Physics Specialization in PhD: Balancing Theory and Experiment for Postdoc Applications?

[DeathbyGreen]

So during my PhD I've done one analytic based theory paper with one advisor and will now do an experiment paper with another advisor. I'm curious as to how this will look applying for postdocs. Would this allow me to apply for either theory or experiment? Or would it just make me look not specialized in either area?

 

[mfb]

The question is too vague to tell.
Your application might be considered by both, and it might be an advantage for postdocs that are somewhere between theory and experiment in the field you work in.

 

[ZapperZ]

So during my PhD I've done one analytic based theory paper with one advisor and will now do an experiment paper with another advisor. I'm curious as to how this will look applying for postdocs. Would this allow me to apply for either theory or experiment? Or would it just make me look not specialized in either area?

What exactly is your research thesis on, and with which advisor? I did both theoretical and experimental work for my PhD research, but I still consider it an experimental project. Your thesis advisor will determine the tone of your work.

If you have expertise in both sides, more power to you. But do you think you are more employable as the theorist or as an experimentalist?

Zz.

 

[Crass_Oscillator]

There are too many variables to give you a straight answer; it will depend on the group, subfield, funding, etc.

If you're in high energy physics you're probably sunk.

If you're in something interdisciplinary you could be exactly what the PI needs.