Schools Best Schools In The Us For Physicists

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When considering colleges for a physics degree beyond Ivy League and Stanford, the choice largely depends on the specific field of physics one intends to pursue. While schools like UC Berkeley and UC Davis are mentioned, the reputation of the institution may not be as crucial as the faculty and their connections, which can significantly impact job opportunities. Theoretical physics can lead to lucrative private sector jobs, whereas cosmology tends to have limited career prospects outside academia. Many successful physicists emerge from lesser-known colleges, indicating that reputation is not everything. For those aiming for research careers, further education is essential, typically requiring a PhD and several years of postdoctoral work, leading to a lengthy educational path before securing a permanent position in the field.
Silverbackman
Besides IV League and Stanford, what are the best colleges you can come out of with a physics degree and get the highest salary and year annual pay? UC Berkeley? UC Davis? CALPOLY? ECT? ECT?
 
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Well the ivy league schools arent necessarily the best in physics. It really depends on what field of physics you want to study. Pay simply depends on which job you get and what your experience is and how well known you are. It also depends on who you studied under because they will be able to help you get the better jobs based on their own name recognition.
 
Pengwuino said:
Well the ivy league schools arent necessarily the best in physics. It really depends on what field of physics you want to study. Pay simply depends on which job you get and what your experience is and how well known you are. It also depends on who you studied under because they will be able to help you get the better jobs based on their own name recognition.

Then what is the best school for the field theoretical physics and cosmology?
 
Theoretical physicists can get high paying jobs on the private sector but don't think you can make money with cosmology because cosmologists aren't needed outside of universities. Well maybe except to write pop-sci books and appear on tv every now and then.
 
IMO, CalPoly is only good for getting you a job at Cisco Sytems ! :biggrin: And many of the IVY league schools are pretty bad for physics. At the college level, it doesn't matter so much what the reputation of the school is. Many successful physicists come from less known colleges.

And if you want to do research in physics, don't expect to start after a college degree. You'll want to then go to grad school and spend 5-7 yrs getting a PhD. After this, you will spend a few more years on a postdoc.

So, if you're in high schoolnow, you've got at least about 12 years to go before you get a permanent job in physics.

<waiting for Zz to do the pulling his hair out act>
 
Last edited:
Gokul43201 said:
<waiting for Zz to do the pulling his hair out act>

Too late, Gokul. I've pulled my hair each time question like this pops up that I have none left to pull. So now I just grind my teeth and let it slip by. Eventually, I'll wear away at the enamel...

Zz.
 
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