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Ask HN: What to Do with a Physics Degree?

by dasmithii on 7/19/21, 2:49 PM with 14 comments

• by otras on 7/19/21, 7:18 PM

  What do you call a physicist a few years after they get their degree?

  A data scientist!

  I got my undergrad degree in physics and transitioned into tech after hitting a similar wall after graduation. I went for the regular software route (started with frontend via FreeCodeCamp and went from there), and in my experience it’s common to see physics students in tech, especially in data science where the statistics background can be really helpful.

  For me, it was about building up the programming experience and exposure to get the first tech job, and it has been much simpler after that. I’d recommend looking at startups in particular, as they tend to have a lower barrier of entry (as opposed to the large tech companies). I’d also recommend taking traditional CS classes in addition to any job-focused learning, but that can always wait until after the first paychecks are coming in.

• by FiatLuxDave on 7/20/21, 2:37 PM

  There are a lot of industrial physicist jobs out there which are fairly unknown. After my fusion startup went under, I had a lot of trouble finding a position. I had engineering experience, but no engineering degree, and I didn't have the academic credentials to get a decent position in academia.

  After months of searching, I ended up working for a medical physics company by complete chance. I was getting a haircut for a job interview at a defense contractor, and I mentioned to my hairstylist that it was really tough to find a job as a physicist. She said, "Oh, I know a guy who's looking for physicists". It turned out she also cut the hair of another physicist who had started a small company. She gave me his number, and I got hired.

  It may be helpful to look at industries which hire physics undergrad degrees. These include anything which uses radiation or high vacuum. Math-heavy industries do as well.

  It's a bit out of date, but here are some articles from the old Industrial Physicist magazine (check the careers and hidden physicist sections) which may provide some ideas: https://web.archive.org/web/20071017063629/http://aip.org/ti...

• by kognate on 7/19/21, 3:25 PM

  Try one of the big consulting firms. They will only care about the degree and your friend can learn a lot of stuff, make a little money, and use that time to figure out where in the industry they really want to go. The job will probably suck, but they'll learn a lot.

• by aristofun on 7/19/21, 8:00 PM

  Good physics education is the best.

  Because it gives you widest world perspective possible (if you paid attention to all disciplines like philosophy and math, not just learning single narrow field).

  It also gives you a great skill of learning what you don’t know yet, and solving problems you don’t really know how to solve yet.

  And path forward is clear - learn something in the area, build some portfolio, find some interns programs, finish good bootcamp, apply for jobs.

• by robthebrew on 7/19/21, 2:56 PM

  They should choose something that actually interests them! If they don't have the skills, get an MBA, or take a lowever paid job. Then excel. I have a friend who did a PhD in absolute flatness: how pointless is that? But highly relevant to astronomical mirrors and telescopes.

• by shoto_io on 7/19/21, 3:24 PM

  You can do anything with a physics degree. That's what they told us at Uni at least...

  PS: I went into product management / consulting after my Physics PhD.

• by cosmodisk on 7/20/21, 12:05 AM

  Go to finance, obviously.

• by AnimalMuppet on 7/19/21, 3:58 PM

  I went into embedded systems.

• by forgotmysn on 7/19/21, 7:30 PM

  i know a lot of people that work in quantitative finance with physics degrees