Physics Career Prospects (outside of academia)

[Sammy_E]

For some background, I'm currently a 3rd year physics major with an astro specialization studying in Canada, and as undergraduates are want to do I'm regularly evaluating my career prospects down the road. I also plan on pursuing grad school when I've completed my degree.

It might just be my anxiety acting up a little, but with a lot of the government funding drying up for public science research broadly in the US, the 'industry' everyone keeps talking about when questions like this are asked seems to be more and more appealing if I want to stay in North America. But what exactly does the 'industry' encapsulate in terms of physics? Does moving to the EU for work in the public sector seem feasible? Should I even be worried about this as an undergrad?

Thanks for any wisdom to calm my worries <3

 

[Dale]

Definitely the economy is changing. It is difficult to predict for now how things will change. But in general industry is more tied to the economy than to government funding.

When you think about physics in industry you need to perhaps broaden your thinking. Have you considered, for example, medical physics?

 

[Esim Can]

Hello @Sammy_E
I would suggest to stay away from Europe at the moment, lets say for the next 10 years. Perhaps Swiss or Austria may be a place, where the economy could stay stable but anything else,.. it looks quite grim at the moment here. The most physicists i know in the industry are not working on their field but in very different areas, which are less about science. If you want to do science in your field, i would suggest to stay inside the academical institutions if possible. Canada is a very good place at the moment to be. If you want to leave north-America, i would rather suggest China, east Asia, Japan, perhaps New Zealand, Australia from economy aspects then Europe. If you look at the statistics, more than half of the people in Germany for example would leave, if they could. GB and France even worse. If possible look for a job opportunity inside a company like SpaceX or such kind. Medical physics as Dale said is also very good, AI, drones, Weapon-industry will pay good. USE AI, the more the better. Science will change drastically in near future with it. Good luck for your future.

Greets
Esim Can

 

[Sammy_E]

Definitely the economy is changing. It is difficult to predict for now how things will change. But in general industry is more tied to the economy than to government funding.

When you think about physics in industry you need to perhaps broaden your thinking. Have you considered, for example, medical physics?

Hm, yea that makes sense, that was my understanding as well. As for broadening my horizons, you're definitely right, I hadn't even considered medical physics I'll look into it, it appears intriguing!

 

[Sammy_E]

Hello @Sammy_E
I would suggest to stay away from Europe at the moment, lets say for the next 10 years. Perhaps Swiss or Austria may be a place, where the economy could stay stable but anything else,.. it looks quite grim at the moment here. The most physicists i know in the industry are not working on their field but in very different areas, which are less about science. If you want to do science in your field, i would suggest to stay inside the academical institutions if possible. Canada is a very good place at the moment to be. If you want to leave north-America, i would rather suggest China, east Asia, Japan, perhaps New Zealand, Australia from economy aspects then Europe. If you look at the statistics, more than half of the people in Germany for example would leave, if they could. GB and France even worse. If possible look for a job opportunity inside a company like SpaceX or such kind. Medical physics as Dale said is also very good, AI, drones, Weapon-industry will pay good. USE AI, the more the better. Science will change drastically in near future with it. Good luck for your future.

Greets
Esim Can

I really appreciate the input.

I've definitely heard that sentiment about the European markets echoed online, but it's funny you mention people want to leave if possible because I've seen folks in NA talk about escaping, perhaps the grass really is always greener on the side HAHA. To your point about AI and the arms manufacturing; maybe it's me being a bit of a luddite, but I have pretty strong feelings against either of those, alas part of me knows that change is this direction is inevitable. Never the less, thank you for your insights :)

 

[Dale]

USE AI, the more the better. Science will change drastically in near future with it

Perhaps with AI tools designed for specific uses, but not with modern LLM’s. Those are currently actively harmful

 

[Nugatory]

I'm currently a 3rd year physics major with an astro specialization studying in Canada, and as undergraduates are wont to do I'm regularly evaluating my career prospects down the road. I also plan on pursuing grad school when I've completed my degree.

With tongue somewhat in cheek, I've said that I used my undergraduate physics degree the way that a male peacock uses its tail feathers: The peacock is displaying the feathers as a proxy for reproductive fitness and I was displaying the degree as a proxy for knowing how to apply math to hard problems.

During the 1980s several PhD physicists I knew left the field to work for Microsoft back when it seemed that they might take over the world, so (also with tongue in cheek) I had to point out that Microsoft was not a party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty - what else would they be hiring physicists for? With tongue out of cheek, what was going on was that Microsoft needed people who could apply math to their hard problems, in this case system performance analysis.

So.... your career prospects down the road are way broader than your degree.

 

[Esim Can]

@Sammy_E
I can understand you. We share the view on weapon industry. Through your education you have certain abilities, which will be very powerful in other fields if you ever want to go there. Even in high end consulting companies or finance industry. You are trained to work in specific way, which is often looked for in well paying industries. It depends on your preferences and your ability to learn and adapt fast. By the way, it looks as though these people, who would like to leave would love to go to Canada but not USA.

 

[gmax137]

See if you can get an internship.

 

[CrysPhys]

For some background, I'm currently a 3rd year physics major with an astro specialization studying in Canada, and as undergraduates are want to do I'm regularly evaluating my career prospects down the road. I also plan on pursuing grad school when I've completed my degree.

Should I even be worried about this as an undergrad?

Yes, this is a good time to evaluate your future career goals, with the understanding that you will likely need to re-evaluate them several more times in the course of your career. Before I weigh in: (1) Are you planning on pursuing grad school in Canada or some other country (including the US)? (2) Does "grad school" mean a terminal master's or eventually a PhD (with or without an intermediate master's)?

 

[Myroslav Mokhammad A]

Physics is a challenge hahaha, hope it gets easier for you mate.

Regards,
Myroslav Mokhammad Abdeljawwad

 

[StatGuy2000]

Hello @Sammy_E
I would suggest to stay away from Europe at the moment, lets say for the next 10 years. Perhaps Swiss or Austria may be a place, where the economy could stay stable but anything else,.. it looks quite grim at the moment here. The most physicists i know in the industry are not working on their field but in very different areas, which are less about science. If you want to do science in your field, i would suggest to stay inside the academical institutions if possible. Canada is a very good place at the moment to be. If you want to leave north-America, i would rather suggest China, east Asia, Japan, perhaps New Zealand, Australia from economy aspects then Europe. If you look at the statistics, more than half of the people in Germany for example would leave, if they could. GB and France even worse. If possible look for a job opportunity inside a company like SpaceX or such kind. Medical physics as Dale said is also very good, AI, drones, Weapon-industry will pay good. USE AI, the more the better. Science will change drastically in near future with it. Good luck for your future.

Greets
Esim Can

I do not have enough information on the state of the economy in European countries to comment. However, as someone who lives in Canada, I can say definitively that Canada is not a particularly good place for those with a physics background to continue to pursue research.

As far as those with a physics background working in Canada, the majority that I know of tend to pursue careers in finance, software development, or data science, with a sizable minority pursuing a career in education (elementary or secondary school teaching). There are a few people who have pursued a career in medical physics, but I'm not sure how many open residencies or open positions that are available.

As far as opportunities outside of North America, your advice to look to China or Japan is also a bad one, for the very simple reason that both countries have very restrictive policies on granting work visas for those who are not citizens. As far as New Zealand and Australia are concerned -- I suspect that opportunities for scientific research will be similar to Canada.