Physics GRE Discussion Forums

Which fields of physics have relatively high demand and relatively low student interest? (especially among strong students?)

I'm especially interested about astrophysics. Does computational astrophysics have high demand among strong students? What about astrobiology?

The reason I'm asking this, of course, is because these fields are probably less competitive (and I have very broad interests so I think I'd find interest in a lot of things). Also, professors would probably treat their grad students better in those fields. I would think that fields that aren't very financially lucrative (in the industrial sector) would be some of them. But also fields that aren't "sexy" or that don't fulfill some existential purpose (e.g. astrobiology or possibly neural physics)

This is just my impression, so don't take it too seriously.

I believe condensed matter is relatively high demand. Condensed matter is a very broad field in physics. I'm sure you could find a relatively uncompetitive field within condensed matter. The reason I believe it is relatively high demand is because a lot of condensed matter is pretty close to applied physics.

I also think biophysics is relatively low in popularity at the moment (although I think it's also on the rise). This is mostly a stab in the dark. I'm mostly basing this guess on having never run into any young physicists who are interested in biophysics to a large degree.

Again, I'm partly stabbing in the dark here. I'm mostly basing it on what other students and professors have told me.

Like geshi, I'm just giving my impressions based on the other aspiring physics grad students I personally have encountered, so again, grain of salt, please.

I agree with geshi on the condensed matter. Yes, there are a lot of interested students, but not compared to the number of slots available for them. Plus, often condensed matter research has clear applications in industry (more often than research in other fields), which makes it somewhat easier to get funding, and hence opens slots for more grad students.

I disagree on the biophysics side, though. I feel like I've come across an inordinate number of grad-school-bound students interested in biophysics.

But again, these are just my anecdotal impressions.