Physics Jobs Overview
Physicists study the nature and behavior of space, time, energy, and matter. They often engage in theoretical research, conduct experimental procedures, and put their expertise to use by creating new materials and tools. Although there are physics jobs in any industry, most physicists work in aerospace and defense, engineering, education, health and medicine, or manufacturing.
Work settings for physicists range from offices and laboratories to observatories and classrooms. The majority of physicists work 40 hours a week or more. The industry you work in will greatly influence your job duties. However, a physicist's typical workday may include any of the following:
- planning and directing experiments and studies to collect necessary information
- creating greener, more cost-effective technological solutions
- using special types of software
- writing reports
- attending conferences to present your findings
- analyzing magnetic data
- constructing statistical models for conclusive magnetic resonance imaging diagnosis
To become a physicist, you must be proficient in computational techniques and learn advanced calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations. The topics you'll master in college range from classical to quantum mechanics to electromagnetics to thermodynamics. Your lab work is essential for conducting practical experiments and gaining the necessary experience that you'll need to qualify for physics roles.
Without a physics degree, entry into the profession is harder and usually requires extensive self-study and a solid portfolio of independent research or practical experience. A degree not only broadens your career choices but also increases your potential earnings.
Physics: Salary Range
Pay for physicists is much higher than the nation's median income, with yearly wages ranging from $49,707 to $125,171. A typical physicist's salary is $87,615 per year, putting it nearly $30,000 above the nation's average.
A predicted five percent job growth rate by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics means demand for physicists will increase over the next several years. Parts of the nation that currently have the highest demand for physics workers are Houston, TX, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, and Baltimore, MD.
Salary potential for physicists is higher than average in specialized roles, such as:
- radiation therapist - $74,544 per year
- physical scientist - $76,036 per year
- nuclear medicine technologist - $31.88 per hour
- physical chemist - $86,426 per year
- chemistry laboratory supervisor - $62,138 per year
Highly advanced mathematical abilities, analytical acuity, and the capacity to design experiments are all necessary skills for physics roles. Find out how much you can earn with a physicist's skill set in different parts of the country by using Monster's Salary Tool.
Finding the Best Physics Jobs for You
As a physicist, your job can range from working with animals to studying how the wind impacts deep-sea diving excursions carried out by the Navy. This is why it's so important to carefully consider which industry best suits your interests and career goals.
Asking yourself the following questions when browsing job descriptions will help you determine whether or not a job is a suitable fit for you:
- Does the position require a certain skill set or degree I already have?
- Do I feel comfortable moving or commuting to this location?
- Is this a well-respected organization that has made a name for itself in the field of physics?
- Is there room for promotion in this position?
- Exactly what are the duties and obligations of this position?
- Does this position provide a reasonable wage and benefits?
- Is there a chance to work with other scientists on a joint project?
- Do the specifics of the workplace (such as a lab, office, or field) suit my needs and interests?
- Do I need to gain any further training or education to do this work, and am I willing to do so if necessary?
Application Tips for Physics Jobs
Before sending an application, research the company and its management style. Online reviews of a company can tell you a lot about the company's mission, values, and ethics.
The hiring process for physics jobs can be lengthy. It often involves the following:
- job application
- initial screening
- phone or video interview
- technical interview
- on-site interview
- seminar presentation for research roles
- reference checks
- job offer
- negotiation and acceptance
- onboarding and orientation
Prepare Your Application
Unless you have a friend or colleague personally recommend you for a job, the first point of contact that you'll have with an employer is through your application. To create an impressive application that gets you noticed, make sure to provide the following pieces of information:
- Include your name, email address, and links to websites showcasing the various physics projects you've worked on.
- Provide a concise summary of your career objectives and their relevance to the role.
- Include your years of relevant job experience in your summary.
- Offer the names and contact information of three people who are familiar with your work and can vouch for your abilities.
- List the various areas of physics you specialize in, such as astrophysics, quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, particle physics, or biophysics.
Build a Strong Resume
Most physics roles benefit from a chronological resume format. This format presents your job history backward from the present, emphasizing your professional development. This is crucial for showing how much you've developed professionally and how knowledgeable you are.
The ability to showcase the unique abilities you've gained over time and how you've used them in different situations is another major benefit of writing a chronological resume. Employers can quickly observe your career progression, which aids in evaluating your qualifications and ability to meet their demands.
A functional resume lacks context because it places more emphasis on skills than on job experience. While this style is helpful for job seekers with gaps in their work history or those switching fields, it may not be the best way to highlight a physicist's unique skills and experience. This is especially true given that when filling physics jobs, employers tend to put more weight on work experience, projects completed, and research conducted.
Regardless of your format, employers will likely use applicant tracking software to find qualified candidates for open roles. To better match employers with job seekers, applicant tracking systems encompass techniques such as resume parsing, keyword matching, rating and scoring, filtering and sorting, and reporting and analytics. Because of this, it's imperative to use resume keywords.
