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CAREER IN PHYSICS
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Physics
offers challenging, exciting, and productive careers.
As a career, physics covers many specialized fields
-- from acoustics, astronomy, and astrophysics
to medical physics, geophysics, and vacuum sciences.
Physics offers a variety of work activities-lab
supervisor, researcher, technician, teacher, manager.
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Physics
offers a variety of work activities-lab supervisor,
researcher, technician, teacher, manager. Physics
opens doors to employment opportunities throughout
the world in government, industry, schools, and
private organizations. |
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A
course in physics can be the beginning of a career
in science or an important building block for
another profession. The course will give you a
powerful and beautiful way to look at and understand
the world around you. |
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If you like
mathematics and science, a physics career offers
many opportunities. You should take algebra, geometry,
trigonometry, and pre-calculus (if it's available)
in high school. When you get to college, you'll
take more mathematics. Studying mathematics will
help you in physics_and physics will help you
to understand and begin to appreciate many applications
of mathematical concepts. |
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Why one study
physics |
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To
Satisfy Curiosity: Humans are naturally
curious. Curiosity is an advantageous trait because
it stimulates development of an understanding
of our world. This understanding has three important
consequences: (1) it produces intellectual models
of how the universe works, economizing what we
need to know to act wisely under diverse conditions,
(2) it fosters technology which can make the activity
of life more effective, and (3) it forms a basis
of further thinking. |
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To
Express Creativity: Physics can be fun!
We play with ideas. We love to know things. This
pleasure is one of the rewards which drives curiosity
and stimulates intellectual development. Solving
physics problems is akin to solving puzzles. Even
if we know they have been solved before, we are
rewarded with the pleasure of self-accomplishment
when we do them ourselves. In turn, self-accomplishment
develops skill and confidence. If a puzzle has
not been solved before, and we know it to be of
great importance, the pleasure is particularly
acute. We then know we have measurably contributed
to the development of human thought or instrument.
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To
Prepare for Graduate School: The study
of physics aims to deepen our understanding of
the fundamental relationship between all events
in this universe. As such, physics branches out
to all the sciences. The principles that apply
to complex systems in chemistry, geology, and
biology have their roots in the more fundamental
laws discovered in physics. Studying physics helps
one to see the support for all the other sciences
and medicine. Graduate schools in the medicine,
law, and engineering as well as the sciences respect
the proven abilities and potential of physics
majors. |
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To
Work toward Employment: Because physics
uses mathematical logic, deductive reasoning,
developed intuition, careful observation, designed
experimentation, model building, and intellectual
extrapolation, those practiced in the art are
capable of solving a wide range of well-posed
problems and often become quite inventive. Employers,
both in technology fields and in strict business
and finance, recognize this strength. |
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To
Gain Knowledge to Share: To preserve and
expand our understanding of the universe, there
is a continuing need to transfer knowledge to
the next generation, whether it be your own children,
or, as a teacher, other young minds. There is
no more worthy occupation than to gain and then
share your knowledge, wisdom, and understanding
with those who will follow. |
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To
Become an Informed Citizen: No matter what
plans you have in life, in studying physics, you
will be offered the tools to evaluate the merits
of worldly proposals, whether it be the siting
of a nuclear power plant or a claim for an antigravity
machine. These tools are essential in a democracy.
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Skills Taught |
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1.
Math skills: Math
is used in all technical fields and a wide range
of math techniques are part of the physics curriculum.
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2.
Problem solving: Courses taught in physics
place a very strong emphasis on problem solving.
These skills can be applied to real-world problems.
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3.
Physics principles: It doesn't matter what
the field is: physics, biology, chemistry, or
engineering, the laws of physics are the same.
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4.
Equipment & lab skills: There are lab
courses (016.343, 016.467) where you will obtain
valuable hands-on experience with equipment. |
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5.
Writing skills: Each
lab course requires written lab reports, which
provide experience in writing technical reports.
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6.
Verbal skills: In
many courses students make presentations to fellow
students and professors. For example, in Observational
Astronomy (16.207) these presentations are about
their own research projects. |
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7.
Team work skills: Small class size means
you form a team with your classmates. Lab work
is performed with a partner. |
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8.
Computer skills: Lab data analysis. Also
a computer modeling course (016.425), which shows
how to combine computers with physics to solve
problems. |
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Career
in Physics |
| Aeronautical
engineer |
Aerospace
engineer |
Airline
pilot, (2) |
| Analyst,
assay |
Analyst,
computer systems |
Analyst,
equipment installation |
| Angiogram |
Applications
programmer |
Artificial
intelligence specialist |
| Astronomer |
Astrophysicist |
Biochemical
development engineer |
| Biomedical
Engineer |
Biophysicist |
Broadcast
technician |
| Cellular
engineering |
Ceramics
engineer |
Chemical
engineer |
| Civil
engineer |
Clinical
laboratory technologist |
College/university
professor |
| Computer
operator |
Computer
programmer |
Computer
scientist |
| Computer
systems analyst |
Cryogenics
specialist |
Editor,
science |
| Electrical
engineer |
Electrocardiographic
Technician |
Engineer |
| Engineer,
robotics |
Environmental
scientist |
Experimental
biophysicist |
| Geodesist |
Geologist |
Geophysicist |
| Hydrologist |
Industrial
engineer, (2) |
Industrial
health engineer |
| Industrial
hygienist |
Laboratory
technician |
Laser
technician |
| Mathematician |
Mechanical
engineer |
Metallurgical
technician |
| Meteorologist,
(2) |
Nuclear
engineer |
Nuclear
medicine, (2),
(3) |
| Nuclear
theorist |
Oceanographer,
geological |
Oceanographer,
physical |
| Operations
planner |
Optical
technician |
Patent
attorney |
| Patent
examiner |
Photogrammetrist |
Physical
scientist |
| Physicist,
acoustics |
Physicist,
atomic and nuclear |
Physicist,
computational |
| Physicist,
electricity and magnetism |
Physicist,
electronics |
Physicist,
health |
| Physicist,
heat |
Physicist,
industrial |
Physicist,
light |
| Physicist,
medical |
Physicist,
mechanics |
Physicist,
nuclear |
| Physicist,
optics |
Physicist,
plasma |
Physicist,
solid waste |
| Physicist,
theoretical |
Project
Development |
Project
Engineer |
| Process/application
engineer |
Quality
control supervisor |
Radiographer |
| Radiation
Protection Technician |
Researcher |
Robotics
engineer |
| Scientific
writer/editor |
Seismologist |
Software
engineer |
| Statistician,
physical science and engineering |
Stratigrapher |
Structural
Engineer |
| Systems
analyst, engineering-scientific |
Teacher,
high school |
Technical
sales representative |
| Technical
writer |
Translator,
scientific documents |
Careers
in Computing |
| Careers
in Physics |
Careers
in Science and Engineering |
Careers
in Statistics |
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