Make yourself employable - get a degree in Physics!

A degree in physics opens the door to a variety of careers – because the skills you gain are valuable in so many jobs. These skills include:

• problem solving
• information handling
• critical reasoning and logical thought
• clear communication, and
• computer skills

After completing a Physics degree, you may well end up as a professional physicist. You are also suited for a job in medicine, IT, finance, communications, journalism, management, manufacturing … and many other rewarding careers!

Graduates of the School of Physics are now making bionic ears and working in oil and gas exploration. They have careers with major photonics, semiconductor and telecommunications companies. There are graduates who are actuaries, science journalists and training consultants. They are developing multimedia and electronic-trading software, consulting on public health and environmental issues, managing patent applications — even flying 747s.

Our Honours graduates often continue on to more study. Students who leave us with a PhD often find high-level jobs in research facilities or universities in Australia or overseas. Our graduates are highly regarded around the world.

But physicists are often called physicists only if they are engaged in research. In fact, however, physicists work in many settings, employed by a diverse range of industries and companies, with a variety of job titles — engineer, computer scientist; system analyst, software developer, software engineer — and the list goes on. Rarely are they identified as physicists, thought of as physicists, or formally called physicists.

Physicists are hidden! Even television shows like Star Trek have engineers plainly visible — but no physicists. Scientists who do physics are often called "scientists" in newspapers, magazines, and television, continuing the hiding of physics.

Physicists — more than those trained in other disciplines — seem able to change their field of employment more readily in response to either evolving interests or in reaction to exciting new areas that have emerged.

See An Opportunity for Physics in which a 'lapsed' physicist describes his view of the value of a Physics training.

See also the Careers in Physics booklet from Graduate Careers Australia.

Sydney students should consult the University of Sydney's Careers Centre.

Physics for diverse careers

Physics is a generalist major that, instead of preparing you for a narrow career path in just one area, allows you great freedom of choice in your ultimate employment. This may appeal to students who have not yet committed themselves to one career choice. Skills acquired during a physics degree, such as problem solving, information handling, critical reasoning, logical thought, clear communication, and use of computers as an analysis tool are much in demand in many fields of employment. You may end up as a professional physicist, but equally these skills fit you for a job in medicine, communications, manufacturing, teaching, journalism, public service, management, finance, and many more.

Many Physics Honours graduates continue with their University studies to obtain a higher degree. Those students who leave us with a PhD often find employment in research facilities or universities within Australia or overseas. Students from The University of Sydney are highly regarded and often succeed in obtaining excellent positions in competition with students from around the world.

We maintain a database of alumni who graduated from the School of Physics. For some of those we have very good information on their jobs. The pie graph (at right) illustrates the broad areas in which these graduates work, while the plot (below) gives a different breakdown.

(These give only an indication of where our graduates work since the result is influenced by who chooses to respond to our requests for information, so university academic staff are over-represented in the results. Also, classification based simply on the job title is difficult. 'Management' is especially difficult since many jobs include management responsibilities, but this varies markedly between jobs, depends on company size, etc.)

A few places where some recent graduates have found work are: Cutting edge technology companies like General Electric Marconi, and Quality Semiconductor, Australia (manufacturers of some of the most advanced computer chips in the world); the mining industry, for example mine manager for CRA; environmental science, for example Pacific Solar (working to manufacture photocells for clean electricity generation); medical and biophysics — our graduates are employed in hospitals and at Cochlear, makers of the bionic ear. These are in addition to "traditional" places for physics graduates, for example CSIRO, defence research for the government at DSTO, working in the commercial and scientific computer industries, and graduate studies.

A display of alumni business cards in the Physics Building illustrates the range of organisations where our alumni have found employment. Have a look sometime (or send us yours if you have one)!

