- #1
Djf321
- 6
- 0
So I have a PhD in physics specializing in experimental soft matter physics/optics, and I have been unsuccessfully trying to get a job now for 9 months. I've been applying to engineering positions all of which I was very experienced in, but I can't even get a single interview (not even with a recruiter).
Previously I was able to get an engineering/computer programming job in industry after 8 months of trying, but I am thinking of giving up at this point as this might have been a fluke occurrence. Really at this point I would be happy with any job that is even remotely technical in nature.
What I want to know is what kind of jobs can I get now that I have a physics PhD and no chance of a job in academia? So far most of what I have been reading has been hearsay from what I am assuming are engineers or people with no real personal experience with this. Can someone else in a similar camp as me tell me about their experiences job hunting? And specifically, what job titles are actually hiring physics PhDs, because in my experience engineering jobs seem virtually impossible to get (bizarre since this is what I was trained to do)?
The only jobs that seem slightly interested in me have been private high school physics teaching jobs, but they are all surprisingly low paying. And I am not sure if spending 2 years to get a teaching certificate is a good idea as I read somewhere that physics PhDs have a hard time landing public school teaching jobs (although I don't really know if this true or not). I'd like for someone with a BS or PhD in physics to weigh in on this.
Previously I was able to get an engineering/computer programming job in industry after 8 months of trying, but I am thinking of giving up at this point as this might have been a fluke occurrence. Really at this point I would be happy with any job that is even remotely technical in nature.
What I want to know is what kind of jobs can I get now that I have a physics PhD and no chance of a job in academia? So far most of what I have been reading has been hearsay from what I am assuming are engineers or people with no real personal experience with this. Can someone else in a similar camp as me tell me about their experiences job hunting? And specifically, what job titles are actually hiring physics PhDs, because in my experience engineering jobs seem virtually impossible to get (bizarre since this is what I was trained to do)?
The only jobs that seem slightly interested in me have been private high school physics teaching jobs, but they are all surprisingly low paying. And I am not sure if spending 2 years to get a teaching certificate is a good idea as I read somewhere that physics PhDs have a hard time landing public school teaching jobs (although I don't really know if this true or not). I'd like for someone with a BS or PhD in physics to weigh in on this.
Last edited by a moderator: