Who has a physics degree and what did you do with it?

Question

Did you enjoy the course and get many job offers after or did you have to do further studies in order to get a job? Also if you wouldn't mind telling, whats your job, do you enjoy it and does it pay well?
Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

Degree? BS in physics, MS in quantum mechanics, PHD in nuclear engineering.

Enjoy the courses? Oh yea, they are a definite mind bender.

Job offers? Plenty.

My job? Calculate the likelihood of a nuclear chain reaction to spontaneously start with fissionable materials of a given mass of a given geometry with several variable moderators. This is done to ensure that no one dies while manufacturing nuclear fuel rods for commercial power plants.

Do I enjoy doing my job? Yes, I get great satisfaction knowing that my job keeps people from getting killed.

Pay well? Are you kidding?

Answer 2

I have my bachelor's in physics, master's in astronomy, and I'm working on my doctorate in science education. While I was an undergrad, I never thought of doing anything else other than get my PhD in astronomy, and I was under the impression (which I now know is false) that you can't do anything with a BA in physics. My impression now (which might still be wrong for all I know) is that there are many employers who would love to employ plysics majors, but you wouldn't actually be doing any physics. Employers like physics majors because they tend to be good problem solvers and good with numbers (I've heard of people with a BA in physics going off to wall street and making a ton of money because they understand the algorithms used in modeling the stock market.)

While I was in grad school for astronomy I decided I prefered teaching to research, so I left with my master's and worked at a planetarium for a few years. Now I'm a tenured professor at a state college where research is not required. I'm also the college's planetarium director. I love it, the job is very well suited for me. The pay is decent, but not great, but that's what happens when you work for a public school.

btw - if you're trying to decide on a major, I'd recommend majoring in whatever you enjoy. Most employers just want intelligent people they can train, and aren't too interested in the exact major.

Answer 3

My sister has a Ph.D. in physics. She specialized in optics and lasers. She is now teaching at a community college and started a fiber optics program there. Previously, she had worked at a research lab. She also had a job with a law firm that did a lot of intellectual property work. They had scientists on staff so that if someone sued for, say, copyright or patent infringement, the scientists could determine if there was a case, if this whatever-it-was really did copy from something else. That, of course, paid the best because law firms pay really well.

Answer 4

My uncle holds a few degrees, one in physics. For a long time he was a physics professor in an university. After that he worked for Goodyear Tire for some time and made good money. Now he works for an oil company, originally hired on to design a more efficient method to refine oil, but is now working for that oil company as a project manager "problem solver," traveling all over the world fixing others mistakes.

How he came to really do any of that, I'm not sure.

I agree with what others say about specific majors not actually mattering much.

That's why I'm getting my B.A. in communication. lol.

Answer 5

I do a double degree Physics/Nanotechnology. We need more scientists on this planet (as well as female scientists), we don't get the respect we deserve! Nanotechnology is the "IT Girl" for science right now, I'd say to look around websites for universities offering courses in Physics/Nanotechnology.
It's a good degree and can allow you to travel. It is challanging but if you have the curiosity and are able to work hard to achieve where you want to go, then sure go ahead and do it!
Electronics Industry has a need for us, think of Nanoipods, IBM six level interconnect Chips to Nanocoatings on Benzs' , Nanofiltrations systems! So many possibilities to innovate.

Answer 6

Firstly i did Physics to follow my heart.
Internally I said to myself. ëven if there is one job in physics why shouldn't I get it?

I enjoyed immenseley learning about the Universe; how it may or may not work.

Originally I was an electrician; i am still very proud to own this too. Also industrial electronic tech.
I new that the mix of these prevoiuous carreers would allow me to sell myself as an engineer. I couldn't see the point in doing exactly an engineering degree as that would take 4 years on a lower load. I was a mature age student couldn't afford the time off.

First job after the degree was as a teacher in electrical. The physics put me way ahead of otheres. My depth of knowledge allowed me to be very inovative in what I got my students to do. They REALLY learn't something.

Next career was as a senior electrical engineer with a large american firm that sounds like a breakfast cereal.
I did designs of instrumentation for chemical processess.
I think my past hands on plus theoretical depth put me ahead as well. I mean first engineering job to be senior is not bad. I also did electrical distribution design for the Commonwealth Games.

Now I am a Plant engineer at a large foundry. i am currently using my physics too design an infrared heating system for our workers.