The Physics Job Market

Those that choose to seek employment after their Pass or Honours Degree have historically had little trouble finding work. As an example, figures from the University Careers Centre (1995) show only one physics major was seeking employment six months after graduation. The corresponding numbers of students in other popular areas of study still seeking work were Biochemistry & Biological Science (35), Chemistry (3), Computer Science (17), Psychology (21), Economics (30), Mathematics (7), Law (8), Education (54), and Engineering (21).

We do not want to present an overly optimisitic view of the job market for physicists since jobs labelled 'physicist' are not as common as they are for, say, engineers. However the general nature of the physicist's training makes them well suited for many jobs which are not necessarily labelled as 'physicist'. This is illustrated in the small sample of advertisements for jobs suitable for Physics graduates displayed below.

Further information on a career in Physics and the job market for Physicists can be found on various web pages. A good place to start is the University of Adelaide's Physics careers web site.

Comparisons of what graduates of different courses are doing can be found at Gradsonline.

To get a glimpse of working in Physics (or Science in general) in an Australian university, look at the following two short videos, interviewing some staff in the School:

• Physicist dress code - what's it like to be a physicist - hours, dress code, and perks.
• Academic freedom - What is it like working in a university?

Some recent Graduates

We have compiled profiles of some recent graduates of the School of Physics. They show a diverse range of occupations, including further study, research and industry careers. You can read them here.

Some personal comments

A few years in physics at university is a great springboard, not a life sentence (you don't even get life for murder!).

Dr Tony Butterfield ('lapsed' Physicist) - see more of his views on the value of a Physics training in An Opportunity for Physics.

I completed my BSc in Physics and Computer Science in 1996 and went on to complete a BE in Electrical Engineering (1998). I now run my own high technology/software development company, Orbitec Pty Ltd. From my own experience, I believe that my Physics major has provided me with the background skills necessary to develop and grow my own technology company.

Far from being a "dead-end science", Physics is an excellent preparation for a wide range of careers beyond university, from scientific research to new business creation. It is this fact that should be communicated clearly to prospective students of Physics in addition to the obvious enjoyment and interest of studying the science itself.

David Peterson, Managing Director of Orbitec Pty Ltd

Even though I work in a field other than that traditionally as physics, I use my physics training every day. While I don't use Newton's laws or Maxwell's equations in my work, I do use the problem-solving skills and knowledge of basis physical principles that I acquired in my physics training.

My physics background has been a tremendous asset in working in the patent field. It has equipped me to write and prosecute patent applications in a very broad range of specialised technologies.

My automotive manufacturing employer is a basic manufacturer of glass, paint, sheet vinyl, steel, and lighting units, in addition to many other things that could benefit from an applied physicist.

Several of my friends have asked me what a physics specialist can do in an eye hospital. My answer is that physics is everywhere. Modern eye hospitals have instruments such as opthalmoscopes, operating microscopes, lasers, sonography instruments, and a variety of special lenses. Maintenance of all these instruments requires a good knowledge of physics and electronics. For young physicists seeking a career, this is a fertile field.

Being a physics major planning to attend graduate school, I have had numerous people ask me why I ever when into physics, because "there are almost no jobs out there". Well, I have had to correct them by saying that in numerous situations people actually employ physicists before anyone else because they tend to pick up on things faster and can bring new ideas into the workplace.

It may be true that a physics degree is not the clearest and most direct path to a career in technological industry. However, I can testify that a broad knowledge base in the "secrets of the universe" can be aesthetically rewarding and satisfying, and that it can create many unique opportunities not available to those who specialise in a more narrow field of technology.

Some other pages of interest

• How to become an Astronomer (from the Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) ).
• Recent astronomy jobs in Australia (also from the Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) ).
• A New Universe to Explore: Careers in Astronomy from the American Astronomical Society.
• Careers in Physics from Graduate Careers Australia
• What can you do with a Physics Degree? (from Australian Institute of Physics)
• Education and Employment Trends (from the American Institute of Physics )
• University of Sydney's Careers Centre.