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Duder999
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Where does physicist work? What do they actually do?
Duder999 said:Where does physicist work? What do they actually do?
Duder999 said:What's the difference between theoretical physicist and cosmologist then?
Kevin_Axion said:Short story, what you said doesn't make any sense and you can't compare the two because they aren't mutual.
Duder999 said:If theoretical physicists write theories, how do they get paid? Do they get extra for a complete theory or something?
Duder999 said:Who employs theoretical physicist? I still don't fully get where they work...
ParticleGrl said:Mostly banks, insurance companies, and management consulting firms. Most people who get phds have a career in science that lasts about 5 years, then they do something else.
Dr Transport said:How can you say this? almost every Physics PhD I know is still working in science, many of them 10 years or more...
Duder999 said:Who employs theoretical physicist? I still don't fully get where they work...
Dr Transport said:How can you say this? almost every Physics PhD I know is still working in science, many of them 10 years or more...
ParticleGrl said:I imagine once you get a job in industry, you tend to meet other physics phds who also got jobs in industry? Could this be biasing your sample?
The only person I know from graduate school who is still in science now (about 3 years out) is a condensed matter experimentalist who got a job with intel. The general path seems to have been one postdoc, then software, insurance,management consulting, etc. Two astrophysicists, a quantum computing guy, a quantum gravity guy, four condensed matter theory guys, all out of science in less than 3 years. I did HEP theory, so I know maybe a dozen hep theory phds who are all out of science now. Some did two full postdocs, most only one. Another four or so HEP experimentalists are out of science. Two biophysicists are now on their second postdoc now, so they have some hope. Its possible the recession has hit my cohort particularly hard, but from my perspective, a science career seems to last about as long as a postdoc.
I'm fairly sure all of us would take sizable paycuts for a potentially permanent industry job with room to move up where we could use some physics, I know I would.
The last sentence quoted is a little off in my opinion. At least from the prospective of my friends in the field and myself (high-energy experimentalists who worked on Tevatron and LHC experiments), its more that we often have no clear sense of what useful contributions we could make to science outside high-energy, and not that other fields are worthless.Dr Transport said:As for your High Energy Physicist friends who got out of science, a co-worker who was a high energy experimentalist (accelerator science) is still a very productive scientist. Your sample is kind of small, and you are correct, the economy has hit people hard and may have contributed to your thoughts that a career lasts less than 5 years. It also appears that your friends may have left science because they thought that doing anything outside of High Energy wasn't worth doing ( I have seen this many times).
Dr Transport said:My sample isn't biased, I interact with both academics, people who work for national labs and industry employed physicists and most of them are still employed doing some type of science after 10 or more years.
It also appears that your friends may have left science because they thought that doing anything outside of High Energy wasn't worth doing ( I have seen this many times).
As for taking a paycut, if I left industry, I'd take ~40% paycut to work at an academic institution.
atyy said:@ParticleGrl: Why don't you consider insurance/finance to be physics - especially theoretical physics?
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the study of matter, energy, and their interactions. They use mathematical and scientific principles to understand the natural world and develop theories to explain physical phenomena.
Physicists can work in a variety of industries, including academia, government agencies, and private companies. Some common job titles for physicists include research scientist, professor, engineer, and data analyst.
Physicists can work in a variety of settings, such as laboratories, offices, and classrooms. They may also conduct fieldwork in remote locations or work in collaboration with other scientists and researchers from different institutions.
Physicists need to have strong analytical and critical thinking skills, as well as a strong foundation in mathematics and scientific principles. They also need to be detail-oriented, have excellent problem-solving abilities, and be able to work well in teams.
Physicists often specialize in a particular area of physics, such as astrophysics, biophysics, condensed matter physics, or particle physics. They may also specialize in a specific industry, such as aerospace, energy, or telecommunications.