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A physics master’s degree opens doors to myriad careers

physicstoday.scitation.org

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Re: A physics master’s degree opens doors to myriad careers

#11

Post by cjhanks »

throwaway2019Z wrote: post #7

From my experience both interviewing and hiring, a physics degree absolutely will not help you in tech. You will have more credibility than any non-STEM graduate, but employers will constantly wonder if you've bridged the gap created by your lack of a CS degree.

I guess my experience has been the opposite. On every software R&D team I have been on, there has been about an even mix of computer science, physics, and mathematics with a few sprinkles of data science from the biology fields. Especially by year 5 or so - who can tell the difference between a computer scientist that knows physics and a physicist who knows computer science?

The only skills a person needs to learn coding is the desire to learn coding and the persistence to do it.

Re: A physics master’s degree opens doors to myriad careers

#12

Post by alkonaut »

throwaway2019Z wrote: post #7

From my experience both interviewing and hiring, a physics degree absolutely will not help you in tech. You will have more credibility than any non-STEM graduate, but employers will constantly wonder if you've bridged the gap created by your lack of a CS degree.

What does “tech” mean in this context?

Re: A physics master’s degree opens doors to myriad careers

#13

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

nikomen wrote: post #8
no_one_ever wrote: post #6

Please please please do not pursue a PhD or MSc in Physics on the sole expectation it will open a door to a career that you believe would otherwise be closed. You will not enjoy it.

So I assume it would acceptable to pursue a degree if you enjoy physics and hope to use the knowledge and degree to advance your career. Are the job prospects for advanced degrees in physics that poor?

Not the person you are responding to, but I think the point is that if you want to do an advanced physics degree with the primary goal of advancing your career, that is a horrible idea because there are much more efficient ways to advance your career.

However, if you love physics and want to get an advanced degree for it's own sake, the degree will still likely be a boost to your career, just not necessarily in proportion to the effort you put in to get it.

Re: A physics master’s degree opens doors to myriad careers

#14

Post by plazmaphyujin »

nikomen wrote: post #8
no_one_ever wrote: post #6

Please please please do not pursue a PhD or MSc in Physics on the sole expectation it will open a door to a career that you believe would otherwise be closed. You will not enjoy it.

So I assume it would acceptable to pursue a degree if you enjoy physics and hope to use the knowledge and degree to advance your career. Are the job prospects for advanced degrees in physics that poor?

I would say yes. Pursue physics only because you love it. Unless you want to go into Defense the job prospects are terrible. However, learning physics teaches you how to learn anything and how to do it fast. This turns out to be an invaluable skill for programming, so physicists make great programmers. You just have to earn it on top of all the physics.

Re: A physics master’s degree opens doors to myriad careers

#15

Post by human »

alkonaut wrote: post #12
throwaway2019Z wrote: post #7

From my experience both interviewing and hiring, a physics degree absolutely will not help you in tech. You will have more credibility than any non-STEM graduate, but employers will constantly wonder if you've bridged the gap created by your lack of a CS degree.

What does “tech” mean in this context?

Very good question. By tech does he mean designing quantum computers or does he mean coding UI at Facebook. Very different.

Re: A physics master’s degree opens doors to myriad careers

#16

Post by throwaway2019Z »

cjhanks wrote: post #11
throwaway2019Z wrote: post #7

From my experience both interviewing and hiring, a physics degree absolutely will not help you in tech. You will have more credibility than any non-STEM graduate, but employers will constantly wonder if you've bridged the gap created by your lack of a CS degree.

I guess my experience has been the opposite. On every software R&D team I have been on, there has been about an even mix of computer science, physics, and mathematics with a few sprinkles of data science from the biology fields. Especially by year 5 or so - who can tell the difference between a computer scientist that knows physics and a physicist who knows computer science? The only skills a person needs to learn co…

This has been my experience within teams as well, but it was clear to me that we were hired in spite of our degrees rather than because of them.

I do not regret my physics education, and I would encourage young people who are passionate about the subject to pursue it. However, I think that they should go in knowing that unless they intend to stay in academia/research/defense, a physics degree is, at best, a signal of intelligence, and, at worst, a signal of overspecialization in a disparate field.

Re: A physics master’s degree opens doors to myriad careers

#19

Post by rongenre »

plazmaphyujin wrote: post #14
nikomen wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So I assume it would acceptable to pursue a degree if you enjoy physics and hope to use the knowledge and degree to advance your career. Are the job prospects for advanced degrees in physics that poor?

I would say yes. Pursue physics only because you love it. Unless you want to go into Defense the job prospects are terrible. However, learning physics teaches you how to learn anything and how to do it fast. This turns out to be an invaluable skill for programming, so physicists make great programmers. You just have to earn it on top of all the physics.

Yeah it's very much like that with my math degree. Demonstrated ability to torture myself with difficult concepts.

Re: A physics master’s degree opens doors to myriad careers

#20

Post by agumonkey »

throwaway2019Z wrote: post #7

From my experience both interviewing and hiring, a physics degree absolutely will not help you in tech. You will have more credibility than any non-STEM graduate, but employers will constantly wonder if you've bridged the gap created by your lack of a CS degree.

except when you will fix their broken power supply with a pencil lead and al foil
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