Job Definition and 867 Threads

Wasn't really sure whether this belonged in academic or career guidance. I just have a question that's been bugging me after reading so much about how hard it is to end up in an academic research position. If someone has an education and knowledge set rivaling the average research scientist...

Hi everyone! I would like to ask you for some advice on a decision I need to take soon... I am about to finish a PhD in theoretical physics, and I decided to leave academia. I recently landed a job offer, where I would be working as a financial consultant in risk management. The job...

I have a job interview on Monday that is scheduled to last 9-5. It is for working on a research project for a bioartificial liver, the job roles will be a mix between conducting research and helping run the lab. I'm OK on the science side of things and I consider myself great at interviews but...

I had an interview with a pharmaceutical company (for an intern position) and at the time I didn't really care whether I got the job or not so I wasn't nervous at all and consequently, I did a phenomenally good interview. I just spontaneously became highly charismatic and said everything I...

So, I'm a quasi-junior undergraduate right now. Essentially, I was planning on transferring to NYU for physics, but over the summer I decided not to because of the crazy loans I'd be taking out, and as of right now I'm taking an Anatomy and Physiology class and Organic Chem class at a community...

I accepted a job offer today for a program manager position at a large international company. It's a 6 month contract job it will be extended another 6 months upon acceptable performance. After the 12 month they will consider hiring me direct. I have an EE degree and the position will have...

So, here's the back story: I got a call from a recruiter trying to fill a position. Long story short, I nailed the interview and they called me back today saying: "we were so impressed that we'd really like to redefine the position we're offering you." It's a small company, and I was...

I hate my engineering job! I graduated from university last year at the top of my year, I used to enjoy engineering at university as i found it challenging and I enjoy doing maths. I am now working in industry as a design analyst and I absolutely hate it! I find it so boring, all I do all day...

Did past "technical experience" + "physics degree" help you get the job? Reading another posting on this forum got me to thinking, and I want to see if anyone else here was in the same situation as I am. I have 15 years experience in manufacturing and 2 technical diplomas: Machine Tool...

I have a son who is an Oracle data-base designer. He tells me that there is virtually no unemployment for Americans who have IT (Information Technology) skills. He has talked with many firms that do placement in the IT field, and they maintain that they can go more than a year without getting...

Hi all :-) A little while back I went for an interview for a physics based job which, unfortunately, I completely screwed up. Part of the problem was that when they asked me some really basic physics questions, the sort of thing I haven't done since first/second year, I was a.) put off...

Hello everyone. I would assume such a thread would be very common in this section but I believe my circumstances are specific so I will make a new one. I'm a student in Slovenia, Central Europe. I'm finishing a bachelor's degree in physics. My particular area of study were astronomy and...

Hi, I wanted some information as to how one should proceed to get a job in country X when he is in country Y, which is a 15-hour plane ride away. The easy way would be doing my degree in country X and working my way from there but the odds are that I will *have* to do this in Y. How do I...

Hi, I have just got my Bachelor's Degree in Physics. I would like to pursue a career in Physics, preferably in the field of quantum technology or nanoscience. Right now, I can't continue my studies due to financial reasons and family problems. So, I'm thinking of getting a job first as a...

Hello, I am a 23 year old female, and I need some career advise. I was an undergraduate mathematics/physics major. I began going to school for Applied Physics at a top ten university, but I decided that I was very unhappy with the course work and the weather, so I finished the semester and...

I am quite certain I will not be going for a PhD, and after doing some research most job postings seem to be looking for PhD's in math. I am in my second year doing this applied mathematics degree, (It is actually even more focused "Computational Mathematics") but if my job prospects are...

Hi there, I've been wondering for some time what the nuclear engineer job exactly looks like. I am particulary interested in one question: is there a place in the field of nuclear engineering for guys who would rather do the math and equations than build anything? Are there jobs for power...

Hi there, I've been wondering for some time what the power engineer job exactly looks like. I am particulary interested in one question: is there a place in the field of power engineering for guys who would rather do the math and equations than build anything? Are there jobs for power...

Right now I'm at a community college and I am a semester or two away from transferring to the local Uni in the Chemical Engineering program. I need some advice. So far in school I've been working part time and going to school part time. As many of you probably know, working while taking these...

Hi everybody, nice to meet you all I'm studing Physics in Catania University, Italy, and I'll get the master degree in Physics next summer. My thesis will be on plasma focus and I will spend a period in Bologna, DIENCA laboratories to work on it. I would like to know if there will be any...

I am a current sophomore (just started soph year) Electrical engineering major at a top state school So this last summer (end of frosh year) I worked in a research lab. I sort of want to go to grad school after my BS. But, just in case grad school does not work out for me, I want to keep the...

After a lot of searching and coming close to getting a job in the field I want, I have accepted the fact that this is unlikely to happen. Truly disappointing. I do have the opportunity to obtain a job outside my field. My concern is graduate school. I want to work for about a year, then go...

Hello again. In the first fork in the road thread I outlined some problems that I am dealing with, and you kind folks offered many suggestions. The 3 big ones that I can remember without looking are: 1) Find roommate. 2) Join Military 3) Work multiple jobs and save up more money. I...

I turned in my letter of resignation yesterday and two weeks from tomorrow I'll be unemployed. I quit to go back to school full time. I posted a https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=464314" back in January, but I was able to work through the semester and take the two classes. I...

