Physics undergrad/grad gap year: ideas?

[pacifico]

One of our college's physics seniors scored poorly on the physics subject GRE and is looking for something to do for a year while s/he studies for, and retakes this test. Our student would like to find an appropriate position at a lab (academic, industrial, government...) which provides enough of a scientific atmosphere to thrive (and present a stronger case to graduate admissions programs), allows him/her to earn a living, and leaves enough time to prepare for the physics subject test. Our own institution is not in a position to offer this type of opportunity at the moment. The student is willing to relocate.

Any thoughts about what type of jobs are available that would benefit our student? Is anyone aware of a job list/bulletin board for this type of employment? Other ideas?

Thanks.

 

[petergreat]

If you have trouble with the Physics GRE which is designed to be the lowest common denominator of typical undergrad courses, you're going to struggle with the qualifying exam once you're into graduate study... This route is going to be tough.

 

[fss]

The student is likely going to have to job hunt like the other hundreds of physics graduates searching for regular employment. S/he should not go into it expecting 1-year contracts; employers have plenty of people to choose from these days. S/he should concentrate on making themselves look like the best candidate for whatever position.

 

[jbs80106]

Well in my case I had a 20 year 'gap' between undergrad and grad school MSSE JHU. As a physics undergrad I had no real idea what career I planned to pursue, and going to grad school right after undergrad didn't make sense. Why invest another 2 years in pursuit of say, an MSEE, only to go out, get a job and discover it wasn't for me? So got a job and tried this and that, settled into a field.

Most of my employers offered tuition reimbursement (something I should think many college grads would like given the huge expense of college and grad school...lots of debt at the start of a career would be worrying to some) and there are a huge number of universities that offer degree programs targeted at working professionals. Class work is geared towards real-world problems/projects, classes are offered at night usually, good networking opportunities, and many don't require GREs. I think I took GREs a few years after undergrad to go to Va Tech to start my MSEE. From an employment perspective an MS on your resume is an MS.