5 answers
Wayne
Student
Lacey, Washington
1
Question
Updated
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What kinds of jobs can you get with a Physics degree?
And what advice would you give to an incoming Physics student, if that's the degree you went for?
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5 answers
Andrew Au
Professor of Mathematics & Statistics, Retired
224
Answers
Updated
Andrew’s Answer
Physics is the foundation of physical science (including chemistry) and engineering. Furthermore, since mathematics is the lingua franca of science, proficiency and competency in mathematics are imperative for a degree in physics. Hence, you will be equipped with the basic tools to tackle problems in natural science as well as engineering with a degree in physics. Because of the mathematical skill acquired, you may also be able to handle problem solving beyond the STEM disciplines.
That said, with the analytical skills and mathematical skills, a wide range of career opportunities will be opened to you.
All my three degrees are in physics. After two decades of work in the consulting environment, I ended up with a retiring job for 15 years as professor of mathematics. A degree in physics is a career door opener.
That said, with the analytical skills and mathematical skills, a wide range of career opportunities will be opened to you.
All my three degrees are in physics. After two decades of work in the consulting environment, I ended up with a retiring job for 15 years as professor of mathematics. A degree in physics is a career door opener.
Noah FW
Consultant
7
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Noah’s Answer
Hi Wayne,
Thanks for your question! I did my undergrad in Physics and graduated in 2023. I was surprised to find that there are actually quite a lot of jobs you can do, both directly related to the degree and not. In general, physicists are seen as great problem solvers and modelers and are valued across industries. Some off the top of my head are:
- PHD + research: Many folks will continue on to further studies (e.g., PHD) and eventually go into research in academia. There are also non-academia research opportunities at places like NASA and other national labs
- Engineering and applied research roles: Despite not directly studying engineering, some physics grads end up on engineering teams in automotive, aerospace, semiconductors and more industries. They can develop models (e.g., fluid models to test aerodynamics), do applied research, help test devices and lots more.
- Education: Some physics grads decide to go into teaching, especially for high school students, and there are many programs that help support this (e.g., Teach for America)
- Software engineering and data science: Many physicists will also learn to code throughout their studies, and therefore go into software engineering, data science, and even AI/ML research.
- Finance: Physicists are seen as great model builders and sharp minds, and therefore find themselves in jobs such as trading, quantitative research, risk modeling etc.
- Consulting: Physicists can also find themselves at consultancies (companies that help other companies solve their problems). This can be both technical consulting (e.g., helping companies on more complex topics like materials design, or energy / sustainability) and non-technical consulting (e.g., helping companies on their broader business strategy)
There are probably many more, but this should give you a sense. I myself took a non-traditional path of going into non-technical consulting because I actually wasn't too sure what industry interested me most, and so it seemed like a cool way to get a flavor of different industries!
On advice for an incoming physics student:
- (1) Try research early to see if it's a good fit for you. This will give you a sense on if you want to do a PHD or not. If so, you can gameplan how to spend your undergrad years and summers to set yourself up for a strong grad school application
- (2) Take other STEM (and non-STEM) courses. It helps to do courses that could give you other employable skills (e.g., computer science), but also non-STEM courses (e.g., literature, art) based on what interests you outside of physics!
Hope this helps!
Thanks for your question! I did my undergrad in Physics and graduated in 2023. I was surprised to find that there are actually quite a lot of jobs you can do, both directly related to the degree and not. In general, physicists are seen as great problem solvers and modelers and are valued across industries. Some off the top of my head are:
- PHD + research: Many folks will continue on to further studies (e.g., PHD) and eventually go into research in academia. There are also non-academia research opportunities at places like NASA and other national labs
- Engineering and applied research roles: Despite not directly studying engineering, some physics grads end up on engineering teams in automotive, aerospace, semiconductors and more industries. They can develop models (e.g., fluid models to test aerodynamics), do applied research, help test devices and lots more.
- Education: Some physics grads decide to go into teaching, especially for high school students, and there are many programs that help support this (e.g., Teach for America)
- Software engineering and data science: Many physicists will also learn to code throughout their studies, and therefore go into software engineering, data science, and even AI/ML research.
- Finance: Physicists are seen as great model builders and sharp minds, and therefore find themselves in jobs such as trading, quantitative research, risk modeling etc.
- Consulting: Physicists can also find themselves at consultancies (companies that help other companies solve their problems). This can be both technical consulting (e.g., helping companies on more complex topics like materials design, or energy / sustainability) and non-technical consulting (e.g., helping companies on their broader business strategy)
There are probably many more, but this should give you a sense. I myself took a non-traditional path of going into non-technical consulting because I actually wasn't too sure what industry interested me most, and so it seemed like a cool way to get a flavor of different industries!
On advice for an incoming physics student:
- (1) Try research early to see if it's a good fit for you. This will give you a sense on if you want to do a PHD or not. If so, you can gameplan how to spend your undergrad years and summers to set yourself up for a strong grad school application
- (2) Take other STEM (and non-STEM) courses. It helps to do courses that could give you other employable skills (e.g., computer science), but also non-STEM courses (e.g., literature, art) based on what interests you outside of physics!
Hope this helps!
Karin P.
