Electron microscope theory - job opportunites

[Physics15]

thankyou to anyone reading this. I am starting honours in physics and have been given the opportunity to do a project that leads to a phd in the condensed matter theory. The guy I will be working with seems to specifically do work around the theory involved in electron microscopes.

hes a great guy and well respected. I also think condensed matter theory is a good area for me. The electron microscope stuff I am less sure on. I know these type of questions are often asked and I know things change quickly but what I want to know is in your opinion are there jobs for someone with a phd concerning electron microscope theory?

I ask because I want to enter an area where there are good interesting jobs potentially, though they may not plentiful I would like there to be some potential for employment outside of academia. Anything you know about this area would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ZapperZ]

You didn't actually clarify what kind of "electron microscopy" that you will be working on. This is because if it is JUST on the general physics of electron microscope, then it is more of a detector/device study than condensed matter, even though many different types of electron microscopy techniques are used in material science, condensed matter, chemistry, biology, etc. In other words, it is a theoretical study, advanced development, etc. of a specific type of electron microscopy for a particular application in condensed matter?

If I were you, I would try to make it as broad of a coverage as possible, i.e. encompassing several different electron microscopy techniques, and include some experimental work so that you are familiar with what people actually use them for! Often, theorists who also understand the experimental aspects of the theory tend to be more "practical" and more useful than those who don't. Besides, knowing how to use an instrument increases your "employability" in the sense that you can actually make a measurement and do something practically useful.

Zz.

 

[Physics15]

I'm not sure what I'll be doing in regards to electron microscopy. It looks like he does different things, some focussing on using scattering theory to better predict what happens to electrons in the incident beam. I'm not too sure really at this point. It's definitely not practical though.

Thanks for the feedback though.