<p>Hi there. I have always been inspired by the sheer intuition and wonder that theoretical physics and cosmology brings to the table. Learning about it excites me more than anything else. Do you think these are feasible and realistic fields to pursue? If so, what should my undergrad major be?</p>
<p>Thanks guys!</p>
<p>Somewhat feasible and realistic. The funding and job oppurtunities in these arcane fields is limited. You’d want to major in physics or a related field and then get a PhD in physics / astronomy etc. Of all the fields of physics cosmology is suffering the worst in terms of job oppurtunities. There are other things PhDs can do, but don’t expect to get into this field easily - you can only hope. Don’t let this deter you if this is really your dream though. Discover something neat and make a name for yourself.</p>
<p>@Ctesiphon ok thanks! Just wondering – what fields of physics ARE promising then?</p>
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<p>Anything other than particle physics and astrophysics. Basically, any specialty of physics that isn’t so far removed from practical application. </p>
<p>Experimental condensed matter physics is good for jobs in industry. Two of my last three Ph.D. students have found good jobs in industry.</p>
<p>Hey xray, I wanted to know if condensed matter theorists aren’t doing much worse? I assume, at the very least, condensed matter theorists and optical theorists have a lot more industrial prospects than say a particle phenomenologist or a string theorist? </p>
<p>Condensed matter theory is very broad in that some of it is very applied/phenomenological while other areas are as exotic in the methods they use as fields like string theory. However, many exotic fields still could potentially relate to string theory. Something a lot of high energy theorists are interested in is the AdS-CFT correspondence where you can relate a theory with gravity to a conformal field theory that may describe a phase transition in a strongly correlated material (possibly a high-Tc superconductor). I am starting my PhD in CMT this fall and am interested in that area.</p>
<p>@Poeme: I am certainly aware that CMT can be just as esoteric as high energy theory. Personally, I have no interest in all the exotic stuff as my interests lie more along the practical side like spintronics, nanotechnology, photonic materials, etc. and especially topics that are at the interface of condensed matter theory and optical theory.</p>
<p>@Magma55: It all depends on what kind of theory you are doing. If you end up doing more computational materials science, there are some jobs in industry but frankly, you will find more computational physicists in universities and national laboratories than in industry. Experimentalists can get jobs more easily in industry as far as I can tell.</p>
<p>I have also read a lot about accelerator physics being a good career area. Not entirely too sure what that is though.</p>
<p>Accelerator physics is a good career. It is a relatively broad field that encompasses beam physics (related to plasma physics) as well as a number of peripheral areas including materials science and particle physics. Basically anything that is required to make a beam of particles at high energies is useful for accelerator physics.</p>
<p>Where are accelerator physics actually used in industry? It seems like such an arcane thing but from my understanding it’s becoming much more prevalent in general. I like to see scientific concepts like that actually be applied.</p>
<p>Well, there are accelerators in every hospital which has an irradiation treatment facility and these machines are sold commercially. There have been a number of articles recently about accelerators in industry including one in Physics Today in 2011 [The</a> beam business: Accelerators in industry](<a href=“http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/article/64/6/10.1063/1.3603918"]The”>http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/article/64/6/10.1063/1.3603918) . You can probably find that issue in your university library.</p>