-----
--- 15349846
Security Clearance Granted Edition

Previously >>15325682 →

This thread exists to ask questions regarding careers associated to STEM.
>Discussion on academia based career progression
>Discussion on penetrating industry from academia
>Or anything in relation to STEM employment or development within STEM academia!

Resources for protecting yourself from academic marxists:
>https://www.thefire.org/ (US)
>https://www.jccf.ca/ (Canada)

Information resource:
>https://sciencecareergeneral.neocities.org/
>*The Chad author is seeking additional input to diversify the content into containing all STEM fields. Said author regularly views these /scg/ threads.

No anons have answered your question? Perhaps try posting it here: >https://academia.stackexchange.com/

An archive of all the previous editions of /scg/:
>>>>>>>https://warosu.org/sci/
--- 15349879
>>15349846 (OP)
Some random anons here are giving out better advice than my college advisors. Well, it sounds like better advice, at least.
--- 15350225
>>15349879
Yeah these threads are good
--- 15350252
>>15349879
Factually correct but wrong conclusion. Those non thesis masters programs are perfect for someone who only wants to enter the industry without spending much on education.
For non US citizens like me, it is a glorified work permit. And that's exactly how I used it. No regrets.
--- 15350353
>>15349879
>that degree is a money mill for the department
what are you suggesting here? it doesn't matter if a degree is a money mill, or if it's prestigious or not, what solely matters is if it's going to help you get the job you want. my degree was a "money mill" by these standards, but i make 6 figures in my dream field now so suck it
>>15350252
this
--- 15350381
>>15349846 (OP)
Hi there! Keep up with the good work!

Btw, I am an aspiring homeopath and I am trying to find a direct cure for sarcoma cancer. While anti-cancer miracle pills are dime-a-dozen, none of the homeopathic textbooks I own mentioned any specific remedies for brain cancer. 

I however, have developed a thorough solution to this gap. Homeopathy rely one the "cures-like-cures" holistic approach in which the cures must show the similar symptoms to the existing diseases. This method takes advantage of the quantum entanglement theories spread around in modern science. After furiously scanning throw possible ingredients for a potential cancer cure, it occured to me that the best one, even for what should the terminal case, should require the constant reversal of death (of a person) and life (of the cancer cells), which leads me to antimatter, which is matter opposite to that ours in every aspect. The only place I know which may have harvested antimatter is at the CERN laboratory in Bern, Suisse.

The problem is that CERN does not grant security clearances to aspiring homeopaths. I am looking for volunteers to help me infiltrate CERN to extract a small amount of antimatter to test what may be.my universal cancer cure! Do it for science!
--- 15350457
>>15349846 (OP)
hey /sci/. is biomedical engineering a meme, and which fields are the best to major in?
--- 15350485
enrolled in physics uni
what should I expect?
--- 15350757
>>15350381
might want to make a separate thread for this lol
--- 15350824
>>15350485
Particle memes, quantum memeputing, incredibly boring astrophysics and 200 on the spectrum egotists who jerk themselves off about how "hard" physics is.

Survive them and you have a comfy degree with plenty of opportunity and some decent career options (for stem).
--- 15350868
>>15350485
look at course syllabus
you will only learn very general physics theories without going to any application and specialization which can make you feel detached and eventually make you hate yourself

best career
>computer security
--- 15350892
what's the typical wait for a TS/SCI clearance, and why am i anxious about it despite having no red flags?
--- 15351596
What kind of jobs can you get with an undergrad in Math?
--- 15351729
The first information resource the topic presents is contradictory:

>https://sciencecareergeneral.neocities.org/#mozTocId701620

On one hand, they say:

>It is better to apply to an associate professor who is still just starting his career. You will be allowed to publish faster (and garner citations/attention while you work towards your Nature-tier cap). Many of my US collaborators are like this and they all have jobs at IBM and Google lined in their second year already.

