Our S19 is applying to colleges as undecided but is starting to narrow in a little bit on what he might major in. He’s a strong math student with a 5 on the BC Calc test as a junior and he’s taking Multivariable now. He’s taking his first Physics class (AP Physics 1) and has the top grade of the 130 kids taking the class. He’s really enjoying it. At least right now, he’s planning on working after undergrad. No plans for research or teaching as a profession. If he were to major in Physics, what would be some of his career options after undergrad?
He’s applying mostly to top LACs with a few universities thrown in but they are reaches as well (Dartmouth, Vanderbilt). Before anyone replies that he needs safeties, he has those too. He’s not just a STEM kid, though, and is looking forward to more writing and history classes so he’s not ready to apply directly to an undergrad engineering program.
My physics major son is in grad school but some of his peers took jobs in finance and Wall Street. Physics involves a lot of coding and algorithms and those are valuable skills.
High school physics teacher. Jobs in analytics at financial services companies. Most jobs available to undergrad only math majors are probably options, as physics majors take a lot of math. There are few jobs in physics itself with just a BS degree.
He could increase his employment options by adding in some CS classes.
Physics majors can be adaptable to jobs in computing, some types of engineering (where a PE license is not needed), and finance, but may not be as optimally prepared for such as those whose majors were more directly related to such employment.
As already stated, the skill set developed in the field of physics goes way beyond the field itself. In my generation, two major giants in the field of Economics (Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman) did their undergraduate studies in physics. Economics, System Dynamics/Financial Analysis, Big Data, Science Fiction and the entire world of the Social Sciences embrace the same skill set.
I was surprised to learn that the average BS Physics graduate from my Alma Mata took a job with an average starting salary of $78,000.