Begin Planning Your Career
What do physicists do?
Physics training provides students with a vast set of skills that make them highly employable in many fields of work. The first step is to learn as much as you can about the possibilities that are out there. Our physicists profile library features physicists from a diversity of backgrounds who work in a variety of fields.
Zahra Hussaini
Zahra Hussaini is a senior software reliability engineer at Google.
Alison Binkowski
Alison Binkowski's physics background has given her strong analytical skills and taken her across the world.
Paul Markoff-Johnson
Paul Markoff-Johnson's work impacts items that power our daily lives, from disc drives to solar panels.
Career options for physicists
You can also explore the type of education and skills that are needed to be successful in the most common career paths for physicists by looking at our Job Prospects page. Each career options profile, such as Data Science, Consulting, or Research & Development (R&D), gives a flavor of what life is like for physicists working in these fields. It also provides salary and career outlook information.
Find career options
You’re the main character
As you explore these profiles and the types of jobs out there, you should focus on career options that are as good a fit for you as you are for those jobs. Asking yourself these questions can help:
- Would I enjoy doing this job? Am I interested in the day-to-day work?
- Is the work team-based or collaborative? Do I prefer working alone or as part of a group?
- Do I like having guidance or do I like problem-solving on my own?
- Does the salary match my expectations? Do I want to buy a house or cover any large expenses in 2 years or 5 years or 10 years?
- Does the job offer work-life balance? How important is that to me?
- Would I have to move somewhere specific or are multiple locations feasible?
- Is there travel involved?
- Are there certain places I want to avoid, e.g. defense or finance sectors, due to my values?
Webinar: The Career Planning Process
Learn some tips for self-assessment and planning in this clip from Peter Fiske's webinar "Putting Your Science to WORK."
Webinar: Tips for Effective Self-Evaluation
Learn tips for self-assessment in this clip from Megan Anzelc's webinar "Career Exploration Strategies and Tools"
Download your personalized workbook
As you explore the Career Navigator, use this workbook to keep track of your goals, ideas, and any other thoughts you have.
Workbook prompts
Use these as a starting point to begin planning your career.
Consider career paths
Pick up to three profiles that resonate with you and think about why. Was it the person’s story, their field of work, or something else? Would you want to pursue any of these career paths?
Review your skills
Pick a job prospect profile that intrigued you and write down why you are interested in it. What training might be required to find a job in this field? Which skills do you already have? What additional skills would you need to build?
Set your top criteria
First answer as many of these questions as you can. What are your top three takeaways? Are there any physicist profiles or career paths from the last activity that would match the criteria you have just created?