Academia Definition and 114 Threads

For some background, I'm currently a 3rd year physics major with an astro specialization studying in Canada, and as undergraduates are want to do I'm regularly evaluating my career prospects down the road. I also plan on pursuing grad school when I've completed my degree. It might just be my...

Hello! I've looked around the community, and this seems like a great place to ask the question to experienced professionals! I was wondering what kind of life does such a career in physics entail? I'm trying to contemplate a career in academia, but I'm quite nervous on the career switch, hehe...

In the past, when I was younger i was under the impression that after a phd. Before becoming a lecturer, you have to complete post doc positions, and that the transition between a post doc and successful entry into academia is very low statistically. Sometimes people are stuck in post doc...

so i have a background in computer engineering , studies 3 semesters just to notice that to me academia isn't the way by which you'd get to learn a skill and earn money with it. On top of that, the engineering fields of study in universities(at least the ones in my region) do are not meant for...

Keys to failure in academia. Basically he says that it's all about conforming to the funding organizations' metrics, which don't necessarily have anything to do with good science.

So I graduated in 2019 from a smaller state university with 2 honors BAs in physics and applied math. 3.83 GPA, all A's in my 400 level classes, few years of computational research and some independent honors projects, and I was involved with tutoring, TA'ing, led the SPS chapter, etc. Didn't do...

Suppose I have a PhD in physics. If I want to continue and work in academia as a researcher in some professor's lab without lecturing/teaching but just doing research solely - what are usually the salaries ranges for such a job? ( I know it heavily depends on other factors like in which field...

Summary: Predictions for the 2022 Physics Nobel Prize As the Nobel week is coming closer, what are your predictions for this year Nobel Prize in physics?

Because of having put a lot of time toward sports & social stuff this year it's looking a bit unlikely that I'll achieve a 1st this year, compared to the competition. I'm pretty happy with where I am at the moment so I don't really want to sacrifice these other aspects over the next month for a...

I am currently in the sixth and final semester of my undergraduate degree in Physics. Some people here are probably aware that my father has been fighting cancer since June 2021. Unfortunately, I lost him yesterday (not to cancer, but to pneumonia). He was admitted in hospital for more than...

For example, Terrence Tao has an endowed research position where he is able (paid to) through grants and school salary to do whatever research he wants. Tao does research in pure and applied math. This is rare of course, but I haven’t been able to find any information on this in physics...

I was watching a video about english spelling reform where the author, as an aside, pointed out something that I thought was rather more important than anything else in the video: A fully phonetic alphabet is impossible because we don't agree on what the words are supposed to sound like. You...

Greetings everyone! After many attempts and fails I believe I have fallen between the cracks of the education system. I would appreciate any advice how I can get back on the right track and continue my formal education. I am residing in the Eastern European country. I have finished high...

Hey, I figured the general discussion would be the most appropriate place for this discussion. I finished my PhD a couple years ago and moved to my original country. I still keep in touch with my previous adviser as we are still working on my thesis research, which is great. However, because of...

In Thailand university professors become an unstable job due to a new policy. There's literally zero job security even if you get tenured (become associate ,assistant profs) you'll still get sacked by the authorities if you don't conform to them. Little to No retirement pensions. Some professors...

Not sure if this off-topic ,but I think it would fit in Stem Career guidance. I'm currently a 2nd year physics major in Thailand and have been losing sleep thinking about my future in academia for days. Yeah just like many of you guys here, I was inspired to pursue physics by many of great...

There is a Theoretical Physicist by the name of Garret Lisi. He gave a ted Talk on one of his unified physics theories that received a lot of attention. The reason why I am bringing him up is because he left academia after he finished his phd and moved to Maui. During his time there he found...

Hello! I see more and more papers that use AI for physics analysis or to find approximate solutions that would otherwise be impossible or very slow to find. What do you think is the future for AI in physics on long term. Do you think it would become a field on its own within physics? Would it...

Hi, I am a grad student and share an office with 4 other grad students. I have a question about one of the students. We have been in the same office for 2 yrs. The student mostly sleeps while they are here. Every day this week, the student has slept from almost the moment they get in. I...

Hi everyone. One of the perennial favourite topics here in the Career Guidance section is the employability of physics graduates, including those with just a BSc degree instead of a PhD. I've found the following links on Metafilter and Reddit which I thought might be relevant (the last...

Hello, I am currently in India and have completed the standard 12 years of schooling and eventually want to get into Physics academia and research. Now I currently have a choice between a three year standard science degree(BSc honours in Physics) and a four year engineering degree(BTech in...

Hi, I'm currently a junior majoring in physics and intend on going to graduate school to get a PhD in nuclear physics after graduation. This post may be premature, as I'm not even in grad school yet, but I have a general question about a career in physics. I would eventually like to work as a...

I hope my question doesn't sound bitter, it's not meant to be, I'm just a grad student wanting to get some opinions on how things are. I'm especially interested in hearing from people outside academia as well, since I assume people *within* academia might have an unrealistic view of what the...

Is it worth doing pure math if you're not going into academia? Would it be a bad idea to get your bachelors in pure math and stop there? Is pure math just something for people who want to go on to grad school? I'm just not sure if there are good job prospects for someone with a bachelors in...

In short, I changed major from business to CE, and don't really enjoy it. I've never been too good at most academic stuff and struggled a lot due to personal stuff. I got A*A*AABBBC in GCSE A* in chem and english. A*BCcc in a level A* in economics. B in maths First major I did was business...

Hi All, Happy 2017! I am a first year PhD student at a well respected research university for Fluid Dynamics research in England. My PhD research is in the field of Geophysical and Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics. I am interested in gaining some writing, and publishing experience and I thought...

