Anyone Here with a Physics Degree?
 

I am working on mine as we speak. I will be graduating in May and I am just trying to get an idea of what fields I need to be thinking about upon graduation...well before, so I can get my resume out there and hopefully have a job once I graduate and can finally leave the hell hole called walmart.

All I can tell you is good luck. The economy, regardless of what you hear, is not that good, and it's a rough time ot be hunting an entry level job. Make finding a job your full time job until you find one you can live with.

Remember, you will spend approximately 1/3 of your waking life working and 1/7th on Monday.

That is a tough one...
 

Physics-stay and get you PHD and teach

May try General Dynamics (aircraft/weapons) in Tx or even NASA. I cannot think of any field besides those that may use a straight physics major. Ask your Profs at school as they should be able to give you direction. Most, I would think, would be looking for engineers.

What is your concentration of study in your degree?

The way things seem to be going lately, the only growing industry in this country will be the DEFENSE industry. If I were starting out, that's where I'd go. Our enemys are crafty and ever evolving... so we need smarter bombs and weapons!

I had a job once. Hated it.

Yep, I am a geek with a BS in Applied Physics. Physical Science (i.e. including Chemistry) usually doesn't pay that well, with an undergrad degree you will generally end up as some form of a tech. Which a lot of the time, isn't a bad thing, especially if you work for a PhD. So many of the PhD's I have worked for, with, or had working for me have such huge egos that they think "mere mortals" without a PhD must be morons: if you can even breath on your own, you're amazing!

Physics is a hard degree to hold, you are versed in theory, some experimentation skills, superior logic and problem solving skills, but little entry level practical goods. Do you know CAD? Probably not, at least I never learned it in school. It's tough.

If you like people, you might consider staying put and gaining a grad degree. If you are going to stop at a Master's, then switch to some form of engineering. A Master's level Physics degree is even more lost than an undergrad is. Unless you have a serious interest, or a natural talent, I'd personally shy away from the Nuclear or other high end stuff, it's neat, but you'll be starving for the better part of your life. Optics, mechanics, and other practical fields will keep you far happier employed. I can say from my own experience in the industry that there are FAR too few really sharp folks in Optics and Lasers. Fun stuff too, not a bad way to "focus..." Okay, I had to use the pun, sorry.

Mark

Some advice about the defense industry, since it was mentioned:

It's cyclical, so don't expect lifetime job security. The contracts come and go-- and layoffs track them typically lagging a little bit behind. Been there, done that.

If going into defense (which can be fun) the best bet is to get a job requiring a Q-level or thereabouts security clearance-- because they'll have so much money into your background check and clearance they are FAR less likely to lay you off and you'll often "float" through the slow times. (i.e. getting paid to read magazines and surf the 'net, because it's cheaper than laying you off and going through the debriefing process only to have to re-activate your clearance when business picks back up and they want to re-hire you.)

Mark's advice is good, consider getting a job with the BS then have the employer pay in full or part for the higher degree(s). Try to get into grad school as soon as possible to avoid "memory loss" that inevitably occurs after graduation or you will be playing catch-up when you finally start grad school.

I graduated with my BS in mechanical engineering and was on track to get out with a masters in 5 years... I still regret not staying for the MS. With work and everything now it would be hard schedule wise (and re-learning) to get back into things even though my employer would cover 80% of the tuition & books.

Also, getting a higher degree isn't always beneficial, many employers see the upper level degree as requring they pay you a higher wage and you can class yourself out of the position. I know this is especially true for someone with a MS/PHD trying to get a just out of school job. The employer sees someone with no work experience and thus wants to offer you entry-level wages... but they also see the higher level degree and don't want to pay the differential for the degree given you have no/minimal work experience. A catch 22 as it were. We had a guy here with a PhD who lied (didn't disclose it, said he only had a MS) so he could get hired on. We didn't want to pay PhD wages but he needed the job. He had this problem after several interviews at other locations, he dropped the PhD off his resume and was hired on the spot.

For what it is worth, you may want to try Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona. I have a BS in mechanical engineering and I work for them. I have been noticing a growing trend of "baby boomers" retiring, and they are hiring more and more younger cats such as ourselves. You may want to give them a shot. www.rayjobs.com

Thanks for the input guys. Here is the story of where I am at, and how I got here. It will help explain why I am getting a BS in Physics and why there is no concentration of my study.

I left high school wanting to be a mechanical engineer, hopefully ending up in the automotive field. I started at a Ju Co because they offered me money. As I went through my first couple of years...which seemed to take me 4 I realized that moving on to a REAL university for my ME degree was hopeless. As it would be hard to find a job and be able to pay my bills and my tuition, My GPA was not up to par. We have a branch of A&M in commerce with what I thought to be a decent physics department. So that is where I went, with the hopes of getting my degree, and then finding an employer who would pay for me to go and get my ME degree. I am now in my 3rd semester here. Physics classes are hit and miss. Sometimes they make, sometimes they don't so there really isn't the option for concentrating your studies. I have also recently realised that I need some sort of 3D modelling experience to increase my options. The school I am at has an industrial Engineering department that offers such courses. The first course teaches CAD and then the next course teaches solid works.....the CAD course is a pre req for the Solid Works course...and they are a fall spring sequence.

Enough rambling. I'll check out the raytheon site. There is a Raytheon branch in the town I work in. As well as an L3 communications which services a lot of military aircraft. Lockheed Martin is also not far away in Fort Worth.......

FWIW, Solidworks offers a student edition of their software for $70-$150 depending on how many bells and whistles you want. If you've got a computer that will run it, it includes tutorials that will teach you the basics, and there's also an assortment of books on it as well. I had a class on AutoCAD 2002 a few years ago; while I've just started playing with SW a couple weeks ago, I *really* like it quite a bit more. My school doesn't teach it though, a class on it might be a good idea even if you do get your own copy.