Is AstroPhysics risky for career?

[Chronos]

Yep, makes a good launch pad for engineering work. I'm still a closet cosmologist though. PE licenses are not much in demand aside from civil engineering.

 

[Astro_Dude]

I keep hearing all these people saying that astrophysicists can be hired as Engineers, but I'm not finding that all. Look at it from their perspective, why hire a Ph.D. in astrophysics where there's 10 B.E.s who've already studied exactly what they want are applying as well. I've applied for literally hundreds of low level Engineering jobs, and literally gotten 0 call backs on those. The places I get call backs were all where I already knew people through my research... and I didn't get those either. :(

The astrophysicists who get hired as engineers have extremely high coding ability, or have worked directly with the spacecraft /detectors.

 

[tiffanydione]

The astrophysicists who get hired as engineers have extremely high coding ability, or have worked directly with the spacecraft /detectors.

Astro_Dude,

I have a Bachelors in Astrophysics and have worked in engineering for 10+ years. I worked as a Manufacturing Engineer with my Astrophysics degree and now I'm trying to get a job as a Mechanical Engineer. In my many years in engineering I have known people with just a Physics degree (which is part of Astrophysics) that have worked as Mechanical and Electrical Engineers.

Now, I also have coding experience as well, but it's very outdated :( And the engineers I knew with a Physics degree had zero spacecraft /detector experience. They worked with conveyor systems.

Having just a bachelors in Astrophysics can get one a lot of interviews they normally wouldn't get. It's based on your experience, your resume, and how well you sell yourself.

 

[ParticleGrl]

I have a Bachelors in Astrophysics and have worked in engineering for 10+ years...

Having just a bachelors in Astrophysics can get one a lot of interviews they normally wouldn't get. It's based on your experience, your resume, and how well you sell yourself.

I'm experiencing the same thing as Astro_Dude- I have a phd in high energy physics and rarely (if ever) get callbacks for engineering jobs. I get something like 1 callback per 300+ resumes sent out for various positions. Part of the issue is that 10+ years ago, unemployment was around 4%, and now its above 9% (and a whole lot of people are working part time and looking for full time labor). Odds are (today) if the company is looking for an engineer, they can find one, so why bother with the physicist who needs more training?

Another difference is almost certainly that phds suffer from the perception of "over-qualification."

 

[tiffanydione]

I'm experiencing the same thing as Astro_Dude- I have a phd in high energy physics and rarely (if ever) get callbacks for engineering jobs. I get something like 1 callback per 300+ resumes sent out for various positions. Part of the issue is that 10+ years ago, unemployment was around 4%, and now its above 9% (and a whole lot of people are working part time and looking for full time labor). Odds are (today) if the company is looking for an engineer, they can find one, so why bother with the physicist who needs more training?

Another difference is almost certainly that phds suffer from the perception of "over-qualification."

LOL I too am unemployed although 4 weeks after moving to Colorado from Dallas I was offered a job. It fell through but I got that interview just because of my degree. They told me, "We've never met anybody with a degree in Astrophysics." With a PhD in it, with NASA losing the Shuttle program, it may be harder to find a job.

One thing about all the engineers out of work you may have overlooked is the fact there are a TON of engineers who are retiring. Just saying...

I'm glad I got my degree in what I wanted to study. If it over-qualifies me for a lot of jobs then so-be it. I wanted that degree and since I was paying $36K a year to go to TCU I was going to study what I wanted.

Good luck to all of you looking for work. I'm in the same boat.

 

[Chronos]

A solid physics background is always in demand. Most AP jobs come through post grad work. And yes, I got caught by the engineering net, but, am still a closet astronomer.

 

[Tokage]

LOL I too am unemployed although 4 weeks after moving to Colorado from Dallas I was offered a job. It fell through but I got that interview just because of my degree. They told me, "We've never met anybody with a degree in Astrophysics." With a PhD in it, with NASA losing the Shuttle program, it may be harder to find a job.

One thing about all the engineers out of work you may have overlooked is the fact there are a TON of engineers who are retiring. Just saying...

I'm glad I got my degree in what I wanted to study. If it over-qualifies me for a lot of jobs then so-be it. I wanted that degree and since I was paying $36K a year to go to TCU I was going to study what I wanted.

Good luck to all of you looking for work. I'm in the same boat.

Hey! I'm a TCU Astrophysics Undergrad right now! Talk about a small world. I wonder if were allowed to discuss the physics of kicking badger butt here? ;)

I'm really worried about employment after graduating though. Did you take any avenues through TCU specifically that helped you with employment? I would much appreciate anything you could tell me or any advice you could give.

 

[twofish-quant]

Having just a bachelors in Astrophysics can get one a lot of interviews they normally wouldn't get. It's based on your experience, your resume, and how well you sell yourself.