A lot of my friends in defense have been telling me that programs have either been cut harshly or been told they're on the same operating budget. Seeing as defense seems to be one of the largest areas we go into, this is very unsettling. Private companies seem to be about the same as far as...

http://www.markjoshi.com/downloads/advice.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_analyst Which sub-specialty of mathematics or physics, excluding statistics is the most pertinent to quant jobs(especially model validation quant)?

Hi everyone (particularly practicing engineers and managers of engineers) I failed one of my classes senior year, therefore failing to receive my degree (B.S. Physics ). Before graduation I was offered a job in the exact industry I wanted to work in with great pay and benefits. As it...

I have been working at my current employer for about a year. About 9 months into the job things had changed and I decided that this was not the right place for me long term. So for I've been on and off looking around for other employment and finally something broke for me. I was given a job...

Not always, and of course there are exceptions, but now there is a glut of educated people. There's this story that parents tell their children: Go to college. Get a degree. Find a good job in that field. In 1940, only a handful of privileged people were able to get their Bachelors...

With an unemployment rate above 9% a $14.3Trillion national debt (with proposed cuts of $2Trillion) expected to grow another $7+Trillion, spending at approximately 25% of GDP, roughly 43% of all spending is on credit, and GDP growing at less than 2% - something must be done to encourage economic...

Hey, although I am 14, i have known for a long time that i want to be a physicist. My dream job would be to work at the LHC or at fermilab. I was wandering what universities offer great physics courses in the UK and would be right for me. I have an IQ of 162, and enjoy maths and physics. What...

I was going to do a double major at penn state with aerospace engineering and either physics or astronomy and astrophysics. Which one would better help me get a job at NASA? physics or astronomy and astrophysics

I am currently an undergraduate majoring in honors physics and mathematics. I am also doing pre-med studies. If I don't make it into medical school, I am thinking about what field I should continue to study. The field of physics that I actually like is mathematical physics, including gauge...

Hi, I am a recent grad with a BSEE and I will be taking an exam for a job. The exam will consist of the following: RF Microwave Devices, Digital Devices, DC Electronic Theory, Electronic Measurements, Electronic Math, AC Electronic Theory , and Active Devices, I have knowledge of...

Just accepted my first "real" job! I'm not generally one to too my own horn, so this is pretty awkward for me, but I figured I'd let you all know that a big thing has happened in my life - I just accepted my true dream job. I will be working on different embedded system architectures for...

Hi guys, I'm just about to start university however because of some weird thing with advanced credits because I did IB, I have to declare what I want to take this year. I did a bunch of deliberation and finally settled on an Honours Physics degree. I'm wondering: what kind of job...

Hello everyone! I hope this is the correct spot for this question. Basically I was wondering who exactly can call themselves a scientist? I have several co-workers who have degrees in Environmental Science. We do not work in that field though. And during several debates - one in which they were...

Here's some background information about my academic career to explain my situation: I came into college with a huge head start (>45 AP credits) and went straight into higher level physics classes; my original plan was to graduate in 3 years. My first year I did really well one semester...

So, I've just graduated with an MPhys in the UK, with a decent 2:1. I have a funded [minimum EPSRC stipend, £13.5k] PhD position at my current university, that starts in October. I also have a job offer in the US, to work in software. The pay is (what I would consider) pretty decent, $130k...

As we all know, the job market for physicists is abysmal. but just how bad is it? and what role does the prestige of the university you attended play? Will someone who earned their Ph. D from MIT or Harvard have a much easier time getting a post-doc, than say, someone who went to Virginia Tech...

How likely is it for someone with a Bachelor's in Applied Physics to land a job as an electrical or mechanical engineer?

Hello, much probably my job won't be research in theoretical physics, but that's what I'd like to do. I'll get out of university with a master's degree in some area of physics. Is it possible to do research even if that's not my job? Does anybody do this?

I have third (and final) round of interviews scheduled for next week with Qualcomm. The Qualcomm job is full-time, and in Colorado. In short, it's my dream job. Medtronic has been calling me and asking if I am interested in a job opportunity there, a contractor position which is less...

Okay so I'm an Engineering Physics major and I plan on taking plenty of EE courses. I am considering doing a little extra work and declaring a minor. My current plan is to go to graduate school but I would like a fallback plan in case something comes up. I would like to work with something...

I am an international graduate student studying in U.S.. I am pretty not sure whether or not it is easy to find job in American university/college (gaining a teaching position) after graduation. I come from China, P.R., and now a physics graduate student in U.S.. I still have many years left...

Hi everyone, does anyone know what the typical job market is like for recent graduates in the geophysics field. I mean given the price of oil and the global financial crisis does one even stand a chance. I like to hear from some of you who are in the geoscience field as well. I know Alberta...

Hello, when I finish school I will have an MS in nuclear engineering with second majors in both applied math and physics. I was wondering, if I get a job at a national lab, what will my prospects be vs. someone entering with a phd? After some time there will I be able to do the same work that...

I posted before when I was considering a career in the Navy as a Nuclear Propulsion officer. Though I have not fully thrown the idea out, I landed a civilian job in the nuclear industry. I was looking into the Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard, and was wondering how it would actually...

Hi. I am now to choose what I must study for engineering. So,I wanted some help.Everyone says "you must take what you like and what you will enjoy doing and what will make your job enjoyable". But,I don't know what I'll learn in engineering and what job I'll have to do. (I have to pick among...

Hi, I'm graduating this summer with my ME degree. I've started my job hunt and I have a few questions. When looking for jobs I keep stumbling across positions that require a good 5-10 years of experience that fit the bill of my interests succinctly. For example, this boeing job fits most of...