Career Coaching for Physics and Astronomy Majors
Students majoring in Physics, Physics and Astronomy, Applied Physics, Applied Physics: Acoustics, Applied Physics: Data Science, and Physics Education:
Sign up to meet with a career coach, Heather Cook.
Upcoming Career and Networking Events
Career and Networking Event happen most Thursdays, 11-11:50 am during Fall and Winter Semesters, with additional events as described below.
CALENDAR
- Thursday, Oct 15
- Thursday, Nov 12, 11-11:50 am, ESC Room C247
- Personal Statement Workshop 1
- Monday, Nov 16
- AI Day sponsored by the College of Computing, Math, and Science
- Wednesday, Nov 18
- Adobe: Employer Site Visit sponsored by the College of Computing, Math, and Science
- Thursday, Nov 19, 11-11:50 am, ESC Room C247
- Personal Statement Workshop 2
- Thursday, Dec 3, 11-11:50 am, ESC Room C247
- Personal Statement Workshop 3
Introduction to Careers and Research Courses
Physics 191 is a 0.5 credit hour seminar that provides an introduction to how to succeed as a major, career opportunities, and research at BYU and elsewhere. Take 191 your first Fall semester at BYU. Physics 291 focuses on your many career options and pushes you to get involved in research and prepare for life after graduation. You should take Physics 291 your first Fall semester as sophomore or above.
Types of Careers
Physics and astronomy majors find jobs in research and development in high-tech industries, in engineering, and computer software/IT . They go on to graduate school in all engineering fields, the physical or biological sciences, as well as to professional schools such as medicine, law (especially patent law), and business. They work in universities and government labs, observatories and planetariums. The Sloan Foundation pretty much sums it up as follows:
"More than most other majors, a physics degree is a passport into a broad range of science, engineering, and education careers."
-- Sloan Foundation
Online Career Resources
In Physics 191 and 291 we'll give you lots of information about careers in physics. But here are a few online resources for you to get started with:
Careers Statistics for Physics Majors. Start here. Compilation from many sources: skills valued, employers, salaries
What can I do with a physics degree?
Society of Physics Students Jobs webpage
Who hires physics majors? (AIP)