Session J8: Preparing Physics Students for Careers in Industry

The Physics Workforce: The Latest Data on Supply and Demand

This paper will provide an overview of the trends both in physics education at all degree levels and in the employment of physicists throughout the economy. The paper also includes comparative data on the trends in related fields. There will be a discussion of the common career paths pursued by physicists at different degree levels with particular emphasis on non-academic employment. The paper includes a detailed description of professional master's degree programs in physics departments as well as findings from AIP studies that describe the skills that employers value. The paper concludes with suggestions for how physics departments might assist their students in finding employment during these difficult economic times.   

Industrial Physics Careers: A Large Company Perspective

Statistical data from the American Institute of Physics and the National Science Foundation show that only about a third of physics graduates get permanent jobs in academia. A few work in government labs and hospitals. The majority of physics Ph.D.s, however, find employment in the private sector (industry). This trend has been increasing, i.e., recent Ph.D.s are even more likely to start careers in industry. Industrial physicists work in small, medium or large companies in a broad range of fields, including aerospace, semiconductors, automotive, energy, information technology, contract research, medical, chemical, optics, etc. They are also represented in fields outside of physics, such as finance. Even the ``inventor'' of the Powerball lottery game is a Ph.D. physicist. In my talk, I will describe pathways to success for an industrial physicist, from the perspective of employment in three different large corporations. Based on the NIST Baldridge criteria of Performance Excellence, I will discuss how to achieve and measure organizational success through focus on products and customers. Individual performance is linked to the goals of the organization. Performance has two components: Goals and behaviors. Both are key to success as an individual contributor or manager.\\[4pt] References: \\[0pt] http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/emptrends.html \\[0pt] http://www.aps.org/about/governance/committees/commemb/index.cfm \\[0pt] http://www.quality.nist.gov/   

The Rutgers Undergraduate Physics Program: Preparing Students for Varied Careers

At Rutgers University we offer three main physics major tracks, each tailored towards different kinds of career aspirations. The Professional Option is for students who intend to go on to physics graduate study. The Applied Option is for students who desire technical jobs in industry, but without graduate study. The General Option is for students who have an interest in physics, but do not aspire to a technical career. I will discuss how these Options prepare students for their desired careers, and will give specific examples of jobs obtained. I will especially focus on the Applied Option, explaining how it has evolved based on lessons learned, and what further steps we need to take at Rutgers. I will close by briefly discussing a new, fourth physics major track we have just introduced, our Ocean Physics Option. I will describe this new Option and discuss prospects for its success.   

Training PhD Physicists for Industrial Careers: The Industrial Leadership in Physics Program at Georgetown University.

The Physics department at Georgetown University has a unique PhD level graduate program designed to prepare PhD physicists for positions in high-tech business. Launched in 2001, the Industrial Leadership in Physics (ILP) graduate program combines training in technical subjects and business topics with a focus on group learning, communication skills, and practical work experience. Some highlights of the program include a modular curriculum in fundamental physics, centered on solid-state physics, instrumentation, problem solving and computer modeling; a year-long apprenticeship at the site of an industrial partner chosen to match the interests of the student and coursework in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown. This presentation will give an overview of the program.