But on the other hand, they say:

>It is important that the professor is experienced. One anon noted that:

>>Go for experience profs who've had plenty of PhD students in the past. The single most important thing that determines your PhD experience is how good your supervisor is.

>>My supervisor has been at his university for 30+ years, which means regular meetings, lab reports, and a structured plan for my PhD. Takes away so much anxiety to have someone know what they're doing. You don't want to flounder around for years with an incompetent supervisor not knowing wtf you're doing.

Obviously there's a contradiction here. You can't have as a PhD tutor a guy who's at the same time an associate professor starting his career and a guy who had a lot of PhD students with 30+ years of experience.

Noting this contradiction, which is better to choose as a PhD tutor then? A new professor or an established one?
--- 15351755
Imagine lacking the critical thinking skills to take in the pros and cons of each and decide which option is the better one for your own situation
--- 15351829
>>15351755
The point for me is to do that + assess your answers and take them or not into account to make my decision you fucking retard
--- 15351850
I'm a maths grad from a mid-tier Scottish university and am currently doing a master's in quantitative finance. I know some Python but I have no internships or work experience. How fucked am I?
--- 15351882
>>15351850
you're a faggot that jacks off to kiddie porn
--- 15351891
>>15351882
>sees loli
>immediately thinks about jacking off
I think you're projecting here, anon.
--- 15351912
>>15351850
What semester are you in?
There's still time to land a summer internship, look up banks and any big company nearby.

Also work on your python and learn SQL

>>15351596
Depends if it's pure math, applied math, statistics, etc.
--- 15351919
>>15351912
>There's still time to land a summer internship
I have to work on my master's dissertation over the summer so an internship is not possible. What's SQL like? I tried a little bit of it in some labs but the retarded teachers never actually taught us the language and just gave us generic facts about SQL and NoSQL databases.
--- 15351952
>>15351919
SQL is baby shit, if you were able to learn some Python it will be much easier than that. Just get practice pulling/updating/inserting records and that’s all you really need. Anything complex regarding manipulating that data can be done with Python. Don’t brush it off though, it’s an essential skill for any job dealing with data.
--- 15351973
>>15349846 (OP)
Anons... I really want a career that would serve the greater good. Like a doctor, but in STEM. The thought of slaving away at some corpo office creating a soulless product to help other people waste their precious lives on shit that doesn't matter makes me want to kms. I want to bring more good into this world.
--- 15352034
>>15351919
Pretty much what the other anon said, given that you'll be dealing with finance people, it's a big plus to be able to fluently make SQL queries.

SQL lets you query relational databases. You have some set of big tables with data in them and you write lines of code that retrieve the parts you want; rows, columns, etc. You don't need to know advanced stuff, things like concurrent transactions are rarely done directly in SQL these days, but you should be familiar with querying for the information that you want by joining tables on keys etc.

>>15351973
Biomedical engineering
--- 15352089
I thought about asking on my one and only favorite board /trv/, but I thought I'd ask you /sci/scg, because you cunts might be the most qualified to answer.

Should I pursue medical school in a country that I hate? 

I'm 20. No career, no children, and not even a girlfriend. A little bit behind the curve already by about 2 or 3 years, now I've lost even more time. I had no problems securing a spot in accounting / econ or math / actuary (no debt). My country requires an exam to choose a BS / MD. The hurdle is that for medicine a lot of people take a while to pass. It'd take me 1 or maybe 2 more years to secure a spot in medical school here. 

It is something similar to the GAOKAO in China. A biased socialist test - to hell with it..

Is medicine a major or study that translates well into a successful immigration? 

When you scavenge the internet and look at international requirements to be a qualified GP or Specialist is even worse. 

However, a medical degree from a developed country (e.g the UK) seems to make it pretty easy to immigrate wherever you'd like. Only problem is that places like Hong Kong require examinations in order for your degree to be recognised in a private international clinic / research.

