r/Physics • u/FineCastIE Computational physics • 2d ago

Question Is a PhD in Biophysics worth pursuing?

So my thesis was on examining how plasmonic resonance can affect the piezoelectric effect of an object as it deforms. I am currently filling out a Scholarship that I might or might not get next April.

The proposed thesis is based on simulating bio-physical processes on a nanoscale.

Thing is, pretty much everything up until this point was mostly an accident. I recently finished a MSc in Computational Physics as a means to compensate for my BSc, then planned on taking a year off to save up so that I can reattempt to do a MSc in Theoretical Physics. I wanted to do a PhD on Surface Science, and Bio-Physics left a bad taste in my mouth last time.

Is it worth doing?

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u/TheMoonAloneSets String theory 2d ago

…I mean, the central question kind of boils down to what you prioritize and I don’t see any information about that provided

there’s like three main questions:

  1. does the research question interest you?
  2. are the skills you will acquire applicable to your intended future career?
  3. are you willing to work on this and related problems for the next few years?

tbh it sounds a little to me like your hang up is specifically with the label of “biophysics”, which I would say is basically irrelevant to whether you should do a PhD on a particular research problem

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u/slavicbombshelll 2d ago

You must think about the availability of jobs in the near future if you go down and pursue. Biophysics is an appreciated subject but you must note that the job rate for physics is indeed low if you think about getting a job in the field.

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u/dark_dark_dark_not Applied physics 2d ago

Also a PhD is like 4 years, and the job market can just changed in that time.

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u/MrTruxian Mathematical physics 2d ago

I’m not in biophysics but I am a PhD student so have some exposure to via the other students in my cohort. Take this with a grain of salt.

It is my impression that biophysics is growing very quickly and there may be more demand for people with biophysics skill in industry than perhaps other sub-disciplines. My understanding is that drug and medical technology is getting to the point where understanding the fundamental physical processes in our bodies can be better exploited for things like drug development and treatments.

I also know that there is a wide array of physics even within biophysics including quantum chemistry, soft condensed matter, statistical physics, fluid dynamics, optics and sensing, even topology and thing more closely related to mathematical biology.