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I've been a student (undergraduate then postgraduate) for much of the past decade, a journey which has recently come to an end. While I had believed I would remain in academia, I'm having second thoughts about that now and thus find myself with a big decision to make. However, outside of academia I'm not sure which direction to go in career-wise, so any input / advice is welcome.
So, some further details:
- I have a combined degree / masters (first class) in physics from a solid (although not Oxbridge) UK university and have recently been awarded a Ph.D. in high-energy particle physics from the same university. The Ph.D. was entirely computational, with the work heavily involving code-writing, primarily with the C++ language (I also have some novice experience with Python and Bash). My work involved performing and analysing simulations of large-scale particle physics experiments; this meant plenty of 3D modelling and the handling of terabyte-scale amounts of simulated data. Also, whilst I'm no statistician, I've had to develop a bit of statistical competence too. The Ph.D. also involved daily use of Linux and the development of so-called 'soft skills' such as becoming proficient in the use of MS Excel & Powerpoint, giving presentations in person and in online meetings/conferences, communicating my findings in written form etc.
- I'm 28, unmarried, no kids, no real obligations tying me to a particular place, so I can be flexible with job locations. Ideally I'd like to be close to where I grew up if possible (North-east England) but I'm not averse to going to a different country or continent if necessary.
- I haven't got my heart set on going into any particular field at this moment, so I'm open to a wide range of options.
So, I've been doing a bit of digging around to see what's available to me in the so-called 'real world'. One option I've identified is 'data science', since according to this data science conversion course brochure (Insight Data Science Fellows Program), physics Ph.D. graduates are well-suited to transition into that field, and demand for employees outstrips the supply. The salaries claimed in that brochure ($100 K - $150 K for graduates of that course) are surprisingly high and more than I ever imagined myself being able to make, however, I'm concerned it might become a boring/tedious occupation.
When I go looking for other jobs though, it's hard to tell which roles I'm qualified for. For example, a job involving programming seems like a plausible avenue to explore, and yes I have years of experience of programming, but I'm not an expert programmer or software developer or whatever either. And financial sector type jobs often crop up when googling, but while physics has demanded becoming mathematically/statistically competent, I have no real knowledge of economics either. In short I feel as if I'm not far from being hire-able for a lot of jobs out there but also not able to immediately slot into these roles either.
I'm also not sure about the minimum & maximum salary I should roughly expect to make given the background I've outlined above - what sort of figure would you find acceptable if you were in my shoes?
Further things at the back of my mind are (1) automation - I don't want to find that A.I. can do my job better than me a few years down the line, and (2) I'm in the UK and we're about to Brexit from the EU, so I've been wondering which sort of jobs might be better to avoid with Brexit in mind.
Thanks for reading if you bothered to get this far, any advice is welcome.
A perfect example the of the MESS that the contemporary United States is in. A few decades ago, you would be on your way to riches and an early retirement. I can't tell you which path to take but as long as you keep your standard of living though, and settle down with someone with their own career and college educated as well and preferably stay without kids and perhaps take a pet instead of a kid you should be ok regardless of the path you take.
You're only 28 so I wouldn't worry just as long as you dont take on any crazy responsibilities. There is plenty of life to live. You'll be working until you're 60's chances are. So enjoy the ride. Just make sure you keep the expenses low.
Unmarried, no obligations and no kids is a big PLUS for you. And would hold of on the obligations until you are in your 40s at least.
I would keep your option open. Only RENT (not buy) right now, keep a 300-40/month car payment and save as much money as you can.
I think both software development and data science can become tedious, if you don't possess the right personality. I've been in a similar industry long enough to know that you must enjoy what you are doing at least to some degree, or it will be miserable despite good compensation.
I've looked at data science at one point in my life, when I became bored with web development, but then was swept into a different direction. I still love everything that has to do with data, and think I would enjoy it, but you may be different.
Don't worry about not being "expert software developer", because, to be honest, not many are . It's an area where you are constantly learning, as technology and methodology change so quickly. At 28 being on the constant learning curve sounded fantastic to me, and I thrived on it for 12 years. Now at 40 it is a little harder to always learn-learn-learn, but perhaps this is what will keep me from getting dementia later in life .
Honestly, I don't know anything about job market in the UK, but in the US, I would say you are safe pursuing both software engineering or data science, despite whatever recent headlines are telling us. It's a good income, and you can have decent job stability, if you are willing to put an effort and become somewhat unique and indispensable.
A perfect example the of the MESS that the contemporary United States is in.
You haven't even read the OP. He isn't in the US, he is in the U.K. Before automatically raging against your perceived reality, you might want to gather a few facts.
OP, You pose a really tricky question, largely because your field is rather esoteric and most people won't have any idea what your options might be.
I have only a few vague suggestions.
Have you considered private industry as a physicist? Perhaps the nuclear industry in some capacity, as you mentioned high-energy particle physics. Defense industry R&D? Do you have transferable skills that would help developing commercial applications for solar cells, battery storage, etc?
