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I will be graduating in 2013 with a degree in physics with an upper second class honours
Unfortunately I only realise now that my degree is practically useless in this economic climate. People with no degrees at all seem to be getting top end jobs these days. Not to mention thousands of applicants applying for a few jobs, its completely cut-throat insane and depressing at the same time. Even applying for volunteering or charity seems like a cut-throat job application! Whatever happened to the world?
I weep for the future of our generation, since we will be the ones paying for the austerities and bailouts through the rest of our working lives. It seems we have to work to live, not live to work these days...*sigh*
Any advice for what I should do once I graduate? I have been thinking about a career in defence or finance, but don't know yet. Other than that, what jobs might be suitable for me with a physics degree?
Or should I just stay in higher education and just ride out the recession?
PS: I really don't want to get into teaching or academia, unless I have no other choice...
I'll throw a question back at you. What were you planning to do with a physics degree? I am sure you considered what career you would have once you graduated - correct?
Is there no longer an industry that supports graduates with your degree? If the jobs still exist, but they are more difficult to come by, then I suggest you spend the next year networking your butt off. Also, gain some valuable experience either through a work-study job or an internship.
knowing little else, my biggest peice of advice would be to start looking when you return to campus for your senior year/fall semester. do not wait until after you graduate. attend career fairs and take advantage of other services your school may offer. there should be recruiters on campus during this time. go to the office hours of your favorite professor to get career ideas. you get the picture. you need to have an offer in hand before you get your diploma
also you should ideally have an internship relevant to your career interests this summer, but it might be too late on that.
My advice would be to continue looking for a job in your field, try to get a job at a grocery store or something if you need to make some money to get you by, and try to start a business of your own as well.
I'll throw a question back at you. What were you planning to do with a physics degree? I am sure you considered what career you would have once you graduated - correct?
Is there no longer an industry that supports graduates with your degree? If the jobs still exist, but they are more difficult to come by, then I suggest you spend the next year networking your butt off. Also, gain some valuable experience either through a work-study job or an internship.
I guess I fell into the trap when my teachers told me that if I studied science, I could get a job anywhere.
Jobs in my field seem to be strictly post-doc, academia or require some advanced level programming. None of which I have.
Even defence seems to require engineering but I intend to apply anyway.
So essentially I'm having to look at mainly finance, but that field is bloody hard to get in as it turns out.
Right now I'm just working my butt of to get an unpaid internship or volunteer work. I recently applied for a measly book sorter position at a charity and the application which I had to fill out required the companies I worked for, work experience, my qualifications, why I want to be a book sorter, what skills I could bring to be a book sorter, why they should hire me as book sorter, and all that crap.
So it looks like you will spend the next year completing a degree that you really don't want - correct?
If you already know that your degree will not get you where you want to be, then why waste that time? Stop going in the wrong direction and change course!
Why not use this next year to work on a degree that you really want and will lead you to a career that will make you happy? Yes, it will take you more time to do this, but it will benefit you in the long term.
As far as working in finance goes, I really think you will need a degree in that area in order to be considered for any serious jobs. Exactly what type of knowledge, skills and abilities in that area will you have to offer a potential employer?
Listen, it is never too late to change course. I have known a couple of guys who completed finance degrees to only realize that they both wanted to be doctors. They had to go back to school for 2 years to complete their undergrad requirements before they could even apply for medical school.
Again, why delay the inevitable? Start pursuing the career/degree you want today!
There are roles in Finance specifically for people with your type of background: Quantitative Analysts or Quants.
Most of them will require a Masters and prefer a PhD..
If you choose this route, you'll want to take as many Finance electives as you are permitted during your last year. If there's a class in Mathematical Finance, definitely take that!
You can try to get an internship while you pursue a Masters.
Read some Quantitative Finance books.. particularly "Quantitative Trading" by Ernie Chan. And some of the books on Derivatives pricing by Hull.
I think the key thing is to hunt for jobs early and try to get co-ops, interships, or any sort of job experience that relates to what you want to do.
While most companies won't hire people without the right degree, none of them will hire somebody without the narrow experience they desire... naturally, having powerful connections gets you around all this, but since you didn't mention that, I assume that is not an option.
Other than that, you're right about how screwed this generation is. Find a job that pays the bills... doing "what you love" is not practical in a long-running economic Depression in most cases.
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