Valuable resume keywords to use for physics roles are:
- data analysis
- laser
- Python
- analytical
- data modeling
- programming
- magnetic data
- software development
- statistics
Tailoring your resume to the industry you want to work in will significantly improve your chances of landing the job you want. Whether you want to work as a nuclear physicist or a bioengineer, Monster's Resume Writing Service can help you create a resume that gives you a competitive edge in the hiring process.
Write a Persuasive Cover Letter
Use your cover letter to highlight the various projects you've worked on as a physicist or in a related role. You can do this by including links to different case studies published about the projects you've helped with. Adding this information shows the hiring manager how you can provide concrete value to their organization, which will help you stand out from the other applicants who just list their qualifications.
Other key pieces of information to include in cover letters for physics jobs are
- A brief statement introducing yourself and how the job description aligns with your career goals.
- A list of your relevant skills, such as advanced mathematics and data analysis.
- A list of the tools you've worked with, like sextants, seismometers, spectrometers, and theodolites.
- A list of ways to contact you for questions and interview requests.
Submit the Application
Monster makes finding a physics job incredibly easy. You just sign up for an account using your email, fill out your work history and experience, upload your resume and cover letter, and apply for jobs. You can even set your profile to visible, making it very simple for recruiters to contact you about jobs you may not know about. They can review your profile to assess your qualifications and determine whether you'd be a good fit. To get started, sign up for a free Monster membership now.
Here are some additional tips you can use to improve your job search through Monster:
- Double-check your contact information and verify your profile status is set to visible.
- Click "Appl" on job listings to send hiring managers your application.
- Use a proofreader tool to keep your applications free of typos.
- Find open jobs by using relevant keywords like "gravity," "mechanics," "electromagnetism," "optics," and "quantum mechanics."
- Use the job alert feature to update yourself on the latest job postings.
- Make your search more specific by applying filters to the data, such as the date posted, location, job category, necessary skills, and income range.
Application Follow-Up
It can be beneficial to reach out to the employer directly if you don't hear back within a week or two. If you can't find details regarding the hiring process, just give the employer's HR department a call and ask to speak with the person in charge of hiring.
Ways to Follow Up
You can follow up by phone or email, the latter being the most convenient and effective follow-up method. In your follow-up email, briefly state who you are, the job you applied for, and your relevant skills. End the message by asking who you should contact about setting up an interview.
Using one of the following subject lines will help ensure the hiring manager sees your message:
- [Your Name] [Job Title] Application Follow-Up
- Physics Job Application Follow-Up
- Physics Applicants: Next Steps?
Interview Advice for Physics Jobs
Interviews for physics roles mainly focus on several elements to assess your qualifications and experience. These elements include:
- technical questions
- research and project discussions
- behavioral questions
- critical thinking and problem-solving
- technical skills assessment
Before the Interview
Setting up practice interviews is one of the best ways to prepare for an interview. During your practice sessions, you must practice explaining various concepts, theories, and methodologies related to physics. You'll also want to practice discussing your previous research experiences and how you contributed to various experiments.
Depending on the field you work in, you may need to prepare for the interview by familiarizing yourself with specific software applications and tools. Some interviewers will even ask you to perform hands-on tasks demonstrating your proficiency with specific tools, software, and equipment.
During the Interview
You can expect a wide range of questions during interviews for physics jobs. Regardless of the industry the job falls into, general questions you will likely have to answer are:
- What is the meaning and significance of quantum physics?
- How do you describe thermal conductivity?
- How do Newton's laws of motion work?
- What is an alloy?
- What is dark matter?
- What are the different types of photon properties?
- Can you explain the free-fall acceleration concept?
- How do you tell the difference between a real and a virtual image?
- How does a convection oven work?
- How do diffusion and osmosis differ from one another?
After the Interview
The day after your interview, it's important to follow up with a thank-you note. You can send the note by email and use one of the following subject lines:
- Physics Job Interview Follow-Up
- [Your Name] Feedback: Thanks for the Interview
- Yesterday's Interview: Next Steps
Responding to Job Offers
Carefully reading a job offer several times can help you determine whether to accept, counter, or reject it. The elements of the job offer that you want to pay the most attention to are:
- employment beginning date
- salary
- benefits
- bonuses
- required duties
- reporting duties
- delegating duties
- potential for promotions
Career Paths for Physics
You have more than a few career paths to choose from to qualify for physics roles. Three of the most common paths for physicists are:
- Astrophysicist. Research the fundamental processes at play in the universe by using data gathered from observatories and spacecraft.
- Nuclear physicist. Study how atomic nuclei (made up of protons and neutrons) formed and how they persisted over the universe's 13.7 billion years of existence.
- Biophysicist. Apply physical concepts to the study of biological systems at the molecular level to deduce causal links between the many components of these fields of study.
Physics: Related Professions
Many related disciplines benefit from a physicist's high level of mathematical and analytical expertise. Some of the most well-known are: