Physics Have my BS in physics, in serious need of career advice

[rcw110131]

I graduated with my BS in Physics last May (2010). Since then I've just been working my barely-pays-the-bills security guard job while trying to figure out what to do with my life.

I haven't had any physics classes since Spring 2008 (almost 3 years now...) because of transferring to 3 different schools/my own stupidity. Basically, I should've graduated then in '08 if it weren't for 2 intro chem classes that I thought transferred over as the appropriate credits for my major, but alas, they didn't. Couldn't afford taking the 2 classes the following year ('08-'09) because of a crappy financial situation. Finally saved up enough to take Chemical Principles I in Fall 2009 and Chemical Principles II in Spring 2010. Pretty ridiculous waste of time and money, aced both classes and didn't learn anything new. But at least now I could actually graduate. ANYWAYS...

I ultimately want to get my MS and possibly PhD, so I decided the best route for me would be to find an entry-level job in the industry that offers tuition reimbursement (my credit score is not great and I'm weary of taking out more loans at a high interest rate) and go to school part time while gaining real-world experience in my field. I'm not sure if I should get my MS in physics or something more marketable like electrical engineering or computer science, not sure how difficult it would be for me to go straight into those programs.

I live in eastern Massachusetts so luckily there's actually some job openings I qualify for in and around Boston. For the past few months I've been hunting job boards and meticulously tweaking my resumes to match the job descriptions in addition to writing cover letters for each. I'm trying my best to get prepared for this major step in my life: getting my references sorted out, purchasing a suit, interview preparation, etc.

The thing is I haven't actually applied anywhere yet because I'm afraid I'll fail miserably if I even get an interview. I lack a lot of skills/experience I feel I should have at this point and my resume is pretty weak. I didn't do any research while at school (I commuted an hour to and from school and was working full time throughout), no internship/co-op, no statistics experience, and to top it all off I have no programming experience other than the very basics of Mathematica and MATLAB from well over 3 years ago. Add in the fact that it's been years since I've done any real physics I'm terrified I'll be asked to solve some quantum mechanics problem during an interview and I'll just be completely lost.

As far as marketable skills I have? Well I was shift supervisor for over 7 years at a retail pharmacy so I have "Excellent co-worker and customer relations skills resultant from supervising staff for over seven years in retail pharmacy" in the Summary section of my resume as well detailing various managerial tasks/accomplishments in the Experience section. I also took enough courses to get a minor in math but because I can't read I didn't realize the majority of them had to be at my graduating school, so I have "extensive coursework in mathematics" on my resume. I'm also a generally technical person with electronics, computers, tech support, etc. but not sure how useful that would look on a resume.

So basically my question is (besides what I should go to graduate school for): what the hell should I do with my life? Should I go over all my old notes to freshen my memory of physics, apply to jobs, and make it a point to sell my work experience and people skills? Would an internship be out of the question seeing as I already have my degree? Should I teach myself some programming (where would I start?)? I don't know, maybe I'm over-complicating things and I'm just worried that I have nothing to offer to potential employers. Whatever the case, I'd greatly appreciate any advice/confidence-boosting I can get. Thank you! :)

 

[dacruick]

well rcw,

its going to be quite difficult to get a job without applying anywhere. The worst case scenario of applying somewhere is you don't get the job, but come out with interview experience, and an idea of what you're lacking.

Being afraid of failure doesn't usually lead to success. Also, the longer you wait between your degree and applying for a job in your field, the less attractive you will become to employers (in my mind).

The fact that there are job openings is a good sign and the only thing you need to be doing is going after them. Also, if you can make all your cover letters and resumes job specific, then why wouldn't you be able to brush up on the skills for the interview as well? If you are applying to an institute of quantum research, you should probably take some review in quantum.

An internship is also a fantastic idea. I suggest approaching a start-up company doing something you are interested in. Start up companies always always always need more help, and if you volunteer your services, I think it is a partnership that could work for both of you. You could simply tell them that you are looking for some experience in the field and that you are really interested in what their doing. You saw their name in an article a couple years ago and have been following the company. Another thing about start up companies is that they are always expanding, and if you do a great job, you will be poised to be hired. The worst case scenario is you buff up your resume and your work experience, and show future employers that you have ambition for success.

 

[AlephZero]

As the other answer said, if you don't apply you are 100% guaranteed not to get the job.

Re technical questions at interview, the company I work for (and interview graduate entry applicants for) does ask a few technical questions, but there is no intention to catch people out with trick questions or look for obscure bits of knowledge. We are much more interested in the way the interviewee approaches answering the question than whether the answer is actually right or wrong. If he/she does just give the right answer "from memory", the follow-up question is always "how would you show that is the right answer". In other words, we really want to find out if they can put together a simple argument using general principles like conservation laws, symmetry, free body diagrams, etc, and not whether they remembered some random fact from one of their lectures.

The only answer that is guaranteed to score a "fail" is "I think there is a formula for that, but I can't remember what it is".

