- #1
TheDestroyer
- 402
- 1
Dear readers:
I would like to share my story with you, and I really appreciate your advice.
I graduated last year from ETH Zürich as a PhD in physics. Now I'm doing a Postdoc in a group as my first step in a "science" career.
The Problem:
As much as I love research and enjoy doing science, I have two reason why this scares me and makes me want to leave it:
1- Funding: I hate begging for money. I find the situation in science is very insulting for bright-minded people. Scientists are being literally *used* in all these fellowship systems. Assuming I would become a professor, would I be doing science? Absolutely not! I would spend the rest of my life writing proposals to beg for money, while others do science. I'm probably being egoistic, but then what's the point of seeking something I like if I'm not?
2- Competition: The funding problem comes with huge competition pressure that's not solely based on things that I can control. So, it's not that only my life will be spent on begging for money, but there's also a good chance I'll be a huge failure in science and in industry, where there's no going back if I fail in science.
So this got me to think: Do I really want to stay in science? I love it, but I hate its bureaucracy... my initial answer is... unfortunately not!
Possible solution: Is it really a solution?
I enjoy programming and writing simulations (C/C++). I've done many, many programs and Monte-Carlo simulations of noise, physics, quantum mechanics and density matrix formalism simulations. I was always very good at program optimization. My programs are always competitive with the best available, performance wise. I would love to have a job in that field, as having my laptop on my lap with C++ code in my mind is the most I enjoy.
Beside that, I have my own linux server that I run since about 2 years that I setup from scratch and manage through terminal, and multiple websites that I setup from scratch on the server with all the php programming knowledge and MySQL management required, in addition to that multiple cloud systems and links between my home computer and my server where I can access anything on my home computer with my mobile phone.
Why am I saying all this? Just to state what kind of person I'm and what I enjoy doing!
What are possible jobs for me? I found that banking jobs do Monte-Carlo simulations all the time. They call it risk management and econophysics (honestly I don't even know the difference, for now. The latter looks like a superset of the former. Is that right?).
Are these the right thing for someone like me? How can I start in them? Do you recommend specific books for that for someone in my position who doesn't even know what the names mean?
Are there other jobs that would provide the same opportunities.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate.
I would like to share my story with you, and I really appreciate your advice.
I graduated last year from ETH Zürich as a PhD in physics. Now I'm doing a Postdoc in a group as my first step in a "science" career.
The Problem:
As much as I love research and enjoy doing science, I have two reason why this scares me and makes me want to leave it:
1- Funding: I hate begging for money. I find the situation in science is very insulting for bright-minded people. Scientists are being literally *used* in all these fellowship systems. Assuming I would become a professor, would I be doing science? Absolutely not! I would spend the rest of my life writing proposals to beg for money, while others do science. I'm probably being egoistic, but then what's the point of seeking something I like if I'm not?
2- Competition: The funding problem comes with huge competition pressure that's not solely based on things that I can control. So, it's not that only my life will be spent on begging for money, but there's also a good chance I'll be a huge failure in science and in industry, where there's no going back if I fail in science.
So this got me to think: Do I really want to stay in science? I love it, but I hate its bureaucracy... my initial answer is... unfortunately not!
Possible solution: Is it really a solution?
I enjoy programming and writing simulations (C/C++). I've done many, many programs and Monte-Carlo simulations of noise, physics, quantum mechanics and density matrix formalism simulations. I was always very good at program optimization. My programs are always competitive with the best available, performance wise. I would love to have a job in that field, as having my laptop on my lap with C++ code in my mind is the most I enjoy.
Beside that, I have my own linux server that I run since about 2 years that I setup from scratch and manage through terminal, and multiple websites that I setup from scratch on the server with all the php programming knowledge and MySQL management required, in addition to that multiple cloud systems and links between my home computer and my server where I can access anything on my home computer with my mobile phone.
Why am I saying all this? Just to state what kind of person I'm and what I enjoy doing!
What are possible jobs for me? I found that banking jobs do Monte-Carlo simulations all the time. They call it risk management and econophysics (honestly I don't even know the difference, for now. The latter looks like a superset of the former. Is that right?).
Are these the right thing for someone like me? How can I start in them? Do you recommend specific books for that for someone in my position who doesn't even know what the names mean?
Are there other jobs that would provide the same opportunities.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate.