Physicists Going Into Finance

This is an excellent article that explores one job path outside of Academia for physicists.

Today that balance has changed. According to AIP data, in 2010 the number of physics bachelor's degrees and Ph.D.s awarded in the United States set or equaled respective all-time highs. One year after finishing their Ph.D.s, 60% of physicists were in postdocs. Nearly half of all physicists work in industry, and only about 35% work in academia. This reflects two trends, Czujko says: a relative decline in the number of tenure-track academic jobs in most physics fields, and increasing opportunities in certain fields for math-savvy physicists.

If you are in the middle of pursuing your PhD, even if you have no interest in pursuing the financial field for a career, this article should be read so that you are aware of the job situation that you are going into. In all my advice to physicist students pursuing a career in physics, I've always stressed that need to have as wide of an experience as possible, and to be open to explore other areas. Most of our plans do not happen the way we intended, and you just never know what you will need when you jump into the job market.

Zz.