I've really liked biology before, read foreign literature like Campbell's and so on (and classical /lit/ too). But I am afraid I am romanticizing things here and the 'hay days' of medicine are long gone. Doctors now have to deal with lgbt and negroes for example. I don't think I could even treat these brazilian rats motherfuckers If I was doctor, so it would have to be research to get the fuck out of this country. But that's another long road to take I think. Many go into specialties that they don't even like and are basically self-enslaved to it - if they make it through the bloddy expensive examinations.

Is it even worth to do medical school in a non-english speaking country? 

Or should I take the gamble and go towards Math/Fin?
--- 15352124
>Be me, doing my finals for high school
>where I live the only way to get into certain degrees is get good grades in high school
>be a depressed fuck, don't study at all, don't do my homework, even miss most of my lessons since covid made them online and I could just play vidya instead
>get average grades
>my application for physics gets rejected and I end up in mechanical engineering
>keep being a depressed fuck, slack off the whole first year of college
>next year have to change college for economy reasons, have only passed 2 exams studying the day before
>be so embarrassed that I don't tell them I have two exams passed, start from scratch
>this time is even worse, in a whole year I pass 0 exams at all.
>feel desperate, start working as a waiter
>my mother urges me to try yet again, says she will break her bones working if I can do it
>try yet another time, this time because of my grades I will get expelled if I don't pass at least 5 exams
>work for the whole first semester and don't attend to class, I honestly have already given up
>third year and I have no friends at uni, my hs friends all dropped out, I'm in only to not disappoint mom
>jenuary mom gets ill
>decide that I need to get that degree or I won't be able to help her with a shitty wageslave job
>attend my first physics class in 3 years
>holyshititsactuallyprettyinteresting.jpg
>start attending all my morning classes while working in the afternoon
>it's actually much easier than I thought, all you have to do is listen and take notes
>by attending I get friends in uni
>actually try to study to pass the exams and impress my new friends
>first grades of partial exams (if I pass them all I don't have to go for the final exam of that subject)
>Physics II: 10 best grade of my class
>Autocad and Inventor: 10
>Economy and management: 9.5 best grade of my class
>Metallurgy: 6 (slacked off for this one but I passed it)
Never give up anons, trying is all you need to do.
--- 15352136
>>15352124
>gets filtered by intro physics
stick to engineering pls.
--- 15352141
>>15352136
I wasn't filtered by intro physics, I never got in at all because of my HS grades.
Because of covid I didn't attend any class so they gave me the bare minimum to pass (since I actually passed the exams) but nothing more since homework is part of the grades here.
--- 15352157
>>15352141
Unsuited students usually get filtered in grad school, only time will tell anon.
--- 15352172
>>15352157
Oh, I was absolutely an unfit student when out of HS, I spent 2 years slacking off and I am now wageslaving. I'm just saying to anons that are in the situation I was in 6 months ago that just because you used to be unfit doesn't mean you have to be all your life,
--- 15352263
>>15352124
>by attending i get friends in uni
never happened for me...
--- 15352264
>>15349879
best piece of wisdom i've heard on here is "if your grad program isn't paying your way it means they don't want you there"
--- 15352309
Peeps, I'm about to go to college and I wanted to know whether there's good jobs in the math/engineering department that would allow me to work from home and earn a above-average income, ty
--- 15352326
>>15352309
yes
--- 15352342
>>15352309
More so the engineering side. Stick with either mechanical, electrical, or computer/software. Civil is a trap.
--- 15352351
>>15352342
If he wants remote then I'd steer away from mechanical and probably electrical too.
--- 15352365
>>15350485
Change to some kind of engineering, applied math, or anything else that has good job prospects. You'll always be at a disadvantage with physics, especially if you don't have a PhD. I find the general opinion of this general on physics to be much too optimistic. Yeah, there are career "options" like data analyst, patent attourney, and consultant, but those are dominated by physicists because they have few alternatives. Nobody who studies a STEM field actually WANTS to do consulting or to become a patent attourney. If they did, they'd have studied some business bullshit or law. Everyone who disagrees is coping and contributes to the destruction of countless lives of every generation: those of the physics grads. I wish someone had told me about the horrible job prospects after graduation. Everyone in my cohort was completely naive, and this is on purpose, because professors need cheap labour.
By all means, study physics, but only in conjunction with another field that has actual application in industry.
--- 15352367
>>15352365
Getting an engineering degree or a masters with real world applications is not that hard after getting a degree in physics though, right?
--- 15352376
>>15352367
It's still hard work, and you'll be exhausted after going through a whole physics degree. It also wastes years of your time. Most people don't finish their degree in the expected time. Imagine spending 6 - 8 years studying when you could have just studied engineering in the first place. You might not think about this while you're young, but starting late into the working life is a horrible feeling.
Even if an engineering master's after a physics bsc gets you into good jobs, it would still have been better for you to just study engineering in the first place. If you know what you want to do as a career, there is no place for physics in your studies, simple as.
Think about your career before choosing a field of study. I can guarantee you that not a single physics grad did.
Rant over
--- 15352440
>>15352367
Don't listen to >>15352376