What a lot of ramble. My point here is that you can do anything with a physics degree. For the job itself to have physics in the title is rare. It is best to see how physics (if physics is your hearts desire) fits with your experience and talents to get a feel of what you would like to do. Follow the link in the know your source below.

NOW TO REALLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION!
Engineering pays well; if that is a major concern. If you don't have a past like me engineering might be a better choice. Engineers are really specialist physicists in a sense. Most post grad advanced degree courses in physics will accept an engineering background if you wanted to go into physics later.
Good luck in your decision.
Slarty

Answer 7

Are you considering a degree in physics? Go for it!

I don't have a degree in physics, but my father does. He has a Master's in physics. Works for NASA's ISS program. I think he enjoys it. Not as much as he enjoyed working in the shuttle program, though. He doesn't make as much as Bill Gates, but he's done all right in the last 45 years. We always had food on the table, a nice roof over our heads, decent clothes to wear, and plenty of quality time with the man I consider to be the most intelligent person I've ever met.

Hope that helps.

Answer 8

I have a BSc in Physics and an MSc in Physics. Later I took a MA in History of Science and a PhD in History. Currently I write most about innovation, but I apply the ideas I developed in physics to understand how to transfer knowledge from the University world to society. Otherwise I manage research projects. An education in Physics is probably the best you can do. From there you can work in almost anything else. More about what I do you will find here
http://www.geocities.com/regis_cabral/
http://regiscabral.blogspot.com/

Answer 9

my sister has a physics degree . she loves physics and enjoys reading about it . she is now teaching physics in a high school . Her experience in teaching made her regret her choice though. I mean she still loves physics but she hates teaching.

I graduated 2 months ago . I found a job as a translator but I chosed to be a teacher and something tells me I'll regret it soon .
well the main problem I have is the jobs that I like don't pay well so it takes me forever to decide what job I 'll choose .
Anyways, I wish you good luck

Answer 10

My partner has a BS in physics and mathematics & a masters in physics from Cal Tech. He was working on his PhD when he went on "hiatus." He became bored with what was going on in his field (theoretical particle physics) at that time and found that there were employers who were willing to pay him a lot more than his grad student stipend to play with computers, which he did for free for the university. (He was sys admin at the time for a student publication.) This was in the middle of the "dot com" boom. So, employers were just throwing money around at that time. It was very tempting for him to leave academia for a real, paying job that would give him a starting salary much higher than he was likely to make until he became a tenured, senior professor after many more years.

He was also unenamored (is that really a word?) with the politics involved in science and academia. I have heard this gripe from many in the science community. You have to have a high tolerance for bullshit, be willing to work long, grueling hours so that your professor can get all the credit for the work that you did on her/his project, and generally be willing to sacrifice your personal life for a number of years ... usually long enough to have passed your child-bearing years good-bye. Science is a lot of hard work for not a lot of pay. It's often long, grueling hours spent in the lab or in front of a computer trying to get things to work, banging your head on the desk repeatedly day after day.

It's a great field if you are passionate about it and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to work in academia or are somehow able to find a non-university job in that field. But, it's certainly not as glamorous as many believe it out to be. Most simply don't make the cut.

I've heard that the pay for jobs in science (or any other field in academia) are among the lowest that you will find for the level of education that is required.

My brother started out his college career majoring in physics and later switched to photojournalism because it was something that he enjoyed more. I'm glad that he did. I don't think that he would have cared much for the politics of science and the bureaucracy of the university system.

Incidentally my partner is now a senior level developer (computer programmer) for Yahoo! Inc. search. I've heard him say that his physics training helps him in his current line of work because it taught him how to think about certain things in a more complex, detailed way. Frankly, I'm not a programmer and not a physicist so I can't do a very good job explaining how the two are tied together for him. But, I know that he has said that it has helped him to do his job better. It's too bad that he hasn't finished his article yet. He was asked by some university on the east coast (where he attended a math camp as a high school student) to write an article for their publication about how he uses math in his job. I haven't seen the draft yet. It would probably help in answering your question a little better.

At any rate, if you are really interested in physics make sure that you speak with a college / career counselor and go to your local university to speak with people in the physics department to get a taste for what it's really like. Make sure to speak with people at different levels because you'll find a variety of perspectives from the eager undergrad to the bitter phd student to the overworked researcher to the haughty, tenured professor.