Wich are the types of jobs available for Physicists?

Question

Please explain wich are the most usuals, and wich are best payed. Also, please try to explains what the job concists of.
Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

Physicists most often do research and teach at universities as professors. This entails conducting basic research in areas that most likely has no commercial value such as Superstring Theory, or high energy particle physics, or cosmology. Professors also need to teach university courses, and also support graduate students doing their Ph.D.'s. The pay here is okay, but you can't retire on it.

There are also physicists who get jobs in the private sector. The pay here is very very good, usually 6 figures. They conduct research with commercial applications in mind, like finding material with useful properties that can turned into products, like lasers, superconducting magnets, etc.

Some physicists also write books and do TV shows like NOVA, etc. They also make very good money.

Answer 2

Let me list some of the physics work I did:

1. Reentry vehicle physics
2. Nuclear weapons emergency destruction analysis
3. Earth penetration bombs physics
4. Plasma radar cross sections
5. Parking garage environment (heat exchange and humidity)
6. Torpedo dynamics in water environment
7. Radiation shielding physics
8. GPS guidance physics
9. Underwater sound channeling physics
10. Air traffic control and collision avoidance physics
11. Petroleum refinery and pipeline vulnerability physics

In general, I did both nuclear and rocket physics for the most part. Very exciting, cutting edge stuff. Which is the nature of physics, it is cutting edge new stuff for the most part (once you get out of school that is).