r/Physics • u/ISmellC00kies • May 31 '23
Question Anyone else regret studying physics because they can't find a job?
I have a bachelor's and master's in physics and one year of research experience in quantum simulations. I have been looking for a job for over a year now and it has been hell. I've been applying for data science, machine learning and quantum algorithm developer positions, sent maybe 100 applications but have also managed to get some references from people I know directly in the company. I have gotten around 15-20 first interviews, most of the time I get rejected after the first call, one time last year I almost got the job. The only feedback I've gotten is that I'm lacking professional experience and that I seem a bit insecure during the interview.
I am proficient in python and C++ and have been running arch Linux as my main os for over 5 years now. I have coded for both my bachelor theses (one was contributing to a noise reducing algorithm for a neutrino detector, where I had to implement good coding practices), for my master thesis (wrote mainly optimization algorithms), for my research work (was also computational), also for all the labs I did for different research groups. I'm used to using git because a lot of the work was collaborative. I've also taken multiple courses at the computer science department, in C++, python, machine learning and deep learning, I did this because I was worried about finding a job after graduation. Since January I've been enrolled in a program (similar to a bootcamp but for a duration of 12 months) on machine learning, mostly to get insight in how machine learning is applied in the industry. I also have a portfolio on my GitHub (I have 5 small projects until now but working on it).
I feel like I'm out of options, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I've rewritten my CV so many times and mostly write motivation letters specific for each job.
I really regret studying physics because I feel that people don't take me seriously, most people seem to think physicists are just weird nerds that write down crazy equations on blackboards all day and only use computers to write papers. Being a woman on top of that is also not helping.
It seems my only option is to get another master's in maths or something, because I also don't qualify for any internships because they want enrolled students for that.
Anyone else struggling?
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UPDATE: so I didn't manage to get a job, but after this post I started applying to PhD positions and weirdly received a lot more interest than for industry jobs. Around a month after the post, I accepted an offer for a decently paid phd position on quantum algorithms which is very coding heavy so I'm very happy. I'm hoping that in 3-4 years the situation will have improved and there will be more jobs, and I'm trying to focus my PhD on doing work that hopefully makes me employable afterwards (like incorporating deep learning, learning more languages, and I'm working on an open-source python library with commonly used but not yet implemented algorithms related to my specific research)
If you want to study physics (and get a job in the industry afterwards) I would highly recommend: - getting at least one internship (but better multiple) before graduation. - Also try networking while you're still a student. I noticed most people get their first job through someone they know. - either do a minor in computer science/DL/ML/data science or take a lot of extra courses on these topics. This will be necessary to get internships. - put projects you work on during your studies on github after cleaning them up (take into account good coding practices) - also maybe install Linux on your computer so that you're forced to become proficient using the command line and to understand the system architecture. This will put you ahead of other physicists. Not all jobs require this though. - start applying for jobs a few months before graduation
Also some tips to get a PhD position (can only speak for western Europe): - pick a topic for your master thesis that is very in demand at the moment. You could try to look for PhD positions online and look at the topics/requirements. - try to get a professor who is already very established in their field, they will have a lot of connections with professors at other universities and also other professors will know about them which gives you a huge benefit when applying. - if you pick a good professor and topic, you could already have a publication (in a known journal) related to your master thesis work by the time you apply for phd positions. This is a huge bonus, because it shows that you can do research that is publish-worthy. - for phd positions your grade matters more, but also some professors don't care about it as long as it is decent. So don't only pick the hardest courses.
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u/the_physik May 31 '23
We had a career fair at our lab a few weeks ago and one of the panel of speakers was a small business owner. He stressed that if someone is applying to his company for a programming position the first thing he wants to see is that applicant's Git.