Exploring and Navigating your Physics & Astronomy Career Journey
With a degree in Physics, students can pursue careers in research and development, science, engineering, education, medicine, law, business, and the military. Graduate School Studies in various fields provide broader opportunities. Exploring the resources below provides you with insights into the world of work and resources to prepare for applications and interviews, whether pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree, or exploring fields and programs for graduate school.
Resources:
Explore the following resources to better understand and navigate your job, internship, undergraduate research, and graduate school search.
- HANDSHAKE Job and Internship Search Tool & Explore and Register for Pitt Career Fairs, Workshops and Events:- https://pitt.joinhandshake.com/login
- What Can I Do With This Major? – https://whatcanidowiththismajor.com/major/physics/
- Society of Physics Students: resources regarding career opportunities including common paths taken by physics majors, tips for finding an internship, job search strategies, and profiles of physicists in various careers – https://www.spsnational.org/career-resources/considering-workforce#
- National Science Foundation: Research Experiences for Undergraduates – https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/
- Undergraduate Research at Pitt: https://www.asundergrad.pitt.edu/research
- The American Institute of Physics (AIP) – Career Resources: https://www.aip.org/career-resources
- AIP – Who’s Hiring Physics Bachelors? – Employers by State https://www.aip.org/statistics/whos-hiring-physics-bachelors
- American Physical Society – https://www.aps.org/careers/index.cfm
- ScienceCareers – https://jobs.sciencecareers.org/jobs/
- WayUp – Early career job search tool: https://www.wayup.com/guide/
- GradSchool Shopper – Browse Grad School Programs – https://gradschoolshopper.com/
- O*Net OnLine – https://www.onetonline.org/find/quick?s=Physics
- Buzzfile – https://www.buzzfile.com/Major/Employers-by-Major
- Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- Acoustical Society of America – https://acousticalsociety.org/
- American Association of Physicists in Medicine – https://aapm.org/
- American Astronomical Society – https://aas.org/
- American Meteorological Society – https://www.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/education-careers/
- The Structural Science Society (ACA) – https://www.amercrystalassn.org/
- Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces and Processing – https://avs.org/
- OPTICA (formerly OSA) – Optics & Photonics – https://www.optica.org/en-us/home/
- The Society of Rheology – Science of deformation and flow of matter – https://www.rheology.org/SoR/
- Resources for Future K7-12 Teachers – American Association on Physics Teachers – https://aapt.org/
- Pitt School of Education – https://www.education.pitt.edu/academics/scienceeducation/teaching-certificate-science-7-12
- Otta – Job search platform https://otta.com/
- Resume, Cover Letter & Career Resources – Pitt Career Central – https://careercentral.pitt.edu/channels/life-and-physical-sciences/
Common Job Titles Depending on Level of Education Earned:
- Accelerator Operator
- Applications Engineer
- Data Analyst
- Design Engineer
- High School Physics Teacher
- IT Consultant
- Lab Technician
- Laser Engineer
- Optical Engineer
- Research Associate/Assistant
- Software Developer
- Systems Analyst
- Technical Specialist/Technical Writer
- Web Developer
- Quality Assurance Tester
- Geophysicist
- Medical Physicist/Health Physicist
- Astrophysicist
- Professor
- Computational Physicist
Examples of Companies Hiring Interns:
Accenture, Air Force Research Laboratory, Ajax Tocco Magnethermic, Battelle, Boeing, CAR Technologies, LLC, Center for Automotive Research, Cisco Systems, Cook Nuclear Plant, Electroscience Laboratory, Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station, General Electric Aviation, Great American Financial Resources, Honda Research and Development, Americas, Inc., IBM, Idaho National Laboratory, ITT Industries, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, JP Morgan Chase, Meyer Sound, Inc., Microsoft, NASA, Nationwide Financial, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Schedule an Appointment with your Career Consultant: https://app.joinhandshake.com/appointments/new
