Ask HN: Why physics students are usually great software engineers?

I met multiple physics PhD that transitioned to data science or software engineering with great results, despite their initial interest in another kind of science.

Why physics students that turned to software are usually great engineers? Is there something in common in your opinion?

> despite their initial interest in another kind of science

Physics isn't a specific kind of science. Everything is physics, except math (which physicists are proficient in, too). Studying physics provides a broad understanding of everything and use of methods, but not much practical application like engineeering fields do.

A physicists is used to analyze everything from the beginning, and the mind is not limited to solutions pre-defined for specific problems of the past. Compared to engineers this is an advantage when working on problems for which no standard solution exists (analyzing new data, new technologies).