Reconsidering a Career in Science: The Harsh Realities of the Job Market

[Tide]

It will be interesting to see how any of the above expressed views will evolve over the next 20 to 30 years.

Times change, government and national funding priorities change, university and commercial directions change and you change too! Maintain the idealism but temper it with an occasional dose of reality.

 

[primal schemer]

In contrast, a doctor typically enters private practice at 29, a lawyer at 25 and makes partner at 31, and a computer scientist with a Ph.D. has a very good job at 27 (computer science and engineering are the few fields in which industrial demand makes it sensible to get a Ph.D.).

Wahey! I'm doing a PhD in engineering!

Suckers...

Actually, going from an engineering/comp.sci post doc to a permanant position in a university (my one at least) is pretty hard to get too. There are post-docs in my department who finished their PhD 4/5 years ago that are not anywhere near getting a permanent position. Although some of them are content with staying put on a rolling 1 year contract, others have to travel to get experience in the hope of becoming permanent.

PS

 

[Modey3]

Correct me if I'm wrong. There is a general perception that physics is not a practical discipline. I totally disagree with that because condensed matter physics is very practical. However, let's say you interview for a job with an aerospace company for a research/engineering position and you are asked what your professional interests are. Don't say "condensed matter physics", but instead say "high temperature materials." I know its sad, but that's how most of industry sees the physics displine. I think most physics people could work as mechanical/electrical engineers and be very good at it. If a person wants to go into physics they should make sure they have marketable skills. For instance, learn Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) or structural analysis. Learn how to use a Finite Element software package. Thats just one example. Have a theorertical and practical side.

Modey3

 

[Dr Transport]

... Have a theorertical and practical side.

Exactly, the budding string theorist in most likelyhood will not find a permanent position as a resident theorist. You have to have marketable skills. A large percentage of the people who get theoretical physics degrees will not spend the rest of their life doing purely theoretical work, you have to be able to do some experimental work also. My PhD is in theoretical solid state physics, I spend 75% or more of my time in the lab taking data. We are rebuilding a measurement system, a large portion of the instrumentation control rebuild has been thrown on me. I'm liking it because I get to learn a new skill, Labview and how to make automated measurements from a home-grown system. Humbling to find out that a single axis motor control unit will frustrate you all week because you don't have any idea about how to make it work. But it has to be learned the hard way...

 

[Zarathustra1]

Huh.

So I guess the idea I am getting from this thread is that, if one (like myself) is determined to become a theoretical physicist, he or she needs to play their cards in their education in such a way that would leave job opportunities in both acedemia and industry.

 

[tmc]

Yes.

Or at least, stay open to other parts of physics.

String theory is a great recruiting tool: all physics freshmen want to work on it. Combine that with teaching lots of mechanics before the fun physics starts, and you have a bunch of young physicists who think they want to be theorists because, well, no physicist actually enjoys mechanics (otherwise theyd be engineers).

Its when you get to 3rd and 4th year that you encounter more fun "experimental physics" (you can still study them theoretically, but I consider them more experimental than string theory or other unified theories which arent very employable) that you had never touched before (solid-state, high-energy, particle, subatomic...), where you realize that while string theory is fun to think about, so is this stuff.

 

[Dr Transport]

Huh.
So I guess the idea I am getting from this thread is that, if one (like myself) is determined to become a theoretical physicist, he or she needs to play their cards in their education in such a way that would leave job opportunities in both acedemia and industry.

Absolutely, if you don't know which end of the plug goes in the wall or which end the light comes out of the laser you're in trouble. If you insist on being a theoretical physicist, try getting a masters in experimental physics on the way, you won't regret it.

 

[Physics Monkey]

I'm a physicist, and I like mechanics! It's our bread and butter, and its so tasty.

 

[quantumdude]

Is it better than bananas?

 

[Zarathustra1]

Heh. Well, theoretical physics or not, I don't have any intentions of going into string theory. That's a little too theoretical for my tastes.