Graduating with a BA in physics, options?

[gravenewworld]

Those people are better off getting economics or engineering degrees then.

Not entirely true. If you wanted to go to grad school for econ you would easily be much much better off majoring in mathematics. A physics major could move into the business world without a finance or econ degree. In fact I had a roommate who got a job on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange as an options trader. He had a coworker who majored in physics and got a job doing the same exact thing right out of college all without any degrees in a business field.

 

[MrJB]

Locrian: I had thought this was how you were supposed to get a job. It looks like I've got a bit to learn.

 

[clope023]

To follow up on what gravenewworld just wrote,

Let's list the TOP THREE WORST WAYS TO FIND A JOB:

Number Three: Going to job fairs

Congrats, the only people who are there are HR reps (your worst enemy in the job hunt) from companies that weren't able to find employees other ways. Look closer and you'll see a third of the jobs are government and a third are sales. At least you get some face time. . . along with two hundred other people.

Number Two: Sending out resumes

Once again, you'll be stymied by that evil of evils, the HR department. Guess what, all that time you spent writing the perfect cover letter and formatting your resume goes straight into the trash - as will your cover letter and resume after essential information is scanned or typed into the computer system. No one who matters will ever see what you wrote, and you are now data in a system. Best of luck!

Number One: Sending out resumes. . . on the internet

Wow, everything that sucks about sending out paper resumes, except now you're buried even farther in the (mis)information highway, the companies are even less interested in what you wrote, and you've made yourself a target for scammers to boot. Enjoy!

If these were the methods you used to look for a job and you failed, don't feel bad. Lots of other people make the same tremendous mistake. Now you get to go check out no less than three different books from your library on how to actually get a job, read them, and try try again.

this is what I've been doing and so far it hasn't gotten me anything either, haha.

what do you suggest besides actually going to the companies or calling them then?

 

[fizziks]

Update: So the majority of the jobs I've been applying to were patent researchers/entry-level IT jobs. Nothing yet besides a couple of interviews from local small IT companies that pays 7/hr. My back up plan is to take those min wage jobs and work in them to gain real experience which is related to my major.

I've applied all over the internet. And yes, I've gotten answers from them. For those I didn't get answers, I pretty much ignored them. However some of them, I contacted them directly through the phone. So, the whole myth of applying on the internet, whether through monster.com, craigslist.org, etc isn't true; they don't filter through their applications and ignore the majority of them (as long as you call them about it).

One advice I can give to all job seekers is to be very active. Don't be too strong and call them the next day and everyday right after you send in your application. Give them 5-7 workdays after sending in your application and then contact them about it, unless they contact you beforehand. My strategy here was to contact them once every week until they deny me or ask for an interview.

this is what I've been doing and so far it hasn't gotten me anything either, haha.

what do you suggest besides actually going to the companies or calling them then?

I would agree the Job Fair thing won't get you anywhere. The majority of the recruiters that go to those things don't know jack sh*t about their own companies or what exactly their company needs. My brother went to one in 2007, got a couple of "good recommendations" from the interviewers and was told he should apply for the company for internships. When he did and contacted the companies to recalled their interviews with them, none of them remembered nor cared. It was like the interviews were for nothing besides a "false confidence" booster. (One of them was from nvidia)

A good number of people are hired out of state. There is no need for an in-person interview and a phone interview is usually suffice. The job is not worth it if they will not pay for your hotel accommodations/plane ticket to interview you. Unless you are guaranteed for that position, you have better odds at Vegas with the hotel and plane ticket you can save. I've asked other forums and my professor; they told me that out of state applicants have an equal opportunity and chance as a local in getting a job at XXXX company. But, you have to call the company if you want to get the job/position.

 

[Locrian]

this is what I've been doing and so far it hasn't gotten me anything either, haha.

what do you suggest besides actually going to the companies or calling them then?

I'd suggest going to the library as I suggested and picking up anyone of the many books they have on the subject! You might be able to get the same information probing the internet and in forums like this, but I really doubt it. Central to the process is getting in contact with the people you actually want to work for and with. In a sense, its all about avoiding the HR department like the plague.

 

[mattown]

Hilarious

I'm getting a kick out of these replies because many of you are so wrong on this subject.

I graduated with an astrophysics degree a year ago and it wasn't that difficult to land a job, but then again I wasn't shooting for physics/engineering type positions.

In my last year of undergrad I was employed for a geophysics mineral exploration company and I hated the work. I worked alongside many engineers and that job was the nail in the coffin to me pursuing pure physics. I felt that physics just wasn't the only thing I was good at.

I realized then that the reason I understood physics wasn't that I was good at physics, but rather that I'm the kind of person who when presented with a situation and when presented with certain facts, can draw accurate conclusions and insight. This skill set of mine is not limited to physics and I have since gone in the world of business where this skill goes a long way.

For the past year I've been a research analyst for a consulting firm in the medical device community and it has helped me launch a career in silicon valley. I plan to go into venture capital. I didn't get a 4.0 GPA to get this job, I got it because I sold myself and work hard.

I might also note that I personally know a prominent venture capitalist and he says physics degrees are highly sought after in finance. It is one of the hardest degrees to attain and looks very good on paper.