If you want to be a physicist understand that you will have to go for a PhD and you can switch to any engineering masters you want after a physics bachelors. Or midway because physics and engineering students 1st and 2nd semesters are almost identical.
--- 15352441
>>15351973
>I really want a career that would serve the greater good. Like a doctor
--- 15352465
>>15352440
Oh no, don't get me wrong, I'm already studying engineering, but I always got the impression the switch is much easier from physics to engineering than the other way around.
--- 15352484
>>15352124
Good job, anon.
Meanwhile i always get Top 3 grades, never disappointed my family, never skipped class, and i still get no friends or a cute, shy and autistically dedicated to studies GF.
--- 15352573
>>15352264
The whole "getting into a PhD program then dropping when you fulfill the requirements to get a masters" thing is probably my only way of getting a masters. The tuition costs for a lot of the masters programs in even the mid-tier unis/colleges are still insane.
--- 15352708
>>15352441
What they don't tell you on Reddit is that insurance covers 99% of that bill
--- 15352854
Is it too late/hopeless for a 30 y/o years out of college with no contacts to think about med school? Besides all the testing I thought one of the big requirements was getting letters of recommendation. How do you do that if you don't know anyone?
--- 15352882
>>15352440
>>15352376
>>15352367
i did grad school in ECE and we had physics grads show up and they were totally clueless and dropped out. it's so arrogant to think because you studied physics you are automatically going to do well in another discipline. i'm not saying it can't be done but don't dunning-kruger yourself
--- 15352886
>>15352573
haha i used to tell master's students to lie to the professors and tell them they planned on doing PhD. you'll get treated better. it's unethical though. anyway if you're only doing a masters there are tons of employers that will pay. do something like UF EDGE
--- 15352889
>>15352854
just be black or a woman
--- 15352962
>>15352886
Wait, there are companies that pay you to go to school?
No one told me this, not even my college's career counselors who get paid at insane salaries and brag about their "ties to industry." Is there anyway to learn more about these types of employers?
--- 15353011
>>15352854
What type of medicine are you looking for?
You can be in the medical field without having to go to med school. There are jobs like x-ray technicians that still have decent income.
--- 15353084
>>15353011
I'm a med tech in a clinical lab already and work somewhat closely with pathologists. Hematopathology seems interesting to me. I was wondering if it's even possible in my current position. The idea of looking at different types of data and piecing everything together to make a diagnosis seems interesting.
--- 15353108
>>15352962
haha how old are you? you sound clueless. what school do you go to? you can go to grad school basically free in a lot of STEM fields, and most employers have some kind of paid tuition program. i'm assuming you're in the US
--- 15353148
>>15352962
>jump: 34.5%
fucking hell that's awful
--- 15353160
>>15353148
one in three took physics 101 in their life to know which height to jump above from
--- 15353166
>>15353160
As a matter of fact it is named terminal velocity for a reason
--- 15353217
>>15353166
...not that reason, though
--- 15353816
>>15352342
is civil that bad? if you check BLS, it has a higher % growth rate than ME/EE
--- 15353826
>>15352264
what's a white straight guy to do if he comes from a family well-off enough to not get any free money, but not well-off enough to pay for all my tuition?
--- 15353832
>>15351729

