Finishing my Bsc in Physics & Computer Science, not sure what to do now.

[Crosshash]

Hello everyone. I'm a third year Physics and Computer science student (predicted a 1st class - studying in the UK) and I'd like some advice on what to do in the future. I apologise in advance if this OP turns into a wall of text but I have tried to do some research prior to this post.

I feel I still want to be an academic after I graduate. I thought initially that I might want to actually work in a physics related field but that is proving to be a very difficult prospect for me. I figured I'd like to do a Physics related PhD but it seems that everywhere would rather you had the necessary masters to support this.

My head of year recommended me to look into a Masters which the university offers which focuses on modelling, uncertainty and data. I spoke to the guy who runs the course and while it did seem interesting to me, a very big issue was that I wouldn't be able to get funding for it - I'd have to pay for it with my own money. It also didn't seem that this is the sort of masters which one could use to get on a Physics PhD.

My head also recommended I talk to someone in the Geography department as my rather unique skillset may be desirable in that field. I could definitely apply for a PhD in Geography but the problem here is I haven't really dabbled in Geography for years and I don't particularly want to rush into a subject which I might not even enjoy. The person I spoke to suggested that a PhD needs to be something you actually care about otherwise it'll be a difficult 3-4 years.

Finally, someone I spoke to recommended I speak to someone in the Civil Engineering department - I haven't chased that up yet, will do next week.

I'm still not sure whether I should forget all this and just try and apply for a job. I just don't want to never do physics again - it'll be a shame. I also really don't understand how funding works for Masters schemes. Some people I've spoken to got funding for their Psychology and History masters so why is it that I can't seem to get funding for any of my Physcs, Maths or Engineering Masters?

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So purpose of this thread:
Can I have any input from people on this situation? Advice? Past experiences? etc
Anyone actually done the same course as me and followed a similar path? Or a different path?

Again, sorry for the wall of text, makes it easier for me to not be given advice I've already received.

Thanks very much

 

[mal4mac]

It said on the UK news last night that 70 graduates are pursuing every graduate level job! The situation has never been worse for graduates finding jobs, so you better have a backup. I made it up to MSc level and I think it always helped me stand out in job situations - I've never had problems finding jobs - some of 'BSc only' colleagues have. The 'man' has to have some way to reject 69 of those 70 graduates - checking paper qualifications is usually the main way 'he' does it. So chase that paper! (I'd go the whole hog and do everything to get a PhD these days - MSc only doesn't hack it as well as it did in my day... when only 5% were graduates...) Look at http://www.jobs.ac.uk, there were 234 MSc/PhD opportunities last time I looked, all the ones I looked at were fully funded. Don't just listen to your head of department, explore other universities, they may be a lot more turned on at finding funding. If get a 1st/2(i) you should be able to get some kind of funding for MSc/PhD (unless things get *really bad*...)