Finding Work in Physics with a PhD: Pros, Cons & Alternatives

[whalebunt08]

I've been hearing a lot of people say on this website that even with a PhD it can be difficult to find work in physics... If I'm not opposed to getting a PhD in physics and then working out of field (consulting, etc), will it likely be easier to find a job? In order to find work out of field, would there be certain classes, minors or even a double major that would help me? Or would it possible/advisable to go to grad school for something other than physics with a physics BA?

 

[Monocles]

I've read that, but the statistics don't support it at all. I'd go and find the website right now, but I'm in a rush. I'm pretty certain that >90% of people with a physics PhD work in an area related to physics.

 

[cristo]

As has been said here many times before, your employability is not so much dependent on whether you have a PhD as it is on what specific field your PhD is in, or what "transferrable skills" you have learned throughout. For example, an experimentalist is more likely to be employed in a physics related job, simply because there are a lot more out there (labs and industry as well as academia). However, it is a lot harder for a theorist to find a job in the field because they are restricted to solely academic jobs.

Still, if you aren't interested in staying in physics then you should easily get a job upon graduation! You should check out Zz's thread on becoming a physicist.