You know you can have multiple PhD supervisors right? One will be the lead one for sure, but there is absolutely nothing stopping you from publishing papers with your second guy without the oversight of the first guy. Both will need to have input on your thesis for sure, but best of both worlds here is viable.
--- 15353835
>>15352854
Most doctors are happy to let you shadow them/be a scribe/etc if you express interest in wanting to go to med school or consider optometry school.
--- 15353844
>>15353826
scholarships, internships, assistantships, and fellowships. all the ships. and remember they aren't going to audit your FAFSA
--- 15353849
>>15353844
>>15353826
>scholarships, internships, assistantships, and fellowships. all the ships. and remember they aren't going to audit your FAFSA
FAFSA comment is more for undergrad. in grad school they will pay you regardless of income levels if you're in a legit STEM field
--- 15353856
>>15353849
they give me loan options out the ass to cover 2x tuition, but i dont qualify for most scholarships in my field as a lot of them specify you need to be minority/woman and there aren't many of them anyway.
fellowships pay like ass and it'd just be better to go get a real job instead.
i'm just tanking it and hoping i can just pay it down quickly when i get out of school.
--- 15353866
>>15353856
more like state lottery funded scholarships not the private ones. and yeah you don't make bank being a PhD student
--- 15354023
>>15351850
Hello fellow britbro
--- 15354028
>>15351850
you're right where you're supposed to be m8. a lot of people wanting to go into finance these days are secretly underdeveloped midwit codemonkeys.
--- 15354098
>>15350892
1 year in the best case. But thanks to that stupid airforce fuck, every person involved with the process will be getting bitched at, and the people doing the investigations will just sit around for months or years to make it look like they're being extra careful now. The same thing happened with the OPM breach 7 years ago. Everything slowed down

You're anxious b/c the failure to obtain a clearance can negatively effect you for life, if most of your employment options require it.

You might as well sign a piece of paper that gives the govt permission to stick a hand up your ass, and if they don't like the smell they'll get you fired.
--- 15354109
>>15354028
But he must have decent programming skills if he got admitted to a quantitative finance programme
--- 15354183
>>15354109
Not necessarily, many just plod through excel their whole careers
--- 15354858
>>15354098
>You might as well sign a piece of paper that gives the govt permission to stick a hand up your ass
that's exactly what filling out SF-86 feels like
--- 15355040
>>15349846 (OP)
Which one of you was this?
--- 15355046
>>15352465
It’s not. Physics is a 4 year degree, ~120 credits. Engineering is technically a 5 year degree, ~135 credits. People get it done in 4 because they slam 18 credits a semester. Not to mention, you won’t be eligible for licensure with a physics degree.
--- 15355096
>>15355040
Grad students need to learn
--- 15355637
>>15353108
>how old are you
Early 20s
>what school do you go to
local college owned by my city
>you can go to grad school basically free in a lot of STEM fields
Where or how do I know more about these employers that pay you to go to grad school? Sorry for my ignorance, I'm just learning about this now.
--- 15355666
>>15353148
It's also surprising that gun suicides are only 82% lethal. I guess it's because of idiots aiming at the wrong area.
--- 15355878
>>15352365
>>15352376
Except a degree in engineering is not saving everyone anymore mate. You are fucking delusional. Do you have any friends going into IT or trying to become steel workers? Probably not, those are dead careers and that stuff was sent to china and india back when W was president. Chemistry is no different. Don’t think that our science is special or unique just because you like it or for any other reason, because it isn’t. I like chemistry and you seem to as well but the MBA’s running the show don’t feel that way, a scientist is just another employee and far less valuable than the salespeople who actually generate revenue. Bruce Roth discovered Lipitor, made billions for Pfizer and was laid off like a chump. You give a company a blockbuster and they give you a pink slip. You will be hired and fired according to the needs/want of the company’s balance sheets and stockholders. We don’t even need to get into the stiff competition for those jobs: either from experienced people in industry who were laid off but still have families to feed or from foreigners willing to work for peanuts. An MBA doesn’t know the difference between a guy who worked for EJ Corey and a guy from Nanjing University, except one of them is probably willing to accept a much lower salary… You finished a total synthesis of some giant molecule? Congrats, so did everyone else whose resumes are sitting in a stack on some HR person’s desk.There are no academic jobs and the golden age of pharma was long gone by the time you started elementary school. 5+ years of phd 2+ of post-doc, medschool? residency? haha, only to have to deal with the modern population of the great modern world, no fucking thanks.
--- 15355881
What can I do after I finish a PhD in physics?
--- 15355895
>>15355881
Ponder the universe while smoking a cig
--- 15355903
>>15355878
I'm not quite sure I understand what you're getting at. I didn't mention chemistry at all, and I'd say it's almost as bad as physics for job prospects. I don't know what degree will actually net you a job, but the natural sciences certainly aren't it. If I could start my life over, I'd just skip university and go for a sysadmin position.
--- 15355938
>>15355903
I was just mentioning chem to make a correlation with your post who wasn't exactly all bad.

