Can a CS Graduate Pursue a Career in Physics?

AI Thread Summary
A computer science graduate with a strong interest in physics is exploring career options that blend both fields. The discussion highlights the challenge of entering physics-related jobs without a formal physics degree, emphasizing that many physics jobs, particularly in research, are limited and competitive. It suggests that transitioning from a computer science background to a physics career is uncommon, as most physics graduates tend to move into computing or engineering roles. The conversation points to computational physics as a promising area, involving simulations and high-performance computing, which could leverage both programming skills and physics knowledge. To pursue a career in physics research, obtaining a physics degree is recommended to gain the necessary foundational knowledge. Overall, the discussion underscores the importance of formal education in transitioning to a physics-focused career.
mrxyz
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Hi,

I'm an about to be CS graduate but my interest in physics greatly outweighs that of programming or developing software. Especially theoretical physics or anything related to physics for that matter so what I'd like to do is to go into a physics job however not having a physics degree I don't know how I'll go about doing it or which job I can even go into.

I think a wise choice would be to go into a career which is a mix of the computing/physics related work but then I'd like to work my way up to get into physics completely.

What kind of career would be good for me in this case? And how can I go about doing the above?

Also, does having a degree in one subject mean you're limited to careers only in that field in life or is it possible to switch to something else as you find your true interest.
 
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Whats a physics job? Do you mean research? Not many such jobs exist and you can't really get promoted into one. Check out the "so you want to be a physicist" thread for insight into getting a job in physics. Otherwise the opposite transition usually happens, physics degree holders attempt to sell themselves in a CS (or engineering) field since there isn't really any such thing as a physics job.

Most people don't get a career related to their degree and in physics this is particularly true. To me CS seems more likely to get you into a career that is related to your degree.
 
By job I mean something which yields money. I'm absolutely fine with research, in fact I find it quite interesting an enjoyable. How can someone get into one of these research-jobs.
 
Computational physics, from alloy development to multi-scale, multi-physics (CFD, fluid-structure interaction, heat transport, etc) simulations of complex systems, is a growing area. Large simulations of high fidelity require computations on clusters or supercomputers.
 
mrxyz said:
By job I mean something which yields money. I'm absolutely fine with research, in fact I find it quite interesting an enjoyable. How can someone get into one of these research-jobs.
Go back to school and get a degree in physics, (at the minimum), you need the knowledge that you don't have.
 

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