Need Help with Graduate School/Career Choice
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 5:42 pm
With graduate school applications due soon, I'm looking for some advice on where to apply and what to do after I graduate. I have a strong academic background with a high GPA from a good school. I am a bit light on research and work experience, but my professors seem to think that this won't matter too much. My complete profile can be found here: http://www.physicsgre.com/viewtopic.php ... 859#p38859
I think that I will try to set myself up for the best career I can after I graduate. My most important criteria are salary, free time and helping society in some way. I am pretty flexible and pragmatic about these criteria though.
The two main options seem to be PhD programs and jobs. My default would be to apply to the top 10 or so applied physics PhD programs, since that is my undergraduate field of study. I have one job offer from John's Hopkin's Applied Physics lab that pays 66/year and will pay for a masters degree from Johns Hopkins. I'm really know how good this offer is because I don't have other offers to compare to it.
I'm looking for input on which options are best and how to evaluate them. I'm looking for some sort of plan that will end with a good career. Are there any particularly promising careers for bright young physicists? Are there any particularly good career fields to move into after a PhD? Are there any particularly good fields to specialize in like medical physics?
tl;dr: What are particularly promising career paths for a bright physicist?
I think that I will try to set myself up for the best career I can after I graduate. My most important criteria are salary, free time and helping society in some way. I am pretty flexible and pragmatic about these criteria though.
The two main options seem to be PhD programs and jobs. My default would be to apply to the top 10 or so applied physics PhD programs, since that is my undergraduate field of study. I have one job offer from John's Hopkin's Applied Physics lab that pays 66/year and will pay for a masters degree from Johns Hopkins. I'm really know how good this offer is because I don't have other offers to compare to it.
I'm looking for input on which options are best and how to evaluate them. I'm looking for some sort of plan that will end with a good career. Are there any particularly promising careers for bright young physicists? Are there any particularly good career fields to move into after a PhD? Are there any particularly good fields to specialize in like medical physics?
tl;dr: What are particularly promising career paths for a bright physicist?