I'm not sure if this is the right section but.. During the semester it feels like we are learning a ton of stuff at a crazy pace, but then when the semester is over I always look back and am like "that's it? I've learned everything about X class that I will need to know for all of my future...

So after being in school for 6+ years for math (from age 33 to 40, undergrad to grad) I am back in the workforce. I still have to pass a qualifier, (for master's) but it was easier to study for it when I was not in school with the TA+class load+ baby. (and I didn't really need any more...

Hi everyone! I may have brought this up in an earlier thread, but thought I'd revisit this. I have browsed the forums for a while, and one common topic that gets brought up is about how competitive tenure-track positions are within physics (certainly within the US, and likely to be the case...

I suffer from serious bouts of depression/anxiety that come and go for no obvious reason. I started physics this year and its hit me half way through the semester. I made a doc appointment to fix this and I am afraid it will hurt me academically if its not fixed and I won't be able to do awesome...

Hi all, After a major in physics (European university), a PhD in AMO physics (laser matter interaction) I am in the beginning of my 3rd postdoctoral position. I have been always studying laser interaction (from moderate to strong intensities) with molecules , atoms and (for a while surfaces). I...

Hello PF! I was just wondering what the main pros and cons of working in both academia and industry are. I have read some things about this, but sometimes the texts just sounded biased. Personally, I have always wanted to go into academia, based on my limited amount of understanding, I’ve...

I hope this is right place to post this. I just wanted to get this off of my chest. I am frustrated, and depressed because I am an outsider to the physics community. I am posting this with the hope that somebody else might be able to add perspective to my situation. I apologize if that's...

Hello, Sorry if this is the wrong place to post it but thought it related to careers I am currently a undergrad with the aspirations of becoming a lecturer in physics at a university. (I know this is unlikely to happen but I have to give it my best shot) I was wondering if any people on here...

What do you guys think is the best area to be employed in? Depending on various degree levels, which area is better for undergraduates, graduates, or those who already obtained a degree? Which area is more helpful for getting into graduate school (if you're an undergrad) and which area has more...

Does anyone have any good suggestions on what I should or should not include if I intend to apply to some industry-oriented jobs, coming from academia? When I was an engineer my resume had a lot more detail about the individual experiences of each job. That's fine and dandy, but what about my...

Hi everyone, I'm just starting my first year in undergrad and I've started to think a bit more about job prospects in physics. More specifically, the possibility of going into academia to work on theory, maybe HEP or condensed matter, maybe materials science. The thing is, almost everything I've...

Wondering if somebody could help me. I'm in the 3rd year of a 4 year MPhys course and at the point where I am actively applying for placements/internships etc and thinking about what to do after university. I love physics don't get me wrong, but really don't fancy staying at uni for another...

So I'm a little stuck. When I heard of a career as a researcher or academic, I jumped on it. Working at University and controlling my workload? Helping young uni undergrads to learn physics? Spending a few years at CERN at a specialist in particle physics? The idea really appealed to me. Now, I...

Hi ! I have recently graduated with a BSc in AEing. I published an article, won an international design competition, and graduated with a perfect CGPA + honors. My original plan was to work for 3 years for experience then join an MSc program to specialize in the topic. Yet it has been around 6...

Hello all, I am in my sophomore year in college trying to prep for grad school, with my interest being in biophysics. My question is, since biophysics is so broad a subject, will it help my chances of getting a tenure track position in academia (ie, can apply for a position in biology, in...

I'm Indian and I've heard stuff that it is difficult to get into a good PhD program in the US/UK for string theory because the competition is more fierce than other fields. Furthermore,the likelihood for getting academic positions is even tougher(added to the fact that I'm from a different...

One of the reasons for me to pursue the PhD path was that you are (more) successful when your work have more impact on the society as a whole. One such way to do that is to publish papers, since these, especially at the basic sciences level, eventually affect the life of the people as a whole...

(Title should read "for" PhD Physicists... I can't type today) From Science Daily: The one graint of salt to take this report with is the fact that 10-15 years before 2011, was well into the dotcom boom, where physics PhDs were aggressively recruited for their number crunching skills. It...

Hello Everyone I am not 100 % sure if this belongs in career thread, so please feel free to tell me if this needs to be moved. I am currently happy with the career path I have chosen, I am still pursuing my MS in Electrical Engineering. However, lately I have been curious about something. I...

So this is really something that's been bugging me for awhile, though I still have a lot of time. I'm only 21 now and in my 3rd year of undergrad. I plan to go on to graduate school, get a PhD, postdoc, and then become a professor. A long, arduous process, but one that I'm (so far) willing to...

Hello all. I am a high school student, and I plan on going to University (not sure which yet) to study Astrophysics, and I hope to eventually land a research job at a prestigious University. Of course, this is a very ambitious goal, and that's where my question comes in: Will I be able to do...

I am curious to hear your stories / opinions on what do physicists do after many post-PhD years in academia? A small fraction may get more-or-less ongoing research and/or teaching academic positions, but what about the majority of physicists? It appears that if a physicist tries to pursue a...

Hey guys! Let me throw in who I am before I introduce my question. I finished my year of graduate school last May, figured out an advisor and a field (something related with Brownian motion on manifolds), and I'm overall happy with it all. No plans of dropping out, I enjoy the company of my...

I've been thinking about science academia as an employer, or a profession, rather than as a vocation. It's full of very high aptitude people who do a lot of work for very little money. Why? They say they enjoy it, and maybe many do. As do I. However the nature of the work doesn't seem...