz.

stSagan

mr Kaku had a go at is as well, but this is so much more insightfull !. It's a pain though to keep having to convert back to the european (mainland) system. So lets see, I've completed 'A-levels' again in order to enroll in 'undergraduate' physics, at 35. Hell yeah I want to become a physicist!

OMGCarlos

Whoa, this was a really awesome read! I read this over the span of 3 days and I have to say, I'm pretty inspired! Your emphasis on making connections with faculty/students was probably the best takeaway I got from this and is something I'll try and apply when I start next Spring.

ZapperZ

Thank you.

3 days, eh? Didn't realize it requires that long of a read to have it all sink it.

I'm hoping to add a couple more items to it, and then go back and revamp some of the old ones. There are new stuff to add.

Zz.

pcm

Nice essay.Really an eyeopener.
Thanks ZapperZ.

montadhar

great to hear, looking forward to the new content
yes, it is pretty long, much effort that you are thanked for