It really is a good degree, it's just usually those who pursue it (engineer types) generally lack the business acumen or social skills to effectively market themselves. I know this comment might piss some people off but I find it to be generally true.

 

[daveb]

It really is a good degree, it's just usually those who pursue it (engineer types) generally lack the business acumen or social skills to effectively market themselves. I know this comment might piss some people off but I find it to be generally true.

I would tend to agree with this statement. A degree gets your foot in the door in order to show that you have the wherewithal to actually stick with something, as well as certain job-related skills.

In my company we have needed to hire 2 new health phsyicists over the past 6 months. The ones who were offered interviews were offered because they did well over a telephone interview, after a screening of their resume showed they had basic skills necessary for the job (the ability to think critically and write technical papers, which is implied with any science degree). The phone interview is a personality test to see if they will fit in with the department, i.e., they are not overtly shy, which is a detriment in this position since we regularly speak with regulators, as well as other personality traits. Then, on the actual interview, the same applies. For what it's worth, here are the degrees of our health physicist over the past decade or so: physics/math (me), biology, chemitry, biochemistry, health physics, and engineering. We also have a nuclear pharmacy technician with NO college degree. It is all about can you do the job and fit in with who is already working there.

 

[FortranMan]

It's good to know someone else out there has to deal with a BA in physics too. I feel like my stomach gets gutted every time I see a BS requirement for an entry level tech position. Woot for small liberal arts education!

The problems isn't finding a job, but finding a DECENT job. The problem is I'm repeating my parent's road/fate. I grew up with poverty in the U.S. with both my parents making less than $33k a year COMBINED atm.

I'm going back home in a couple weeks. I've already spent 5 years in college with their support only to come back home for more of their support instead of getting a life of my own.

I totally know your shame. Just applied to about 13 graduate programs in physics just to get rejected by almost every single one (the others I guess are just too pretentious to even notify me). Now with the economy going down the **** hole I really don't know what else I'll be able to do, except spending my life asking "Would you like fries with that?" or joining the last true socialist institution (the military).

Right now I'm looking through the unsolicited material I received after taking the GRE, and so far I've gotten stuff referring to that graduate institution's fields in medical physics, electrical engineering, engineering management (?), and even bioengineering management (??). I'm thinking electrical engineering may be the most promising field for me, or at least the one that best correlates with my skill set. I can't imagine how people with majors in physics can land finance jobs (still true now?) with almost no experience in actual finance. Getting a masters to me looks like the best option if I want to keep out of a dead end job and do something I've had experience in and is relevant to my interests. My only obstacle now is overcoming my disenchantment with the graduate application process, and the money problem of course.

As for teaching, which seems to be the job most in demand and with the best job security, I would love to, as long as it's to people who are +18, though I'd prefer +30. It's not that I can't stand kids, it's just that I'm scared of being accused of being a pedo, like being shunned from the school system because of a ****ing pop-up pron add.

Any way, probably the best tip I heard from this thread for applying to a job is calling an organization directly. I actually have experience in phone sifting when looking for webbing material for an experimental tethered balloon system, maybe I'll get lucky.

 

[ks_physicist]

It's good to know someone else out there has to deal with a BA in physics too. I feel like my stomach gets gutted every time I see a BS requirement for an entry level tech position. Woot for small liberal arts education!

Do not let a "BS" requirement stop you from applying. They usually mean "bachelor's degree", and either a BA or BS is valid.

Nobody seems to understand the liberal arts bachelor's in physics. I had one less physics class and one less math class (than a BS), but added a significant minor field (in a different area of interest) and a foreign language.

 

[renob]

It also depends what a person means by a "decent job". If they're talking 60k a year, that's a long shot with no experience and only a bachelor's. However, the company I work for would gladly hire physics majors for between 30k and 40k a year from what I hear.

For what it's worth, my degree was double math/physics (graduated 2003 from UCLA, 3.5 gpa) and I got the job within 2 months of graduating. I had no experience in this field, but I did have work experience having nothing to do with what I do now. Now that I am finishing my master's in nuclear engineering, and once I get certified as a health physicist, I anticipate earning close to 100k a year within a couple of years.

where are you taking nuclear engineering?

 

[MedPhysGuru]

Fizziks

I hope there is a better light at the end of your tunnel. It is hard to give you advice without knowing your goals and interests.

Having a Bachelors with a physics major doesn't get you a job doing physics. It has prepared you for a job that requires problem solving skills and a high attention to detail. Several of my undergraduate physics buds didn't stay in the physics field but took on techical and management jobs.

If you are interested in doing a "physics" job, you need to move on to a graduate program which will require you to choose between a univeristy job, private industry, or even health care.

I am a medical physicist working in health care. If you are interested in checking out how to move on to a position like this, check out the following link: www.ehow.com/how_4822061_become-medical-physicist.html.

If a sparks an interest and you want some answers, drop me an email.

MedPhysGuru

 

[ice109]

take the asvab. you'll have no problem scoring high and cause you have a college degree you'll go into officer training and then into a specialisation that could be very physics oriented. hell a decent score will get you into the navy nukes program.