So I'm all set for school next semester. You know, that bachelors of science in physics that I've been working on for the past three years, I'm going to try to finish it. Partially because I think I'll get further in life with a degree than without, partially because I think a lot of people won't view me the same without one and partially because I'd like to have a job that I love and that excites me.
But it seems the more I read, the more I don't know what I'm going to do with this. For the past year, I was in a bit of a funk, and wasn't quite sure I loved it as much as I used to. I'm reading Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe and a few other books and liking it a lot. But what about when I graduate? What's the job market look like? Well, I'e been reading a lot of the Uncertain Principles blog (physics, politics, pop culture, hooray) and a few entries stand out. The Job Hunt goes on to say, in part:
I don't know how it is in other fields, but in math/physics, this generally involves three to four letters of recommendation, a CV, a research statement, sometimes a teaching statement and maybe an annotated bibliography. In high energy physics, we have the Theoretical Particle Physics Job Rumor Mill run by the now nonymous John Terning. In addition to listing offers and educated guesses at short lists, it also serves as a nice clearinghouse of positions. SPIRES, the APS, Physics Today and I'm sure many others offer job listings, too.
This is one situation where the math world definitely has the physics world beat, however. The AMS runs a site called MathJobs which is completely brilliant. There's a searchable database of jobs which I've configured to send me newly listed relevant offers daily. You can upload all the relevant documentation, and it will automatically send an e-mail to your recommenders so that they can upload their letters. The application then becomes a simple matter of ensuring that the relevant files are available and clicking away. It's easy, efficient, and it saves countless manila envelopes.
The Academic Physics Job Market goes on about how "the academic job market in physics sucks." Which, given the rest of the post, seems accurate. The Academic Physics Job Market, Part 2 goes on a bit more with some statistics as to "the actual suckitude of the job market in physics."
Is this what I'm going to bust my ass for? I feel like giving up already. OK, so maybe I should just forget about getting a research career and just teach at my local community college? Or maybe I should just leave academia all together? I mean, I could go work for NASA, Goddard is right in the city, which is what I should aim for, I guess, if I wanted to work for NASA. I don't feel like moving all around the country, even if I was hired to do something a little better than mop the floors at JPL.
I just don't know what I'm doing, but I guess I should at least finish the bachelors degree and then think if I want to pursue more school or not. There's someone my mom knows personally who I want to go talk to because I know that speaking to my professors about this will give me information from an academic slant. I want to see all of the points of view and then decide.
