Careers Pursued by Physicists
(other than physics)

Many physics Ph.D. students are being drawn to jobs in fields outside of the traditional ones in which they were trained. This page is intended to elucidate some of the available options.

Below we list some of the areas where recent graduates have found employment.

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Management Consulting:

Management Consulting Online: An excellent resource for information about a career in management consulting.

Caltech Management Consulting Practice Group: The purpose of this group is to practice business cases in preparation for the Interviews with Management Consulting Firms.   If you are interested in pursuing a career in management consulting, it is well worth joining this group.  Just send e-mail to Majordomo@its.caltech.edu with "subscribe cpg" in the body of the message to get on their mailing list.

The four firms that actively recruit at Caltech:

• Bain & Co.
• The Boston Consulting Group
• McKinsey & Co.
• The Mitchell Madison Group

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Finance:

Interested in a career in Finance?
Check out what sort of jobs are out there at the Do You Have a Future in Futures? site.

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Energy and Environmental Science:

A Personal Introduction to Opportunities and Resources for: Research and Activism in Energy and Environmental Science & Policy: A page written by Daniel Kammen, an Assistant Professor of Public and International Affairs and the Director of the Program in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy at Princeton University, on how to move from a career in the physical sciences to one in energy and environmental science.

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Computer Programming:

The IEEE Computer Society: This site provides technical information and services to computing professionals

The following Caltech classes might help provide useful job skills:

• CS 138: Computer Algorithms
• CS 141: Distributed Computation Laboratory

Interested in a computer programming job in the bay area?  Check out: Craigslist.com

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Teaching:

How to Get a Teaching Job at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution, by Dr. Rick Hershberger. This site has other related career advice.

• Education Job List
• Educational Resources Group-- Independent School Faculty Placement.
• PhysicsEd -- Physics education resources
• Physics 2000 -- A website designed to make physics accessible to undergraduate students

Government Labs:

• The Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Los Alamos
• Argonne National Laboratory
• The National Institute of Standards and Technology
• Sandia National Laboratories
• The Naval Research Laboratory
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• There are more, of course... 
  

• Federal Job Database Search
• U.S. Govt. Information Servers
• U.S. Govt. Physics Resource (Links to many govt. physics labs)

• SCIENCE's Nextwave is an electronic network for the next generation of scientists.This is an excellent resource. It features an on-going discussion about the general employment picture for new Ph.D.s, as well as a column called "New Niches" that explores some of the career alternatives found by scientists. 
  
  
• American Institute of Physics Careers Bulliten Board:  an interactive service that informs students about various careers in the physical sciences. Each month, AIP sponsors a group of physicists who have used their physics degrees in ways that might not have occurred to you. Access the conferencing forum devoted to any of the physicists comprising the monthly selection, read a short biography, and then post your question .. 
  
  
• Career Options for Scientists Page:  A page run by Dave Zimmerman.  Lots and lots of useful links, résumé examples including how to turn a science résumé into a business résumé, many more suggested career options,etc. This page covers it all.  
  
  
• Jennifer Hodgdon's Site on How to Leave Physics:  Created in 1997 by Jennifer Hodgdon, a graduate of Cornell University with a Ph.D. in physics, this site provides information on alternative careers; tips on finding potential employers, writing a résumé, and interviewing. 

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  More Physics Career Resources:
  

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This page is run by the Physics Graduate Student Issues Committee at Caltech.
Send any comments to Webmaster. Last modification: 2/3/00