BS in physics wondering about career options

[DylanG]

This may have been asked before but I am going to ask anyway.

I am currently studying a BS with a major in Physics. I'm in my second year and have taken maths, physics and computing courses. I am very interested in computing and mathematics and enjoy learning about physics.

Basically I am wondering what kind of career prospects I would have if i were to not do a PhD, but graduate with honours. I would like to work in some kind of technology or R&D industry where there is good promotion potential.

What kind of jobs have people with similar qualifications had and what would people recommend I do with my 3rd and honours year to get a good chance of finding an intellectually challenging, rewarding job.

 

[ZapperZ]

http://www.aip.org/statistics/

Zz.

 

[DylanG]

I guess I should also mention in case anybody has some insight into this that I am currently studying at The University of New South Wales (I live in Australia). I wouldn't mind moving to america or elsewhere if the work were more available there.
I should mention that I don't really know at all what I want to do as a career but I do like earning money as well as feeling like I have the potential to progress.

 

[fss]

Sky's the limit with a physics degree. Depends mostly on how flexible you are and how well you can sell yourself to an employer.

 

[Ryker]

Sky's the limit with a physics degree.

Also, the world is your oyster

 

[foxfyr]

Sky's the limit with a physics degree. Depends mostly on how flexible you are and how well you can sell yourself to an employer.

As much as I value several degrees in physics, I must say this sounds like an undergrads POV who has not actually entered the workforce.

First, many here focus on cosmology, string/M theory, and all sorts of fascinating esoterica - but has anyone stopped to think of the practical applications for this aside from providing folks a reason to avoid you at parties as you discuss the later Big Bang theories? And just how many jobs give a flip about cosmology and string theory?

Physics is like philosophy, it provides a great structure for logical thinking, and you can walk about smugly knowing that you have a better understanding of the sources of concepts then those silly engineers who only know applied aspects of the concepts.

But physics is not an endgame. In all but a few exceptional areas, it is an underpinning for further development.

Put another way, with a master's in physics, you can't even teach 7th grade science! And you won't get a job in an engineering firm. And you are not going to be courted for any applied post. As regardless of how knowledgeable you are, you have NONE of the professional licenses required by the business world.

Do you have communication skills? Do you know business in a manner that you can provide strategic insight into how specific applied technologies can immediately advance the effectiveness and efficiencies of businesses Now? (and no, I don't mean amorphous talk of green technologies or other nonsense like that!) Probably not.

Physics is great, but unless you partner it with a degree (undergrad or MBA) in business with a concentration in project management such that you can converse in a meaningful manner with accountants who specifically went into accounting because they hate physics, you are going to face a very lonely future.

And with the continuing off shoring of technology, even engineering is increasingly becoming a commoditized field. Why should any large company hie an overpriced domestic physicist when they can hire someone from China or India fur a fraction of the price? And before you start telling me, you might want to address those actually doing it as the jobs quickly disappear and examine the job market for how many experienced folks with multiple graduate degrees are having trouble finding anything but contract work for 6 months at a time - if they can find that.

You might look at health-care related applications as well as an almost required business co-requisite and start researching jobs. And by this I mean, TALK to those in the field, not your academic adviser who has likely never been outside of academia and part of whose job is to fill seats in the physics classes!

You are going to be in for a rude awakening if you wait, only to discover that one needs much more than a simple technical degree. And one who fails to prepare for the professional prerequisites such as professional licenses - as a physicist is not going to be hired as an engineer without a PE; nor as even a junior high school science teacher without a teaching certificate!

 

[fss]

As much as I value several degrees in physics, I must say this sounds like an undergrads POV who has not actually entered the workforce.

Incorrect. I am very comfortable and satisfied with my engineering position.

First, many here focus on cosmology, string/M theory, and all sorts of fascinating esoterica - but has anyone stopped to think of the practical applications for this aside from providing folks a reason to avoid you at parties as you discuss the later Big Bang theories? And just how many jobs give a flip about cosmology and string theory?

Really? Undergraduates studying M-theory? Hmm.

Physics is like philosophy, it provides a great structure for logical thinking, and you can walk about smugly knowing that you have a better understanding of the sources of concepts then those silly engineers who only know applied aspects of the concepts.

