Lost undergrad looking for advice on career path and grad school

[kori2003]

Hello,

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who takes their time to read through my post and make a response, I really appreciate your help that is given for free.

Background. I’m a Physics student in his last year, my expected graduation date is June 2024. I study at one of the best universities from Mexico (although I doubt that compared to other international universities this doesn’t matter at all).

I am currently lost on my next steps after graduating, I am currently considering all options: national labs, industry (in something related to Physics) or academia. What I absolutely want though is to go to grad school abroad, since I would prefer to study/work in a country that spends on science and technology (US, Canada, or Europe). My interests lie in Optics (& Photonics) and Condensed Matter Physics (especially related to solid state physics), however, I don’t know what specific research area in these fields I want to pursue yet. I love to do computational simulations (I mainly work with MATLAB and Python) and I also enjoy the experimental side.

In terms of GPA, I’d say I have around 4.00 GPA (or 95 for a scale of 1-100), and I have an official TOEFL iBT test score for C1 level in English. In terms of my research experience, I’d say that this is my weak point, I have only researched on Optics for a summer research program and I am current doing research abroad for this semester (at McGill University), I have 0 publications to my name. In terms of coursework, I've taken an Optics class and an Optics Lab class, also I am currently taking an introductory graduate course on Solid State Physics.

As I mentioned before, I am graduating at the end of my next semester, so I am considering applying to grad school applications for 2024 or 2025 (the latter is a requirement for a scholarship grants program for US grad school, I am not sure if entering a year after my graduation date affects my application though), for the US I would do a direct-entry PhD program, and for Europe I would do a Master’s first if necessary.

Problem. Now, to address the main point, what am I looking for with this post?

• Guidance on how to decide my career path.
• Suggestions on how to pick good grad programs for [optics / condensed matter physics]
• Advice on applying to grad schools and feedback on my prospects as an applicant to top programs for the two physics fields I am interested in.

Again, thank you so much for reading through this post!

Edit #1: I must say that I am gravitating a bit more towards a career path that could enable me to have skills that could also be useful for the industry and not only in research.

 

[Dale]

Guidance on how to decide my career path

I am in engineering, so I won’t be able to give you any specifically physics-career advice, but rather general STEM advice.

Spend some time thinking about:

What topics do you like, and why do you like those topics?

What activities do you like, and why do you like those activities?

The answers to the “why” is more important than the answers to the “what”. So spend some care with that. Write them down.

Next, think about your lifestyle, income, and personal goals. Be honest with yourself. Don’t list things that you think you should want, list only what you actually do want (this is not for others to see). Write them down.

Now, start reading about job and career opportunities. Start with ones involving the topics and activities that you like. See how they match up to your lifestyle goals.

Then, consider other activities and topics that still satisfy your “why”. Read about jobs and career opportunities in those and see if they get you more of your lifestyle goals. Prioritize your lifestyle goals and your “why” over your “what”. See if any seem particularly exciting, and especially if some groups of opportunities are closely related to each other so that they could easily serve as fall-back opportunities.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I am afraid that I can't help with what you want to do, bur I recommend that you expand your options beyond "top programs."

There are probably 100 schools at least as good as the one you will graduate from. Why restrict yourself to 5 or 10?

 

[kori2003]

I am in engineering, so I won’t be able to give you any specifically physics-career advice, but rather general STEM advice.
[...]

Thank you so much. I didn't really think much about my ideal lifestyle, I guess I was too absorbed into what to do before thinking on the reason behind. But I definitely will try to take some time to find answers to these questions. Related to this, what are some good resources to check to find possible jobs and career opportunities? I usually try to read through forums about other people's experiences and check websites such as APS.

I am afraid that I can't help with what you want to do, bur I recommend that you expand your options beyond "top programs."

There are probably 100 schools at least as good as the one you will graduate from. Why restrict yourself to 5 or 10?

True, I am definitely not planning on restricting myself on only the top programs, becoming a "big fish in a small pond" (which I know it's still very hard to do) sounds good to me, but I find it hard to select the best programs I can realistically join among all the programs that exist since I am not very knowledgeable on how to do so. My current process on exploring grad school programs is on checking the physics department for active researchers on something that I could be interested in, but I've found it hard to really determine if a researcher is good for what I want.

What more should I know when trying to expand my options? I am really focused on having realistic expectations on what I can achieve with what I currently have and that is under my control. Thanks.

 

[WWGD]

You may want to prepare for the general GRE, the subject one, as many programs will likely require it. Get them out of the way , while you look for your niche.
P.S: Good use of the term " Gravitating". Your subconscious is in the right place ;).

 

[gleem]

It would be valuable for you to learn the specific research areas in optics/photonics. Familiarity with the research areas is essential for making an informed decision and presenting yourself as interested and knowledgeable in the research program to which you will apply.

To that end, the American Institute of Physics has a website called the GradSchoolShopper (https://gradschoolshopper.com/grads...UT_ShtPf5s5lhwwDLrS2o0Biqyg2ZdehoC8qEQAvD_BwE) which give general advice on going to grad school as well helping you find programs in specific research areas.

WRT your interest for example you may be surprised that the University of Arizona has a huge optics/photonics program. The website gives specifics on the research areas, faculty, and current published articles.

I hope you find this helpful. Good Luck