Academia Definition and 113 Threads

I've heard that academia can be like living in utter hell. Myself personally, I am competitive, but I am not ultra competitive by any means, and while I love Physics, I would like to maybe a family and a life outside of work. I've heard that you are expected to work grueling hours that include...

I had dinner with my Physics Professor ( it's one of those student-faculty dinners organised by the school), and he told me that ( and I am para-phrasing as closely as I can remember ) that "most Physics PHDs can get a job in Physics if they want to, but many don't want to " -- > be it low...

I would like to thank this forum for numerous threads discussing various ways to transition out of academia after getting a PhD in physics. However I still think that I am missing a key factor leading to successful transitions. I also have nobody to ask in person. All of my friends who got...

Origin of the term "chair" in academia? When I was very young, I wondered why professors (heads of departments) were said to have a "chair" in such-and-such subject. I thought of the story about King Louis XIV of France who was said to have a chair in (their equivalent of) the cabinet room...

Interesting articles online on academia and the "PhD problem" Hi everyone, I've linked here two articles I've found online that specifically address the issue of whether a PhD really prepares its students to careers outside of academia. One is an article from an environmental researcher...

As not to derail the other thread where this is brought up. What are the odds of getting on tenure-track in an academic position in the sciences? I'm curious about both community college and state universities. I hear 1 in 100 a lot. In the recent thread here, the qualifier was...

In recent time, I feel as if all academia has been hijacked by the social aspect. Am I the only one who feels this way?

Hey, this just came to mind since my friend and I were discussing it. How do you perceive tattoos and piercings? What's your opinion on professors or even professionals with either? I haven't really put much thought into it. I've got a few math/physics tattoos, snake bites, tongue...

I am planning on working as a researcher and am wondering if it is possible to do any kind of entrepreneurialism with my findings. I am sorry if this is a stupid question and see no way that a company would allow me to make money off of the research I did for them, but I thought that a...

Hi, I am a student in physics who completed his masters (5 years degree) in physics (fundamental and theoretical physics) and didn't have any success in finding a PhD position since then. I am still waiting for an answer from my last opportunity in entering a PhD by next fall, but my history...

With the advent of the internet, and the fact that a theorist's work does not require access to expensive laboratory equipment, it would seem that there should be a vibrant community of ex-academics performing research outside of the traditional environment. But if there is such a thing...

There's a lot of pessimism about academic work here on physics forums which is probably legitimate. However, what I find odd is that it would seem that somebody with a lot of endurance and time, doing several post-docs, assistant professorships or research professor positions would eventually...

Ever since I was younger, the thought of researching and teaching for a living was absolutely thrilling to me. For the past 8 years I've considered it deeply to the point where I quit one job to go to school, but was activated to deploy a few weeks in. After several years of serving in the...

Hello, I would like to know what are the chances of a couple getting two permanent academic positions in the same place, since it seems so hard to get a tenure track position? Have you ever tried (and succeeded?) in finding a position in the same city as your wife/husband, and what do people...

Hello, I would like to know what can do theoretical physicist who don't get a job in academia, after a phd in theoretical physics or after a postdoc for example. I am thinking about people working in theoretical high energy physics, cosmology or things like that. If we compare the number of...

Hi all, I am currently in Electronics Design workforce and thinking about going back to academia for future prospect. i would like to gain some knowledge about the following: 1) Is any kind of reference or contact is needed from the previous employer when applying for grad school. If...

It seems that being an academic requires you to be able to come up with interesting and unique ideas for attacking interesting problems, and I simply don't think that's a skill I possess. But I'll soon have a math Ph.D. in mathematical physics (and a physics masters' degree) from a large state...

Is there any source to show you the credentials for those who got accepted into academic positions (research/professorship) in physics? If not, what credentials would one expect to be the minimum for having a posibility at academia?

Hi all, I'm a rising sophomore studying applied physics at a top university in the USA, and I've been considering whether or not to pursue graduate school, and beyond that, deciding between a life in academia vs. industry. I'm surrounded by a lot of academics (naturally), but have much less...

How could something possibly come from nothing? He reminds me of the Sokal Affair.

With all this recent happening in the world (middle-east) I'm interested to know what's the attitude of academia from all of this? What are political scientists and professors point of views? How do they give advises to decision makers? Because I have a thought... :)

Hello there, I have a bit of a conundrum. I have been a postdoc for 10 years now, mainly because I loved my job so much. But its not a secure job and I wonder how much longer I can realistically do it, and taking the next step to a lectureship looks improbable due to fierce competition (and...

This question gets asked quiet often in school so what's the deal? Academia is extremely slow. I have no idea why. Experiments that I would do in industry that would take only 3 days, take over a month to complete in academia. It's simply ludicrous the amount of red tape and administrative...

I study biology, and I have observed that in undergraduate and postgraduate classes the majority of students are female. However, in senior positions from post-doc to professors, there is a strong bias towards males. What could be causing these patterns? How can a woman increase her chances...

Hello, I'm interested in learning math as hobbyist, so I'm not planning to do professional teaching... :) However I'm uncertain whether I should do it via Academia or by myself. I already have a degree in computing and took several math courses, so I have the ability to teach myself and...

I am wondering what astrophysicists do outside of academia. also what would their salary be with a PHD?

