Can Theoretical Physics PhDs Thrive in Industry Jobs?

[Scott92]

<Moderator note: Moved from academic guidance to career guidance on Scott92's request. Reason: The question primarily addresses job opportunities in dependence of PhD subject.>

Hey everyone,

I'm a student who is currently undertaking a Master of Physics (coursework & research) at the University of Western Australia. I have also previously completed two Bachelor's degrees: one in physics and one in electrical engineering (with honours). Next year, I am hoping to start a PhD in HEP somewhere in Australia, however, I am really struggling to choose between doing a highly theoretical topic (physics beyond the SM such as supersymmetry, string theory, etc.) or doing a topic that is closer to the experimental front (which would involve analyzing data provided by ATLAS and getting my hands dirty).

My inability to choose stems from the fear that following my passion (theory beyond the SM) will mean that not only will my research have no industry relevance, but that I will also have a VERY hard time finding academic jobs relevant to my field (I've heard through the grapevine that you have more chance of becoming a professional athlete than becoming a professor in theoretical HEP which is honestly quite dejecting). Choosing the experimental option might make landing an academic position easier (correct me if I'm wrong), and would at least provide me some skills in signal/data analysis (which is honestly a very interesting area to me as well) that I could apply to some areas in industry.

However as I mentioned before, understanding physics beyond the SM is undoubtedly my passion so I would really like to pursue a PhD in it to determine whether or not it can become more than just a hobby. I've heard of theoretical HEP PhD's going into finance, etc. when finding an academic position proved fruitless, but if I'm being honest, that doesn't sound all that appealing to me. Which leads me to my main question:

In case I can't find an academic position in theoretical HEP, do you think my EE degree and MPhys (both of which involved experimental research projects highly focused on signal processing and data analysis) would be sufficient credentials to land a job in engineering/signal processing/data analysis? Or perhaps if I'm lucky, even some area of industry research (if so, what areas)?

Further, do you think having a PhD in theoretical HEP, in addition to my other credentials, would be a benefit or a hindrance in securing these types of jobs?

Some potentially relevant information:

• I have a GPA of 7.0 and a WAM of 90
• I have 12 weeks of work experience at an electrical engineering company
• My EE research project involved analyzing audio signals to achieve desired acoustic properties
• My MPhys research project is about detecting gravitational waves which involves heavy signal processing and manipulating large sets of data (100GB+) using python
• By the end of this year my MPhys research should produce at least 1 or 2 papers in the Physical Review Letters journal
• I have a strong background in QFT & GR as well associated mathematical fields like group theory and differential geometry

 

[jedishrfu]

Where I work signal processing is a big component of the job. We have PhD level physicists from several fields doing primarily signal processing work. You should have no difficulty in finding work.

I would go with your passion now because you can and things will work themselves out.

 

[Scott92]

Where I work signal processing is a big component of the job. We have PhD level physicists from several fields doing primarily signal processing work. You should have no difficulty in finding work.

I would go with your passion now because you can and things will work themselves out.

That is very comforting to hear! If I may ask, what is the exact nature of these jobs these physics PhD's are undertaking? And what is the general job title given to them, if any? (I would like to know this for future reference if looking for industry jobs becomes a necessity)

 

[jedishrfu]

Many universities have affiliated research labs that do underwater acoustical research which require digital signals processing and analysis in their adaptive beam forming and related tasks. Some astronomy projects also require it. you could check in Australia about those opportunities.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_Science_and_Technology_Group