Expert: Carlo Segre - 7/3/2011

Question
Hello
I am currently about to start my last year of high school and i am starting my application process. Thinking about colleges and majors i've started to think what branch of physics i want to specialize in. I have loved theoretical physics since i learned what it was all about. I find using mathematical models and abstract concepts and ideas very easy. I plan on getting a PhD and i am not worried about courses or academics at all.  However i am very concerned i will not find a good paying job in theoretical physics that will allow me to research without any worries. I am not sure if i should stick to theoretical physics or focus on something like astrophysics that has more job openings? Please help meeeee.

Answer
Hi Andrea:

I think it is important to consider what kind of careers are open to someone with a physics degree.  You might be surprised that physicists have careers in many different fields, from law, to finance, to industrial R&D.  The kind of training one gets as a physicist is valuable in all these areas and one simply needs to know how to properly market one's skills when interviewing.  All these positions can be well paid but they are not necessarily research positions as you indicate.  The research positions are typically in academia or in government laboratories (a few are in industry but that is an ever smaller number).

For the time you put into the Ph.D. (4-6 years beyond the B.S.) and the necessary postdoctoral positions (2 years each!), it is not clear that you ever get paid "enough", however, a career in research can be quite rewarding in other ways if you are prepared to accept the time it takes and the financial constraints.  Astrophysics is not necessarily a more open field either.

However, since you are just now entering your final year in high school, my advice is not to worry too much about this now.  A B.S. in physics is an excellent degree and you can find a very good job with this degree even if you don't choose to continue on for a Ph.D.  By the time you are a Junior in college, you will know if graduate school is for you and even then there is no need to choose a field of study until your second year in a Ph.D. program.  One thing I can say for sure is that if you ARE getting a Ph.D., it had better be in a field which you are passionate about no matter what the ultimate job prospects are!

Hope this helps and feel free to follow up if you have additional questions.

Carlo