Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello dear science buddies,
I'm 16, I come from Europe and my favourite subjects at school are Math, Physics and Chemistry. The problem is that, in my school, Biology, Physics and Chemistry are all put together in a subject called Science. Which means I get less than 2h/week of physics... We're only learning about kinematics now...
I'd like to study physics later, but I heard that without a PhD you can't actually get anywhere, except becoming a lab assistent. I read some things and watched some videos about physics, astrophysics, quantum physcis,... and I find it really interesting.
But I think a PhD is maybe really hard, and even if get it, I also heard it's hard to find a job, and I really don't want to end up teacher of something like that.
So I'd like to talk with a physicist and get some useful advice.
Thanks,
Dave.

Hi Dave,

I have a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a Ph.D. in robotics - so I hope I can provide some general advice, but take all of this with a grain of salt. Everyone's individual situations may be different, and there is no rock-solid set of "rules" for a career path like this.

1. I think it is generally true that in the sciences (physics, chemistry, biology), if you want to "do your own research", then yes, it helps quite a bit to have a Ph.D. Otherwise, a bachelor's degree will probably just land you a lab technician job. This may be more true for physics than biology or chemistry (for example, the latter might be able to get a job at a pharmaceutical company with just a bachelor's degree).
2. HOWEVER, you really don't need to plan that far ahead just yet. If you enroll in a 4-year undergraduate program, you really don't need to decide until your 4th year whether or not you want to apply for Ph.D. programs. Your coursework will be the same either way. You can even graduate, go work a regular job for a few years, then come back to school and get a Ph.D. I have several friends who did this, rather than going straight into grad school from college.
3. If you are worried about job prospects, I'd encourage you to consider engineering programs as another choice. I think engineering degrees are generally in higher demand at the bachelor's level, but you can also get a Ph.D. in engineering. Do some Googling for "best paying college degrees", "most in demand college majors" and that sort of thing and you will generally see engineering fields dominate the lists. Many engineering fields have a lot of overlap with physics (e.g. mechanical and electrical engineering), so you might still find them interesting, but the application is different. For example, rather than doing physics experiments to figure out electrical properties of new materials, electrical engineers might try to use the knowledge gained from those experiments to build faster computers.

Of course, I am very biased about #3 because I'm an engineer. If physics is your true passion, then that's what you should pursue. Maybe someone with a physics background can chime in and provide more insight.

Hope that helps,

Ben

I was extremely excited to hear the comments on this site.

Being a career counselor and mentor at [another site] I can understand that this is a difficult decision for any young person but I believe you should be consistent and wait for the right opportunity, let me share some stats with you:
Almost 45% of physics graduates are in full-time employment six months after graduation. A large proportion, 41%, go on to do further study or combine study and work.
Physics graduates take on a diverse range of jobs after graduation. The top five occupations include programmers and software developers, engineering professionals, physicists, and finance and investment analysts and advisers.
Further study
Some of the most popular physics-related courses at postgraduate level include:

astrophysics;
quantum physics;
particle physics;
mathematical physics;
thermodynamics;
nanotechnology.
There are also many other postgraduate opportunities that you may take, including courses in marketing, finance, business, law, IT and journalism.
Some physics graduates complete a teaching qualification, while others begin a PhD to start a career in research science.
Hope it helps.
Regards,
Hannah

[Administrator's note: post was edited to remove advertising url]

This is some great advice and ideas. I was looking for the similar info for my younger brother . This post really helped me a lot. Thanks again for sharing.