Anonymous wrote:I have several friends who have degrees in physics, mostly PhDs. My cousin, an ex-boyfriend, and some friends from high school and college.
Several work in R&D at Intel and similar companies doing semiconductor work.
A couple work in R&D at various biotech and biophysics/bioanalytical companies (for example companies that make DNA sequencers, microscopes, lasers, etc.)
A few work as modelers/quants in finance either in New York, Chicago, or London
Several work as full time staff at research institutes. One does a lot of hardcore astrophysics and geophysical modeling at a research institute in Singapore. Some work at national labs like Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore.
A few become professors.
A couple do data science
A couple work in patent law
One ended up getting a masters degree in petroleum engineering and an MBA and now works in oil and gas mergers.
A few others ended up pivoting to biology, neuroscience, or chemistry in grad school (although focus on more quantitive sides of those fields) and work in biotech, at research institutes, or in academia in adjacent fields.
It's really a versatile degree.
This is a good answer. Spouse and I have PhDs in physics and pretty much the only job that seemed unattainable for us was physics prof. So few spots and so many years of post docs. We both work for gov now, but I did applied research for years and spouse dabbled in finance.