You are just another fucking imbecile rat who doesn't understand anything.

At lot of technology companies aren't profitable (yet) and rely on venture capital in order to survive.

In a low interest rate environment such capital is all over the place and easy to get (basically the risk to potential return makes it worth doing).

As interest rates climb this is no longer the case a lot of tech companies are finding it difficult to impossible to get additional funding, which means they are tightening up their operations to try to survive under the revenue they can currently produce.

This has flow on impacts, a lot of companies receive money from other technology companies paying for licenses to their software, if those companies die, or have less employees that impacts the bottom line. Similarly with AWS, Azure, etc.

Then you just have some really poor decisions in scaling and investment by some of the companies (like Meta) which have hit a lot of their reserves.

So don't spout garbage like "hey just go to tech / engineering"
--- 15355990
>>15355938
What's your solution then? What should you study if you want to have a job? Learn a trade? Genuine question because I don't see any job prospects for myself with my physics degree.
--- 15356034
>>15355990
Semiconductor industry
--- 15356037
>>15355938
I don't know man, where I live mechanical engineers get hired the moment they finish uni.
When you talk about "tech companies" I feel like you are specifically talking about software startups, but that's not really what most engineering degrees specialize into.
--- 15356071
>>15356037
>where I live mechanical engineers get hired the moment they finish uni.
The exception, certainly not the rule.
No one can guarantee you that the profession will be bearable on your day-to-day life either.
I'm not trying to be rude at all, just stating something so people don't go believing blindly on this thread.
--- 15356075
Test
--- 15356096
>>15355637
Wait, there are people who fund themselves through grad school in stem?
--- 15356144
>>15355881
Depends on your specialism but generally: teaching, postdoc, finance/investment, engineering consulting, patent examiner, quantum computing startup, research scientist for intel/microsoft/other, research scientist at a research institution, some datasci and analyst jobs, sales for a scientific instruments company, be a civil servant, work in defence or space or intelligence.
--- 15356147
>>15350485
more programming than you think, less information than you expect. you're gonna read books from 60 years ago and you're not gonna enjoy it.

