Usage of the title, Physicist: Is it based on job title or academic degree?

[milhous]

Is the title of Physicist restricted for use by Ph.D.'s only? Could one with a B.S. in Physics be referred to as a Physicist?

 

[jedishrfu]

well wikipedia says it can be used by anyone working in the physics field:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_physicist

 

[milhous]

Yeah, I should've prefaced that I wanted a US-centric perspective, as I don't think those titles are applicable here.

 

[gbeagle]

In the US, as far as I know, their is no specific licensing/credentialing standards for physics like their are for engineering (like P.E.). It is just a job title based on what you do and not what degree you have. I have a Ph.D. in physics, but I am not a physicist because my job has nothing to do with physics.

 

[Choppy]

There is no restriction on the title "physicist" that I'm aware of. Technically anyone can call themselves a physicist. Of course the usual constraints of "walking the walk" if you're "talking the talk" apply.

 

[20Tauri]

The way it seems to go in math is that you are a mathematician if either or both of the below criteria apply:

a) you have a PhD in math and are working in the field
b) your job title is "mathematician"

I think there are some people who work as mathematicians with only a bachelor's or perhaps a master's, particularly in industry or government sectors. I don't know if there are physicist positions that can be obtained similarly or not.

 

[chill_factor]

Well on careerbuilder, there's actually physicist titles with MS as the requirement.

So I guess, a MS in physics is enough to be called physicist.

 

[marcusl]

Is the title of Physicist restricted for use by Ph.D.'s only? Could one with a B.S. in Physics be referred to as a Physicist?

No. Yes, absolutely.

 

[ParticleGrl]

I generally use 'physicist' as the job title. Most of the physics phds I know aren't physicists, a few of the physicists I know have masters or bachelors.

 

[homeomorphic]

I'm a "physicist", though I have no degree at all. I have a BS in math. But I would always say "amateur physicist", never just physicist. It just depends on how you want to use the word. The default is just as a job title.

 

[ModusPwnd]

I don't think most people with physics PhDs are physicists.

 

[Nabeshin]

Would you call a graduate student a physicist? Their livelihood comes, at least for those few years, from doing physics so it seems to meet the criterion.

 

[Jorriss]

Would you call a graduate student a physicist? Their livelihood comes, at least for those few years, from doing physics so it seems to meet the criterion.

I guess I wouldn't call them physicists quite yet. Amateur or Aspiring maybe.

 

[ilhan8]

I am a physicist with a Bs degree.
I am better than most of those with PhD degrees.
acedemic degree gives only a social status. being a physicist is a totally different thing.

 

[Jorriss]

I am a physicist with a Bs degree.
I am better than most of those with PhD degrees.

In what sense? Do you have the general knowledge of someone who has taken a full graduate courseload?

 

[chill_factor]

In what sense? Do you have the general knowledge of someone who has taken a full graduate courseload?

well, here's the thing: physicist is defined by job title.

For example, if he got a certificate in medical physics, his title is "Medical Physicist" and yep, he's a physicist, with a BS degree, while a PHD in theoretical astrophysics working insurance is, uh, not a physicist.

 

[Jorriss]

well, here's the thing: physicist is defined by job title.

For example, if he got a certificate in medical physics, his title is "Medical Physicist" and yep, he's a physicist, with a BS degree, while a PHD in theoretical astrophysics working insurance is, uh, not a physicist.

Sure, that's one way, I was just curious about his view though.

 

[HallsofIvy]

I am a physicist with a Bs degree.
I am better than most of those with PhD degrees.
acedemic degree gives only a social status. being a physicist is a totally different thing.

In what sense? Do you have the general knowledge of someone who has taken a full graduate courseload?

well, here's the thing: physicist is defined by job title.

For example, if he got a certificate in medical physics, his title is "Medical Physicist" and yep, he's a physicist, with a BS degree, while a PHD in theoretical astrophysics working insurance is, uh, not a physicist.

I think you are missing Jorriss point. He was responding to ilhan8's statement that he as "better than most of those with PhD degrees" and that "academic degrees give only social status"- self-serving statements at best.

Yes, the title "physicist" is a matter of whether or not you are working as a physicist, not degrees. A person with a Ph.D. in physics is NOT be a physicist if he is working as an insurance agent (Which does happen- my first job after getting a PhD in mathematics was pumping gas. It was only a few months before I got a job teaching math but it was embarrasing the first time one of my ex-professors stopped there to get gas!).