What could I do with the B.Sc. in Physics?

[jonjacson]

I would like to explain why I am asking this.

My family is not very rich and some years I had to both work and study, and that was really difficult for me so I didn't pass too much exams.

As a result of this I finished a degree of 5 years, in 9!

I know that it's a shame,and my grades are not good.

So now I am in a difficult position, I don't have a good c.v. that allow me to enter into a phd or a research programme,also I don't have enough money to pay for a master or a postgraduate title, assuming a University accept me as a student when they see my c.v.

So, I don't know what could I do. If I search for jobs they ask for good grades, experience... and so on, and I don't have any of this requirements in my pocket.

Do you think that one day I will work as physicist? Or is it completely impossible?.

What could I do to introduce myself into the labour market?.

Thanks for your answers.

 

[hadsed]

Can you program?

You can prove yourself through other ways besides grades, if you're willing to break into the software industry.

 

[jonjacson]

I have not gone too much deep into any programming language, but it is a good idea, thanks for it.

I will post this thread in career guidance because I see a lot of visitors and only one answer, maybe this is the wrong place to put this question.

 

[hadsed]

Your situation sounds kind of hopeless. You've spent 9 years on a bachelor's in physics; most people finish a Ph.D in less time. What advice could anyone really give you? It's hard to motivate someone who clearly doesn't seem motivated.

You should ask yourself what you expect as an answer. An easy way out? I'm sorry to tell you that it doesn't look like it's going to be easy for you, but it isn't impossible.

 

[jonjacson]

Your situation sounds kind of hopeless. You've spent 9 years on a bachelor's in physics; most people finish a Ph.D in less time. What advice could anyone really give you? It's hard to motivate someone who clearly doesn't seem motivated.

You should ask yourself what you expect as an answer. An easy way out? I'm sorry to tell you that it doesn't look like it's going to be easy for you, but it isn't impossible.

I agree with you in one thing, it's going to be very difficult. But I did not wait for an easy answer, I hope to read an answer like" there are specialization courses to work in the industry, maybe not as physicist but as technician, and you could do that".

My problem is that I don't know exactly where I could be useful.

Thanks for your answer, you have been very sincere and that's good.

 

[tofayelbd]

Without talented one, nobody can study in Physics. Also Physics is a mathematical subject, so you can easily be programer. Now various famous university run free online courses. In this moment, you may try to start work as freelancer for earnings.

 

[jonjacson]

Without talented one, nobody can study in Physics. Also Physics is a mathematical subject, so you can easily be programer. Now various famous university run free online courses. In this moment, you may try to start work as freelancer for earnings.

I liked that sentence.

-Yes as other mate told, programming could be an option, I will search information about that.

-But I don't know if that courses could help you to find a job, If you can't certificate what you have studied an employer won't consider it for his job.

-Is that possible? What can you do as a freelancer?. I knew that computer scientists could do software as freelancers, but I have never found a web with customers demanding work to physicists.

Do you know a web for freelancers in physics?.

 

[tofayelbd]

I liked that sentence.

-Yes as other mate told, programming could be an option, I will search information about that.

-But I don't know if that courses could help you to find a job, If you can't certificate what you have studied an employer won't consider it for his job.

-Is that possible? What can you do as a freelancer?. I knew that computer scientists could do software as freelancers, but I have never found a web with customers demanding work to physicists.

Do you know a web for freelancers in physics?.

If you can learn programming well, then lots of high paying works available on various freelancing sites, like freelance.com, odesk.com, etc. As a talented one, you can easily learn programing throw online help.

 

[hadsed]

For that, you'll need to develop a portfolio. It's not terribly difficult, if you can find work you can charge for much less than other people will do (which, in general is sort of frowned upon actually), or you can offer to do it for free (you'll get more jobs probably). The easiest thing then is to network while you're in the process of building your portfolio, and talk to a bunch of people and see if anyone is in or leads a small media/web development group that needs another person. Or, if you're lucky, you'll have one guy who can send work your way. The way it happened for me is that I worked a job for someone, and if I did well and the customer was happy, I'd get more coming from the same guy.

However, I should warn you that freelancing isn't very stable. As of a couple of years ago, it was pretty down in the dumps. The economy had tanked recently, and no one had the capital or the motivation to do anything new; people were just trying to survive. I don't know if it has gotten better as of late. You also have to think of the lifestyle. You'll be working from home, great! Or not so great, actually. Because that means you'll always "be at work". You're also subject to whatever the customer wants, and this can be an absolute nightmare because the customer is a complete moron, always. They don't know what they want typically, and they'll never think of the details until they're implemented by you. A certain balance of checking with your client and doing whatever you think is right has to be kept. You'll need to be very patient. You can end up making very good money in freelance web development, but you can also end up making crap, and sometimes it won't have anything to do with your skills and competence.

Anyway, I personally didn't like it. In terms of stability, you're much better off learning languages that are used to write application software (Java, C++, C#, etc.), since your opportunities will be very broad and plentiful. Or, if you are going to work in web, you can work for an actual company, but you'll need to learn enterprise tools usually. That, I'm afraid, I know nothing about.