Current Events > Starting to think majoring in physics was a mistake

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm looking for internships and 90% of them are either from the military or the military indistrial complex.

:(

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What's wrong with that

linid0t posted...

What's wrong with that

I don't want to be a cog in the immoral war machine

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Garioshi posted...

I don't want to be a cog in the immoral war machine

Oh please

What sort of jobs were you envisioning previously, and for whom?

ArchiePeck posted...

What sort of jobs were you envisioning previously, and for whom?

My ideal job is working at a particle accelerator

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Garioshi posted...

I don't want to be a cog in the immoral war machine

Are you some kind of patchouli scented hippy?


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Garioshi posted...

My ideal job is working at a particle accelerator

Realistically that's going to be unbelievably tough if you miss out on an internship. Every entry level job application you'll immediately be starting behind 100+ recent graduates who do already some practical experience while you don't.

Garioshi posted...

My ideal job is working at a particle accelerator

There are particle accelerators all over the country. And there's CERN.

I heard that most of the LHC's work was underwhelming besides the Higgs.

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I would image most pure scientist positions would require a graduate degree but I don't really know about the job market for physics grads. Are you in grad school?

Anyways quantitative skills and thinking are in high demand, you could be a software engineer or maybe an actuary if you study the right materials.

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Garioshi posted...

I don't want to be a cog in the immoral war machine

/eyeroll

That's disheartening, TC. Why dont you look into an REU? That's what my advisor is pushing
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Verdekal posted...

There are particle accelerators all over the country. And there's CERN.

I heard that most of the LHC's work was underwhelming besides the Higgs.

it's just a cover; it's been warping the time-space continuum beyond comprehension since going online in 2009

i kid, i kid

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cemen literally insulting tc for not wanting to be part of an industry that profits off killing people
you are right tc, they are laughablely wrong

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Paper_Okami posted...

cemen literally insulting tc for not wanting to be part of an industry that profits off killing people
you are right tc, they are laughablely wrong

Yeah. Imagine being ridiculed for actually wanting to do something more with your physics degree than design more efficient killing machines
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mustachedmystic posted...

Are you some kind of patchouli scented hippy?

No, I just object to offensive regime-change wars that we were lied into that I am barely older than.

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ArchiePeck posted...

Realistically that's going to be unbelievably tough if you miss out on an internship. Every entry level job application you'll immediately be starting behind 100+ recent graduates who do already some practical experience while you don't.

And I don't know what to do to get said experience. It's also rougher for me because I'm graduating in 3 years, so I'm missing out on an additional summer internship.


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Welp, time for you to pick up civil engineering
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IllegalAlien posted...

I would image most pure scientist positions would require a graduate degree but I don't really know about the job market for physics grads. Are you in grad school?

Anyways quantitative skills and thinking are in high demand, you could be a software engineer or maybe an actuary if you study the right materials.

Undergrad at the moment.

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Garioshi posted...

Undergrad at the moment.

Do some real research into the job market you're entering and plan your graduate studies accordingly. I have a MS in Computer Science from a top 40 (top 30 or top 20 depending on what site you use) CS school and it's not like doors just flew open for me. Maybe you're at a top 10 school so your situation might be different. Places where top jobs are also have top competition. Look at job postings and see how unqualified you are, then work towards fixing these gaps.

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But yeah that sucks, there's a lot of military where I live too. Raytheon recruiters have been hounding my email for a while now... luckily I don't think I could get clearance even if I wanted to work for such a company.

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Garioshi posted...

And I don't know what to do to get said experience. It's also rougher for me because I'm graduating in 3 years, so I'm missing out on an additional summer internship.

Well, you'll need to do some soul searching on this one. Is maximising the chances of achieving your dream job worth the sacrifice of briefly working on something you consider immoral? Welcome to adulthood!

why would you necessarily work with a particle accelerator? you could work with nasa.

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Wewillrocku posted...

why would you necessarily work with a particle accelerator? you could work with nasa.

Because I'm more interested in particle physics

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