Physicist: Academic career or Science (Non-Academic)?

mike115

I am interested in being a physicist, but I want to know what kinds of careers most theoretical physicists pursue. If I want the opportunity to do research and further advance our knowledge and understanding of physics, should I pursue a career in academia? Would I get a chance to do that working for government or industry?

I know it's a somewhat vague question, but thank you very much for your help!

Choppy

The most direct path, with the most intellectual freedom is academia. Generally once you branch out into industry or government positions the work has a more specific purpose, however lots of interesting work comes out of applied science.