<p>I am planning to get my PhD in physics (and I am mainly interested in applied physics).
But I was wondering what exactly you can do with a physics PhD other than go into academia. I would love to enter academia, but I was wondering how the job market looks for physicists outside of academia.</p>
<p>What other jobs are available (such as working in engineering firms, etc.)?</p>
<p>I hear that a lot of science majors go into consulting, but I'm not sure if it applies to PhD's.</p>
<p>there are an incredible number of physics PhD's who get hired into professorships in engineering departments.</p>
<p>It is tough getting a tenure-track professorship in physics without doing several stints as a postdoc first, I think you would also have to have some postdocs related to engineering before you can change fields to there.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But I was wondering what exactly you can do with a physics PhD other than go into academia
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Some work in research labs - either government labs (i.e. Sandia, Brookhaven, Los Alamos, etc.), or, if their research have commercial applications, then in industry labs. For example, I know quite a few physics PhD's who work for Intel and other semiconductor companies. </p>
<p>Consulting has also become a popular option lately, although consulting success depends strongly on your interpersonal skills and, for the big-name consultancies such, the prestige of the school that you got your PhD from. I know that McKinsey bags a lot of PhD's from MIT, so much so that MIT actually has several webpages devoted to helping newly minted Phd's get into consulting.</p>
<p>Finance/banking have also lately become highly popular with people with technical PhD's. </p>
<p>My father has a PhD in physics, had a hard time finding a job since physics jobs are so few and so competitive. He worked in the computer industry for awhile, but was laid off when the tech bubble busted. He eventually went back to academia. He now teaches... computer science.</p>
<p>If you want to get your PhD in Geophysics you will be heavily recruited by petroleum companies with great salaries! I'm not sure if they recruit those from Applied physics or not, but they may...I'd look into it at least.</p>