Lecturer, Academic Advisor, Career Coach
1085
Answers
Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Updated
Karin’s Answer
Hi Wayne,
Physicists tend to say that physicists can do any job. There is some truth to that but of course it's also not the whole truth.
You'll get a degree that teaches you problem-solving, logical reasoning, a lot of math, probably quite a bit of coding and modeling, physical foundations needed to understand the natural world as well as engineering principles. That's a great starting point.
Having said that, having a physics degree can also make it a bit difficult to get hired in industry because you still need quite a bit of specific on-the-job training and might be viewed as "too theoretical".
Most physicist I know are either in high-level research or academia and teaching. Those that went into industry are mostly in jobs that were not originally advertised for a physicist or were very broadly advertised. You do find physicists in jobs in any science field, in engineering, in tech, in banking, in sales, in management, entrepreneurship or consulting - but sometimes it takes a bit of effort and time to make that transition.
It's still a great major that opens up a wide variety of options!
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
Physicists tend to say that physicists can do any job. There is some truth to that but of course it's also not the whole truth.
You'll get a degree that teaches you problem-solving, logical reasoning, a lot of math, probably quite a bit of coding and modeling, physical foundations needed to understand the natural world as well as engineering principles. That's a great starting point.
Having said that, having a physics degree can also make it a bit difficult to get hired in industry because you still need quite a bit of specific on-the-job training and might be viewed as "too theoretical".
Most physicist I know are either in high-level research or academia and teaching. Those that went into industry are mostly in jobs that were not originally advertised for a physicist or were very broadly advertised. You do find physicists in jobs in any science field, in engineering, in tech, in banking, in sales, in management, entrepreneurship or consulting - but sometimes it takes a bit of effort and time to make that transition.
It's still a great major that opens up a wide variety of options!
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
Joseph Neilson
Radiation Detection Physicist
244
Answers
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
There's some good answers here - physics certainly does provide pathways to a whole load of careers. Staying in academia and research, going into education, going out of physics per-se into various mathematical and logical fields from finance to software and data science are all options indeed.
What I think is missing or perhaps unduly de-emphasised in some of the other answers is going into industry in engineering or applied physics roles. There's lots of high-tech fields where companies rely on physicists to build and test high-tech processes and products. The XKCD comic "Every Major's Terrible" (https://xkcd.com/1052/) jokingly suggests the "Wiki page for 'Physics Major' redirects to 'Engineer'" - and there's some truth behind that joke - physicists are often found in engineering roles across the energy industry, aerospace, etc. Even for myself - while my job title includes "physicist", in other organisations, I'd probably be classified as a nuclear engineer, and there's a lot of other physicists working in nuclear. Other common applied physics fields in demand include areas like quantum computing, lasers and optics, medical imaging, and plenty more.
As to the second part of the question on advice to give - the immediate thing that springs to mind is that the job market for new grads is tough. There's loads of jobs in physics once you've gained some experience, but when you're first graduating, entry-level roles can be very limited with tough competition, and grads that have something to set themselves out from the crowd will have a much better shot at getting that first job on the ladder. Unless you're coming out with absolutely top marks, getting your first grad job can be a hard slog of hundreds of rejections. My advice would therefore be to do as much as you can to gain some related practical experience before graduating - look for internships in the academic breaks, look for any science-related part-time work you can find, take part in science or engineering based extracurricular activities like clubs and societies, register with a professional membership body like the APS and try to get involved as much as you can.
What I think is missing or perhaps unduly de-emphasised in some of the other answers is going into industry in engineering or applied physics roles. There's lots of high-tech fields where companies rely on physicists to build and test high-tech processes and products. The XKCD comic "Every Major's Terrible" (https://xkcd.com/1052/) jokingly suggests the "Wiki page for 'Physics Major' redirects to 'Engineer'" - and there's some truth behind that joke - physicists are often found in engineering roles across the energy industry, aerospace, etc. Even for myself - while my job title includes "physicist", in other organisations, I'd probably be classified as a nuclear engineer, and there's a lot of other physicists working in nuclear. Other common applied physics fields in demand include areas like quantum computing, lasers and optics, medical imaging, and plenty more.
As to the second part of the question on advice to give - the immediate thing that springs to mind is that the job market for new grads is tough. There's loads of jobs in physics once you've gained some experience, but when you're first graduating, entry-level roles can be very limited with tough competition, and grads that have something to set themselves out from the crowd will have a much better shot at getting that first job on the ladder. Unless you're coming out with absolutely top marks, getting your first grad job can be a hard slog of hundreds of rejections. My advice would therefore be to do as much as you can to gain some related practical experience before graduating - look for internships in the academic breaks, look for any science-related part-time work you can find, take part in science or engineering based extracurricular activities like clubs and societies, register with a professional membership body like the APS and try to get involved as much as you can.
Raj Khurana
30
Answers
Middletown, New Jersey
Updated
Raj’s Answer
A degree in physics will open up unlimited opportunities for you. Please, keep in mind that by pursuing a degree in physics, you are not only learning about physics but along the way, you are also developing analytical, reasoning, math skills.
So, with analytical, reasoning, math skills, you are not limited to jobs in physics, you can get jobs in engineering, economics, data science, AI, accounting, finance etc.
So, with analytical, reasoning, math skills, you are not limited to jobs in physics, you can get jobs in engineering, economics, data science, AI, accounting, finance etc.