On similar lines, the transition from physics to engineering is decidedly less difficult than going the other way.

Put another way, with a master's in physics, you can't even teach 7th grade science!

In a public school, neither can a PhD without a teaching license. What's your point?

And you won't get a job in an engineering firm.

Incorrect.

http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/highlite/emp2/figure2a.htm
http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/states/state.html
http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/highlite/career/career5.pdf

As regardless of how knowledgeable you are, you have NONE of the professional licenses required by the business world.

Not always true, but this is the main catch of doing physics vs. engineering.

Do you have communication skills? Do you know business in a manner that you can provide strategic insight into how specific applied technologies can immediately advance the effectiveness and efficiencies of businesses Now? (and no, I don't mean amorphous talk of green technologies or other nonsense like that!) Probably not.

This can be true for anyone. Neither physicists nor engineers "communicate better" than the other.

Honestly, I must say that your entire post sounds like a bitter physics graduate unable to find a job.

 

[Dembadon]

As much as I value several degrees in physics, I must say this sounds like an undergrads POV who has not actually entered the workforce.

First, many here focus on cosmology, string/M theory, and all sorts of fascinating esoterica - but has anyone stopped to think of the practical applications for this aside from providing folks a reason to avoid you at parties as you discuss the later Big Bang theories? And just how many jobs give a flip about cosmology and string theory?

There are many employers who desire the analytical, problem solving, and critical thinking skills one gets with a physics education. Also, at what institution is string theory a part of an undergraduate physics program?

Physics is like philosophy, it provides a great structure for logical thinking, and you can walk about smugly knowing that you have a better understanding of the sources of concepts then those silly engineers who only know applied aspects of the concepts.

What about the engineering majors, such as myself, who've chosen to take upper-division (theoretical) math/physics courses out of pure interest? This isn't common, but still doesn't give one the right to call an applied science major "silly."

But physics is not an endgame. In all but a few exceptional areas, it is an underpinning for further development.

Put another way, with a master's in physics, you can't even teach 7th grade science! And you won't get a job in an engineering firm. And you are not going to be courted for any applied post. As regardless of how knowledgeable you are, you have NONE of the professional licenses required by the business world.

The CIO of our company has a B.Sc. in physics. He not only worked as an engineer for Schlumberger on an oil rig in Yemen for many years, but also is quite successful working with the business side of things.

Do you have communication skills? Do you know business in a manner that you can provide strategic insight into how specific applied technologies can immediately advance the effectiveness and efficiencies of businesses Now? (and no, I don't mean amorphous talk of green technologies or other nonsense like that!) Probably not!

Physics is great, but unless you partner it with a degree (undergrad or MBA) in business with a concentration in project management such that you can converse in a meaningful manner with accountants who specifically went into accounting because they hate physics, you are going to face a very lonely future.

Do you have any actual data for any of these claims? The results I've gotten from your "just talk to someone in the field" advice is not congruent with the assertions you've made, as most of them are either happily working or have found entry level engineering/programing jobs and worked their way up.

You are going to be in for a rude awakening if you wait, only to discover that one needs much more than a simple technical degree. And one who fails to prepare for the professional prerequisites such as professional licenses - as a physicist is not going to be hired as an engineer without a PE; nor as even a junior high school science teacher without a teaching certificate!

emphasis mine

Each state has different laws regarding what is required to sit for the PE license, which, in case you didn't know, is not required of all engineering positions. The blanket statement I bolded might apply to some of them, but certainly not all (i.e. California and Nevada).

 

[B.C.]

I got a BS in physics nearly 40 years ago, and have worked doing software in the fields of image and audio signal processing. It requires some math, of course, but nothing of any difficulty I hadn't encountered in school.

I do not have a PE license. I don't believe any of the many people I have worked with over the years have such a license.

Are some posters here from a parallel universe? Could this be the proof that the multiverse exists?

 

[TMFKAN64]

Unless you are building something that could fall down and hurt somebody, you probably don't need a PE license.

If you *do* need one, it is much easier if you get a bachelor's degree in engineering.

This shouldn't really be surprising though... if you want to be an engineer, get a degree in engineering, and if you want to be a physicist, get a degree in physics.