More tangibly, this is where networking comes in so that you can develop a search strategy. Obviously many of your colleagues are still on the academic track, but try looking up other graduates that have gone into private industry. What did they do, and how did they accomplish it?
You need to figure out what you want, your post reeks of self-doubt/lack of confidence and no direction
Oh, 100%. I am definitely lacking direction and I am lacking confidence, I'm in unfamiliar territory, there's no guaranteed right answer, and I'm in competition with who knows how many others. Regarding self-doubt/confidence, I don't fear hard tasks, they're nothing new, I feel as if I can do any task put in front of me if I'm given time to get up to speed. It's being given the chance in the first place that concerns me. Maybe I shouldn't be so concerned. I don't know. I just want to kick on and start earning some money again.
A perfect example the of the MESS that the contemporary United States is in. A few decades ago, you would be on your way to riches and an early retirement. I can't tell you which path to take but as long as you keep your standard of living though, and settle down with someone with their own career and college educated as well and preferably stay without kids and perhaps take a pet instead of a kid you should be ok regardless of the path you take.
You're only 28 so I wouldn't worry just as long as you dont take on any crazy responsibilities. There is plenty of life to live. You'll be working until you're 60's chances are. So enjoy the ride. Just make sure you keep the expenses low.
Unmarried, no obligations and no kids is a big PLUS for you. And would hold of on the obligations until you are in your 40s at least.
I would keep your option open. Only RENT (not buy) right now, keep a 300-40/month car payment and save as much money as you can.
Actually I'm in the UK, although I would work in the US if something worth the move presented itself. And yes, saving, that has been on my mind a lot. I can live very cheaply when I want to.
Actually I'm in the UK, although I would work in the US if something worth the move presented itself. And yes, saving, that has been on my mind a lot. I can live very cheaply when I want to.
Oh ok.. Well Life in the U.S is no different from where you are. My advice is live cheaply, save money, and don't have kids
I think both software development and data science can become tedious, if you don't possess the right personality. I've been in a similar industry long enough to know that you must enjoy what you are doing at least to some degree, or it will be miserable despite good compensation.
I've looked at data science at one point in my life, when I became bored with web development, but then was swept into a different direction. I still love everything that has to do with data, and think I would enjoy it, but you may be different.
Don't worry about not being "expert software developer", because, to be honest, not many are . It's an area where you are constantly learning, as technology and methodology change so quickly. At 28 being on the constant learning curve sounded fantastic to me, and I thrived on it for 12 years. Now at 40 it is a little harder to always learn-learn-learn, but perhaps this is what will keep me from getting dementia later in life .
Honestly, I don't know anything about job market in the UK, but in the US, I would say you are safe pursuing both software engineering or data science, despite whatever recent headlines are telling us. It's a good income, and you can have decent job stability, if you are willing to put an effort and become somewhat unique and indispensable.
Well as far as data science is concerned, I'm almost up to a point where I can try working through some online projects to see what it's like. But I don't want to put all my eggs into that basket without giving other options proper consideration first. Software engineering I definitely need to do some more homework on, it does sound like something I could be happy doing.
How did you make yourself unique and indispensable?
You haven't even read the OP. He isn't in the US, he is in the U.K. Before automatically raging against your perceived reality, you might want to gather a few facts.
OP, You pose a really tricky question, largely because your field is rather esoteric and most people won't have any idea what your options might be.
I have only a few vague suggestions.
Have you considered private industry as a physicist? Perhaps the nuclear industry in some capacity, as you mentioned high-energy particle physics. Defense industry R&D? Do you have transferable skills that would help developing commercial applications for solar cells, battery storage, etc?
More tangibly, this is where networking comes in so that you can develop a search strategy. Obviously many of your colleagues are still on the academic track, but try looking up other graduates that have gone into private industry. What did they do, and how did they accomplish it?
I have actually had the nuclear industry cross my mind more than once, nuclear physics is distinct from but closely related to the area my Ph.D. has been in. Haven't really studied much nuclear physics since I was an undergraduate though, but I am aware of graduate schemes around in that industry too (power plants, weapons, decomissioning/waste disposal I think). And regarding solar cells, at degree level there was plenty of semiconductor physics and my Masters dissertation was based on growing and testing samples of semiconductors. So maybe there's something there. The thing that makes me hesitant about Defense R&D is my lack of relevant hands-on/hardware experience there, I wouldn't be bringing any well-developed skill to the table in that respect. And yes, I should check on what my former coursemates have been getting up to as well - don't have facebook or anything else so have lost touch with almost all of them.
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. It's an area where you are constantly learning, as technology and methodology change so quickly. At 28 being on the constant learning curve sounded fantastic to me, and I thrived on it for 12 years. Now at 40 it is a little harder to always learn-learn-learn, but perhaps this is what will keep me from getting dementia later in life 