If professor x graduates 5 students and those 5 students graduate 5 more, and so on and so forth won't we reach a point where there will be complete oversaturation? Professors don't retire fast enough to compete with exponential growth. Should faculty start telling more of their students to...

I'm finishing my first semester in university with a 4.0 GPA taking Honours classes, I'm working on a paper that will be published with a post-doc in Physics, and I have a summer research position lined up. I'm doing a double Honours Astrophysics and Mathematics program and I've already read...

Lets presuppose that you are a philosophy major, or a psychology major, or something else and through logic and creativity you have what you believe to be a universal field theory. Please put all likeliness of this situation aside and let's assume there is a very very good chance your theory...

So high school was easy. I didn't go to an elite high school like many people at my university, but senior year I took 8 ap credits and got by with minimal work. BC calc was easy. I thought it was interesting though...and I thought I was good at math. but I'm not. I found that out quickly in...

So I don't want to be in academia...what now Im a current Junior undergrad student studying physics, and after reading about "post-doc hell" academia has gone to last on my list of things I want to do, I know there are jobs in the private/public non academia sector out there for those...

I am a little bit thinking of after graduating from msc and maybe even phd, what kind of jobs which aren't too intense are out there for people who want to continue learning theoretical physics and pure math? I mean work that leaves you with enough spare time to keep learning maths and physics.

I am currently an undergraduate majoring in honors physics and mathematics. I am also doing pre-med studies. If I don't make it into medical school, I am thinking about what field I should continue to study. The field of physics that I actually like is mathematical physics, including gauge...

Thread title says sums up my question. I'd like to know if there are many paying jobs that focus almost exclusively if not entirely on research. I'm interested in theoretical research jobs in math or physics other than being a professor. I don't want to teach, and it has become very hard to...

Is it really so difficult to get a position as an assistant professor then crawl up the ranks? Is there anyone here who has done it and succeeded? Anyone who has tried and failed? Are there any statistics on the matter?

Of couse this is unlikely to happen to me but I was just curious that, If a high school student genious or child prodigy like Jacob Barnett discovered a pattern of prime numbers, is (s)he allowed to submit his/her work to academia?

So, I've been set on being an astronomer for a while. I love Physics in general, but Astronomy is what really attracts me. I want to do research. I like the academic environment and culture. I am very interested in engineering, but don't feel that the lifestyle is the right fit for me...

Many people often discourage people from going into grad school since there are far more grad students than faculty openings. But what about national laboratories? Is it much easier for someone with a PhD to enter a national laboratory than it is for someone to successfully get a position in...

I am just looking to see if anyone knows people who have an academic job (as lecturers and/or researchers) and who have continued learning for another PhD (maybe part time) in another field in the same university? Is this even allowed while you work at that university? I am just wondering...

Does anyone have any tips on how to avoid falling into the trap of wrongly choosing an academic advisor that is more about their own ego than actually mentoring a graduate student? My worst nightmare is applying to grad school, choosing the wrong professor to study under, and simply getting...

I need to take one more course for my EE Bachelors degree in one of three specialized areas: Signal Processing, Controls, or Communications. I know all three of these are very much related, but I am finding Signal Processing by far the most fascinating field out of the three. The problem is...

I know that most physics Ph.D's end up in wall street and jobs in finance etc. And I do know of the scarce jobs within academia. And so my question is, that is getting a job elsewhere, for instance wall street, nearly a cakewalk for a physics Ph.D. or is there a similar kind of struggle there...

Hi, These days you often read a lot about how tough it is to succeed in Academia, how even the people from top 10 US grad schools can't find postdocs, and so on. This seems to be even more pronounced when it comes to fields like String/Mathematical Physics/HEP Theo. Is this just a US...

I wanted to post this for the sake of clarification. I always hear that academia has "so few jobs for physics PhDs" and all that. What is the degree to which this is a problem? Can one find the rate at which people from a PhD program of "caliber" X (I know caliber can vary across many factors)...

Hello, I am considering getting a PhD in physics from a lower ranking university (not really bad though). I think it is ranked about 50th in physics by USNews. Is there any chance of breaking into a career in academia? I would like to teach physics at a small liberal arts college...

Hate to be the leech who asks a question as his first post, but it has bedeviled me for too long: By earning a Ph.D in astronomy/astrophysics, is one guaranteeing themselves a one-way ticket to academia? What are the chances you could be anything but a professor or the like? I've heard that the...

I recently completed a theoretical particle physics phd from a top 10 school, and to my chagrin, I was unable to land any postdoc position. Most of my phd work was related to next-to-leading-order QCD calculations, so I have a strong math background. For my phd work I was mostly forced into...

The theme seems to be that Academia positions are far and few between, so it that the same for National Labs too? Thanks.

I have a job as a RA in applied maths, and in about 1 year will have a couple of publications with good/high industrial relevance. I'm currently enrolled as a PhD student as well, but haven't accomplished any of my graduate duties. I'm very annoyed with the academic lifestyle and want to move to...

Hello everyone, I'm currently on my last year as an undergraduate, and I've been thinking a lot about going into graduate school lately. I have some big doubts regarding the big question of weather I should or should not enter grad school and try to pursuit an academic career. 1. First off...