What can you do with a bachelor's degree in physics? If asked this question, most people would answer `go on to earn a Ph.D., and become a university professor, or a researcher at a national laboratory'. That is certainly one option, but statistics collected by the American Institute of Physics show that only about 60% of those who earn an undergraduate degree in physics go on to graduate study. The other 40% enter the work force.
What do these physics majors do in the work force? Just about anything and everything. They become high school teachers, or get employed by colleges and universities in a variety of positions. They are employed in civilian positions at national labs. They become active members of the military. And by far the largest portion, more than 60%, enter the private sector. Most, 70%, are in STEM related positions, such as in computer or information systems, engineering, or other STEM fields. In almost all of these positions, they utilize many of the skills that they have acquired as physics majors. The number one skill they use is their ability to solve technical problems.
There is a wealth of information on these physics graduates to be found in the AIP report `Physics Bachelor's: Initial Employment'.
The alumni profiled on this page have all either gone into the workforce after their bachelor's, or have gone on to advanced degrees in other fields. We hope that their descriptions of their experiences, and their advice, will be useful to current physics majors, as well as those thinking of majoring in physics.