Which PhD Offers Best Non-Academic/Industrial Opportunities?

[arrektor]

The question that I would like to know some kind of an answer is what kind of phD offers the best non-academic/industrial opportunities. Solid State physics, Biological Physics or Medical Physics?

Slainte.

 

[eXorikos]

Solid state without a doubt.

 

[anonymity]

I would first ask yourself what you are actually interested in.

Sorry for taking the thread away from your topic, but, just saying...

 

[carlgrace]

The two previous responses are both right.

 

[daveb]

If you can get into a graduate/residency program, medical physics is pretty solid as well - with the aging baby boomer population comes more need for oncologists, radiologists, and the medical physicists who help plan radiation therapy treatments and calibrate teletherapy devices. A board certified medical physicist can earn upwards of 150k per year.

 

[arrektor]

Well I thought I was interested mostly in Biological Physics. But I have worked for a year as a research assistant in a biol. physics lab and I realized that hate being in a Chemistry lab, doing mostly chemistry related stuff.

I am very interested in quantum mechanics, so I presume that Solid state physics is the best for doing quantum mechanics.

As a specific subject, I am quiet interested in photovoltaics. SS physics and bio/soft-matter physics can equally lead to a good phD in photovoltaics right?

Regarding medical physics, it probably gives you the best opportunities for work in my country.
daveb, you are talking about USA right?

 

[daveb]

Yes - I can't speak for other countries, but regulations in the US require an authorized medical physicist to be present for treatments involving remote afterloader or stereotactic radiosurgery units, and only medical physicist are allowed to calibrate these or teletherapy units.

 

[nobelium102]

does anybody know about medical physicist in Canada and how to become one?

 

[novop]

There are a few Canadian universities that offer two-year CAMPEP accredited programs in Med phys. The process is basically identical to that in the US. As far as I know, it will be a requirement to have CAMPEP credits if you want to work as a med physicist come 2012 (? not sure about the date).

 

[Choppy]

With respect to medical physics in Canada...

There are a number of ways to get in. In general, after an undergraduate degree in physics you need to complete a graduate degree, preferably in a CAMPEP program, preferably a PhD. After this you will generally go through a 2 year residency. And then you will be eligible to write the CCPM membership exam, which is similar to the ABR exam in the US and in most places (US and Canada) the certifications are interchangable.

For both exams, you will need to have come through CAMPEP-accredited programs by 2012/2014 (ABR) and 2016 (CCPM). You don't necessarily have to go through for a PhD in medical physics though. The University of Calgary for example is initiating a CAMPEP-accredited post-PhD program for people with physics PhDs who ant to get into the field, but don't want or really need to repeat the graduate student experience.

As far as opportunities go... I've been quite happy with the opportunities I've had in the field, as have my colleagues. I can't really compare with people that I've know in solid state or biophysics because my sample size of friends in each of those fiels is low.

 

[nobelium102]

aha thank you Choppy and novop

so B.S. in physics------>Campep Phd----------->2 year residency (what's this? btw)--->exam----------->become a doctor who works at hospital finally?

is that how it works?
hmmm that is a lot of years, do i get paid starting from residency?

 

[Choppy]

I don't want to hijack this thread.

In that it relates to opportunities in medical physics, a residency in medical physics is 2 years of clinical training and work experience. You do most of the work that a clincal physicist does, but you don't start out with much signing authority.

You get paid for these positions and the pay varies considerably, but it's generally more than your average post-doc. They are very competative to get into as there are more students than residencies. Some programs though are steering away from this model towards a professional "doctor of medical physics" degree that includes the residency, but does not pay you to go through it.

It's also worth pointing out that you're not a medical doctor. You make no diagnosis or prescription decisions.

If you want to know anything more specific, feel free to PM me.

 

[arrektor]

Choppy, what are the future carreer possibilities if you become a medical physicist.
I study in Europe, so the CAMPEP and residency route is not the same here. But in terms of opportunities, by the time you become a Medical Physicist, can you do research or travel abroad? How can you deviate from the standard Medical Physicist work in the hospital?

As far as I see it, if you do Medical Physics, isn't your future somehow predefined?
While if you do a phD in Biophysics or Solid State physics, by the end of your phD you are given the choice to apply for several industrial positions or even stay in Academia.

 

[Choppy]

Choppy, what are the future carreer possibilities if you become a medical physicist.
I study in Europe, so the CAMPEP and residency route is not the same here. But in terms of opportunities, by the time you become a Medical Physicist, can you do research or travel abroad? How can you deviate from the standard Medical Physicist work in the hospital?

As far as I see it, if you do Medical Physics, isn't your future somehow predefined?
While if you do a phD in Biophysics or Solid State physics, by the end of your phD you are given the choice to apply for several industrial positions or even stay in Academia.

Hi Arrektor,

As a medical physicist you can (and should) do research. The research is a lot more like applied engineering or computer science research rather than fundamental physics research. So the kinds of problems you might work on would include: developing new types of detectors for imaging and dosimetry, treatment planning and verification algorithms, deformable image registration, modeling patient response to treatment, etc.

Your future is only as predefined as you want it to be. Medical physics is a profession, in the way the engineering is a profession. But it doesn't necessarily limit you. Most medical physicists will work in radiation treatment hospostals, but not all. Companies like Varian, Elekta, Seimens, GE, IBA, TomoTherapy, all hire medical physicists to assist with product industrial research, product development, and support. In fact several companies in the field were actually founded by physicists.

There are also academic options. While I have primarily a clinical appointment, I have an adjunct appointment at a university. Complete academic appointments are rare in the field, but they exist (they just don't generally pay as well as clinical positions).

 

[twofish-quant]

The question that I would like to know some kind of an answer is what kind of phD offers the best non-academic/industrial opportunities. Solid State physics, Biological Physics or Medical Physics?

The best Ph.D. is in a topic that you like so that you finish the Ph.D.

 

[Diracula]

Is there some data to suggest that solid state > medical physics for non-academic/industrial opportunities (in reference to the first couple replies)?

I would think it'd be the opposite and it's not that close. Most things I've read suggest med phys pays a lot more (roughly indicating higher demand) and not only do you have clinical opportunities there are industrial opportunities on top of that (Choppy has quite a list there). And, generally speaking, health care > industries associated with solid state when it comes to job opportunities. Mainly because health care > just about everything.

Am I wrong in thinking this? Is there data to suggest solid state has the most opportunities?