 

[DrummingAtom]

AlephZero's post reminded me of a story from my chemist friend. The company did a 2 part interview, one from HR and one from a technical manager. During the technical interview, they walked around the lab and the manager asked my friend about various instruments. The manager then showed my friend some strange looking "instrument" and asked him if he's ever used it or knew about it. My friend didn't know what the heck it was so said he didn't know. The manager laughed and told my friend "you'd be surprised on some of the answers I get about that thing, it's nothing and I only ask that to find bser's." Hahaha.

I'm not trying to scare the OP but I think that story is good to hear, because some people do have a tendency to lie their way through things they don't know. Just try your best and see what happens. Good luck.

 

[dacruick]

Never lie in a job interview. embellishment however, is a great strategy.

 

[twofish-quant]

The thing is I haven't actually applied anywhere yet because I'm afraid I'll fail miserably if I even get an interview.

You likely will fail miserably. Once you know that you are going to fail miserably, a lot of the fear disappears.

For any given job lead, the odds are very good that you *won't* get the job. The odds that you are going to totally mess up your first interview are higher than average because you have no clue what to say and what not to say.

But no one hits a home run on every swing, so what determines whether you get a job or not is if you keep swinging at the ball. Eventually something will hit.

Add in the fact that it's been years since I've done any real physics I'm terrified I'll be asked to solve some quantum mechanics problem during an interview and I'll just be completely lost.

You might be. One thing that we do in our interviews is to always ask a question we know the candidate cannot answer. If the candidate answers an question, we just ask a harder one. The point of this is to see how a candidate reacts when they've hit the limit of their knowledge.

 

[lisab]

If going in through the traditional process (application, interviews, letters of recommendation, etc.) is too overwhelming for you, consider temp jobs. Find a temp agency that specializes in science/technical jobs. Usually the jobs are very mundane but at least they're in the field. It's a good way to get your foot in the door somewhere.

 

[Shackleford]

If going in through the traditional process (application, interviews, letters of recommendation, etc.) is too overwhelming for you, consider temp jobs. Find a temp agency that specializes in science/technical jobs. Usually the jobs are very mundane but at least they're in the field. It's a good way to get your foot in the door somewhere.

That's a good idea. He might get used to applying his technical knowledge in the work place and become fluent in knowing how to approach a problem on the fly for interviews for "real" jobs.

 

[rcw110131]

Well, looks like I was just nervous for no reason.

Submitted my resume and cover letter to a recent job posting, got a call the next day saying they were very interested. Had an interview 2 days later (yesterday) and things went fairly well. They said I was a strong candidate and that they were impressed by writing/presentation skills shown by my cover letter and resume. I guess practicing writing and tweaking them for months paid off haha.

The job is an entry-level technician position at small company that manufactures diffraction gratings and optical coatings. Taking a tour of the cleanroom lab was pretty awesome, the facility is brand new and has some pretty amazing technology. Can't wait to hear back from them!

 

[camilus]

Im dying to know what happened please report back soon!

 

[twofish-quant]

One bit of advice is not to get your hopes up. Keep sending out resumes and interviewing until you get a firm offer. Jobs that look promising can fall through at the last second.

Also if you are in a situation in which you end up with two jobs that look good, you can set up a bidding war which is very good for you. One other weird thing is that if one employer likes you, then you suddenly become a lot more attractive to other employers.

 

[EndlessRain]

RCW, may I ask what job boards you are searching to find industry / technical positions? I'm in a very similar situation as you, but I've been looking for about 4 months now and haven't even gotten an interview yet. It's really deflating. I live in the NYC area btw.

 

[rcw110131]

I got the job! :D

RCW, may I ask what job boards you are searching to find industry / technical positions? I'm in a very similar situation as you, but I've been looking for about 4 months now and haven't even gotten an interview yet. It's really deflating. I live in the NYC area btw.

Indeed.com searches most other job sites, but not all. I know Monster listings don't show up on it, so check that often too. I just searched for 'physics bs' (no quotes), set the radius to 50 miles, and checked it almost daily. For NYC: http://www.indeed.com/jobs?sort=date&q=physics+bs&l=New+York%2C+NY&radius=50

Hope that helps!

 

[lisab]

I got the job! :D



Indeed.com searches most other job sites, but not all. I know Monster listings don't show up on it, so check that often too. I just searched for 'physics bs' (no quotes), set the radius to 50 miles, and checked it almost daily. For NYC: http://www.indeed.com/jobs?sort=date&q=physics+bs&l=New+York%2C+NY&radius=50

Hope that helps!

Yay! Congrats

 

[Oriako]

Congratulations! I just read this thread and I was dying to post to give you some advice because it seemed like you were really stuck in a rut. I'm so happy for you that you got the job!

Would you be able to link the company website/where you got the job (if that's not being too intrusive). I just wanted to see what type of companies hire Physics majors, and I'd love to see a picture of the new high-tech clean room lab they had. :P