And unfortunately the biggest factor is the shape of the economy when you graduate. I had no problem getting a job when I got my Ph.D., but much of that was due to the fact that I graduated in 1998 during the middle of the dot-com boom, when companies were hiring random people as coders. I know people that were physical therapists, amateur filmmakers, and real estate agents that learned a tiny amount of C++ and got hired as coders during that period.

The reason that I mention this is that one of the most important things during the job search is to stay sane, and it's hard to stay sane when you have a ton of rejection letters. On the other hand, hopefully knowing that you are just unlucky to have graduated in 2011 rather than in 1998 will help you feel a little better.

 

[twofish-quant]

One question that I do have... Have people been applying to finance jobs? I'm trying to keep in touch with the job market, and if the situation is bad enough so that the traditional outlet for Ph.D.'s is closed then things are really bad.

Something that deeply concerns me is that I think it's really bad for the economy if all of the jobs end up in finance, and I think there is something deeply, deeply broken with the US economy. On the other hand, first priority is self-preservation.

 

[Astro_Dude]

LOL I too am unemployed although 4 weeks after moving to Colorado from Dallas I was offered a job. It fell through but I got that interview just because of my degree. They told me, "We've never met anybody with a degree in Astrophysics." With a PhD in it, with NASA losing the Shuttle program, it may be harder to find a job.

One thing about all the engineers out of work you may have overlooked is the fact there are a TON of engineers who are retiring. Just saying...

I'm glad I got my degree in what I wanted to study. If it over-qualifies me for a lot of jobs then so-be it. I wanted that degree and since I was paying $36K a year to go to TCU I was going to study what I wanted.

Good luck to all of you looking for work. I'm in the same boat.

I would absolutely LOVE a job in the DFW area. Unfortunately, almost all the positions in that area require like 10+ years industry experience. Best as I can tell, the low level jobs there all go to peeps who had internships there while in school. I don't blame them for that, but not good for me!

A solid physics background is always in demand. Most AP jobs come through post grad work. And yes, I got caught by the engineering net, but, am still a closet astronomer.

They are, but if you don't know industry standard tools that you need S or TS clearance to even look at, you're ****ed. I remember finding a job on Lockheed's site a few months ago that I could do no problem. It pretty much was just Jackson EM and satellite/aircraft data processing, which I do all the damned time for my Ph.D. However, they asked for like 4 or 5 software proficiencies, all of which I found were DoD analysis tools that I couldn't even fool around with at home because you need to have a security clearance and gov't computer to look at it.

I have found a few places that are not insane and willing to take a PhD out of the gate, but they're almost always in areas I'd rather not move to. Such is life though, I need to eat!

One question that I do have... Have people been applying to finance jobs? I'm trying to keep in touch with the job market, and if the situation is bad enough so that the traditional outlet for Ph.D.'s is closed then things are really bad.

Something that deeply concerns me is that I think it's really bad for the economy if all of the jobs end up in finance, and I think there is something deeply, deeply broken with the US economy. On the other hand, first priority is self-preservation.

I've started, but as I said in my own thread, I'm not entirely thrilled about going into finance. I guess part of that is that I lived in the NYC area for 20 years, and I really don't want to move back there if I can help it. Again though, I'm not really afforded the luxury of geographically limiting myself atm.

Also, thanks again for all y'alls help.

 

[tiffanydione]

Hey! I'm a TCU Astrophysics Undergrad right now! Talk about a small world. I wonder if were allowed to discuss the physics of kicking badger butt here? ;)

I'm really worried about employment after graduating though. Did you take any avenues through TCU specifically that helped you with employment? I would much appreciate anything you could tell me or any advice you could give.

Yes! What a small world! I LOVED my time at TCU! I worked in the career center while going to school there and honestly, they weren't of much help. I had a job lined up at Siemens through a friend I worked with at Siemens many years before I graduated. Now I find I'm over-qualified for soooo many positions, which is a real drag because I can do anything!

I actually wound up getting a Bachelors of General Studies degree in Astrophysics & Computer Science. I had three classes left for a BS but that would take me 5 more years since they're only offered every other year and I came in with an AS degree. I was told 5 years for a BS or 6 months for a BGS. Paying for my own college I opted for the 6 months, LOL.

Tell Dr. Rittby that Tiffany Baugh said, "Hello." He'll remember me. I pretty much made my mark at TCU, lol. That and the new indoor football practice facility is named after my great uncle.

Use the career center but don't put all your eggs in that basket. A fellow student (who may be my cousin, it's weird) she got a job working for NASA in Houston taking care of the supplies on the ISS. If you're a good student (I wasn't the best because I was going through some MAJOR personal issues at the time) your professors may be able to help you get a good job.

Let me know what you find out about the job search. I'm in Colorado now and would LOVE to use my degree!

Good luck and GO FROGS!

 

[Patridor]

it is a good career because you can either do a job with physics or if that fails you can fall back on astronomy