The Big Bang Theory sitcom has made the job of physicist strangely popular. Perhaps it is the fact that the physicists portrayed on the show can show up to work wearing t-shirts with comic slogans on them or images associated with superheroes. Whatever, the CBS sitcom has amazingly turned the career of physicist into something sexy. So what does it take to become a physicist?
First off, it really helps to have a large brain. As the character Sheldon Cooper once noted, the job of physicist essentially covers every piece of knowledge known to man as well as the greatest mysteries as yet unknown. Start early by taking as many science classes as possible. Middle school is a great place to start on your journey to becoming a physicist, but high school will do as a starting point as well. You want to take any physics course that may be offered, obviously, but don’t snub any class that is related to the field of science in some way. It should go without saying that you need to reach the highest echelons offers in the field of mathematics.
Get yourself a bachelor’s degree in physics and then get a master’s degree in physics and then get yourself a doctorate if you want to be anywhere near the top of the ladder. If you are interested merely in teaching physics, you can get a job somewhere with just the B.A. A Master’s in physics may net you a community college professorship or a research position, but it’s not the road toward becoming the next Einstein or Stephen Hawking.
Decide if you want to pursue the arena of theoretical physics. Theoretical physics covers the waterfront known as exploration of the very essence of the universe. Theoretical physicists look to understand how the universe began, go to where it is now and where it is going. To get a good job as a theoretical physicist where you engage in research and development based on the expansion of knowledge about the universe’s origins, you’ll need a doctorate. Even a Master’s from the Univ. of Chicago isn’t going to cut it. If you don’t want to become a theoretical physicist, then decide on a discipline to pursue. Among the fields that a physicist can find work in are atomic and molecular physics, optics, acoustics, nuclear energy, plasma, superconductivity, crystallography and biophysics.
Your career as a physicist will change based on the field in which you enter and the entity that hires you. Research is an enormous element of the job of the physicist. Some job paths will land you a position that is mostly pure research, meaning you will be increasing the world’s supply of scientific knowledge. Your best friend from physics class in high school may be conducting research aimed at developing more practical applications that all those people who you view as intellectually inferior can enjoy. Research in the field of physics can result in anything from a laser method of surgery to quality control in the manufacturing process.
What about the bucks? After all, on the Big Bang Theory you’ve got two physicists sharing a small apartment and one engineer living with his mom. The median annual wage for a physicist in 2008 was $102,890 according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. The majority of physicists in America earned somewhere between $80,000 and $130,000. The lowest 10% of wage earning physicists still managed to earn around $50,000 a year. The best of the best took home nearly $160,000.
The job outlook for physicists will remain strong until we make contact with aliens who can teach us everything that theoretical physicists are currently only guessing at. Seriously, though, the growth of job openings for physicists is expected to remain at a rate that is above average through at least 2018. Provided, of course, that 2012 confounds them all by bringing about the end of civilization as we know it.
