Fusion research potential for a HEP graduate?

[WaywardSon]

Hi all,

I got my Ph.D. a couple of years back (HEP physics) but for various reasons I never applied for any postdoc positions. I ended up working as a software engineer. It's been alright, it pays the bills, but I really don't give a damn about the work and feel quite unfulfilled and unchallenged. I've been thinking of making a change but there's very little that has much appeal (including the field my postgrad studies involved) - except for the only other idea I had in my head back before I started my postgrad studies: nuclear fusion.

So I've been wondering how plausible this is. I'm familiar with the 'basics' as you'd probably expect someone with my background to be, but I don't currently have any in-depth theoretical knowledge of plasma physics (although I'd guess that in theoretical/mathematical terms, it isn't a million miles away from what I'm familiar with). Also I lack knowledge of what the current experimental problems are in this field. So two biggest questions I have are, if I was going to pursue this:

1 - Would doing another Ph.D. at a university, this time a fusion-specific one, be necessary for me? Or could I just do some independent learning and somehow demonstrate that I've gained the required knowledge another way? I'd really rather not have to go back to university again; I'm 32 years old.

2 - Is it especially hard to get work in that field anyway, would I likely be wasting my time?

Thanks for reading if you've got this far.

 

[Vanadium 50]

So I've been wondering how plausible this is

Well, you're competing for postdocs with people who have years more experience with plasmas than you.

I don't currently have any in-depth theoretical knowledge of plasma physics (although I'd guess that in theoretical/mathematical terms, it isn't a million miles away from what I'm familiar with).

Saying that in an interview is likely to inspire words like "arrogant" more than words like "confident".

Would doing another Ph.D. at a university, this time a fusion-specific one, be necessary for me?

Very difficult. It is very unusual to get two PhD's at all (and this is where the peanut gallery posts the names of the rare exceptions). It is even more unusual to get two in the same field. I know of one example, and the circumstances were sufficiently unusual that I can safely say will not be repeated.

Or could I just do some independent learning and somehow demonstrate that I've gained the required knowledge another way?

Again, you're competing against people who have already done so. And have years more experience.

Is it especially hard to get work in that field anyway

It's a tiny field. Statistical fluctuations will drive this.

 

[WaywardSon]

Ok, thanks for the response.

Very difficult. It is very unusual to get two PhD's at all (and this is where the peanut gallery posts the names of the rare exceptions). It is even more unusual to get two in the same field

This is a surprise to me, why is this? I'd imagined it'd count in your favour if you'd already proved you could do it once.

 

[BvU]

A PhD is not a goal but a means. You're supposed to go out and do post-doc research or go into industry.

 

[Vanadium 50]

And universities are intended to educate people. Not the same person over and over again.

 

[berkeman]

Chen is a very challenging text for me to self-study. Is it an easy read for you?

 

[f95toli]

Would you consider working as a software engineer on a fusion project?
One if the issues we are having in my area (quantum devices/computing) when hiring is that more and more of what we do involves software development; but most people with a physics PhD have done very little "proper" development of the type you need for larger projects/collaborations.
I have no first hand knowledge of fusion research, but I would have thought there would be a need for software engineers who have enough of a physics background that they can understand what it is they are trying to develop.

 

[ZapperZ]

Hi all,

I got my Ph.D. a couple of years back (HEP physics) but for various reasons I never applied for any postdoc positions. I ended up working as a software engineer. It's been alright, it pays the bills, but I really don't give a damn about the work and feel quite unfulfilled and unchallenged. I've been thinking of making a change but there's very little that has much appeal (including the field my postgrad studies involved) - except for the only other idea I had in my head back before I started my postgrad studies: nuclear fusion.

So I've been wondering how plausible this is. I'm familiar with the 'basics' as you'd probably expect someone with my background to be, but I don't currently have any in-depth theoretical knowledge of plasma physics (although I'd guess that in theoretical/mathematical terms, it isn't a million miles away from what I'm familiar with). Also I lack knowledge of what the current experimental problems are in this field. So two biggest questions I have are, if I was going to pursue this:

1 - Would doing another Ph.D. at a university, this time a fusion-specific one, be necessary for me? Or could I just do some independent learning and somehow demonstrate that I've gained the required knowledge another way? I'd really rather not have to go back to university again; I'm 32 years old.

2 - Is it especially hard to get work in that field anyway, would I likely be wasting my time?

Thanks for reading if you've got this far.

I'm speaking to you as someone who did his PhD in experimental condensed matter physics, and the continued on doing a postdoc in the same field. I was then hired as a staff scientist in another field of physics: accelerator physics. So I'm speaking based not only on my personal experience, but also on what I have observed.

You need to figure out what is it that you can offer in the other field. In other words, what is it in your background and training that you can use as leverage in that other field. In my case, even though I had no training in accelerator physics, they were looking for someone to develop electron sources for a particle accelerator that they were building. They're specifically looking for someone who had grown thin film (I did that at the beginning of my graduate work), and know about photoemission processes (I did that for my postdoc). These are not skills and knowledge that someone who majored in accelerator physics is typically equipped with. So I did not go on without any skills and knowledge that they were not looking for. Once I got hired, I immersed myself into learning this new field, even attended a couple of particle accelerator schools, and tried to learn as much as I could.

Always keep in mind that you are not in a vacuum. You are going to compete with OTHER candidates for whatever position that you are seeking. So you should ask yourself why should they pick you instead of someone who already has a degree in the exact same field of study. If you are going for a "generic" job opening in nuclear fusion, then you will lose to a candidate that majored in it. But if the job involves other aspects in which they seem to want someone who might have skills that overlap yours, then you may have a chance. But how often does something like that come up?

A side question: Nuclear fusion is within the realm of nuclear physics. The field of nuclear physics is very broad, and it also involves research projects with particle colliders, such as the ones at the LHC, RHIC, and CEBAF. With the FRIB facility being constructed at Michigan State, I'm thinking that there might be a fair need for physicists in this area. This field appears to have more overlap with your degree than going into a more focused area such as nuclear fusion.

Zz.