whether the degree is hard or not really depends where youre studying (both country and specific uni). I've had clowns here telling me it's an easy degree while I struggled, but they had 20 weekly hours at uni while I had 40+ (depending on the semester), at a top uni in my region.
--- 15356206
>>15356096
Yeah, how dare I try to find ways to pay for an education.
Are you brown by any chance? Hispanic?
--- 15356246
>>15356144
Are there decent amounts of opportunities in those?
--- 15356331
What STEM field is better for this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztzq05IzYds&t=196s [Embed]
--- 15356425
>>15356331
I know this sounds weird, but you won't find that vibe in STEM, most people there hate their job or could care less about it on a personal level. You have to join the ranks of Schwab, Bill Gates, etc. Basically, government and politics.
--- 15356625
My opinion about this might be naive, but I don't think it is right to tell every young person that visits /scg/ to drop their interest or dissuade them from pursuing university courses in subjects like physics, chemistry, biology, geology, pharmacy etc.
If every undergrad in STEM decided to study computer science, mathematics or medicine, then what will happen of scientific advancement?
--- 15356693
>>15356625
They should learn those topics outside of university if they are interested. There is simply not enough employment options involving those degrees. STEM fields are saturated enough. Use your STEM degree as a launching pad for non-STEM career.
--- 15356818
>>15356625
>then what will happen of scientific advancement?
Many issues with this sentiment of yours. First, /scg/ is not about what is best for the world, it's about what's best for the individuals looking to have careers in science. Currently the best advice is to not try to have a career in science. 

Second, as anon said most STEM fields are oversaturated. It's not as if there's a shortage of graduates threatening to stop the scientific fields, quite the opposite. Having less people might even make things better for the people in these fields.

Third, the vast majority of people with STEM degrees do not get jobs which really require or even benefit from their subject specialization. These people will not participate in any scientific advancement anyway. They will not apply their knowledge and will forget all of it. Even if these people wanted to participate in furthering our knowledge they will not be able to, for the most part. Even if you make it to academia you'll be forced to play politics and musical chairs which will almost entirely sideline you from actual science.

Frankly, higher education is a scam in general. This is slowly but definitely dawning on the general populace. Having a degree will remain advantageous for some time because attitudes don't change overnight, so it is not entirely without value for the individual, but if we're being honest there is simply no need to have a physicist in a bank. I think it is disgusting that young people are led astray, lied to and shackled with debt. I will do my best to tell them my honest opinon, what they do with that is up to them.
--- 15356868
Is studying AI worth it? Or is fluid mechanics (eg hydrodynamics) a better choice? I don't want to do pure mathematics as I want to have a way out after my master's and a bunch of grad level algebraic topology classes prepare you for absolutely nothing while with applied maths you can always find real work.
--- 15356875
>>15356818
>physicist in a bank
I fucking hate these physics PhDs who take up valuable training, funding and research opportunities and then spend the rest of their career at an investment bank or something similar. Why get a physics PhD in the first place if you wanted to work at a bank or hedge fund. Same applies to other subjects too.

I also hate people in STEM who do MBAs right/soon after graduating. Why did they do STEM then?
--- 15356876
>>15355637
if you go for PhD you can get teaching or research assistantship with a professor. if you get a fellowship even better.
if you go the employer route, basically an big company (or government org) will have something. pick a random big corporation, how about raytheon, then search raytheon tuition, this comes up
https://www.rtx.com/news/2022/09/30/employee-scholar-program
even shitty wagie jobs at walmart have tuition assistance
https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2021/07/27/walmart-to-pay-100-of-college-tuition-and-books-for-associates
--- 15356888
>>15356875
>Why get a physics PhD in the first place if you wanted to work at a bank or hedge fund. Same applies to other subjects too.
>I also hate people in STEM who do MBAs right/soon after graduating. Why did they do STEM then?
Everything is more competitive nowadays. You're a hedge fund manager who's got two applications on the desk. One is a physics student the other has a meme business degree a literal middle schooler could have gotten. It's a no contest. Also the necessary stuff the latter has learned (eg valuation) can be learned by the former in a few hours.
--- 15356930
>>15356875
It's not that straightforward. Again, the amount of physics PhDs that graduate is orders of magnitude greater than the amount of available physics research positions. And even of those positions the majority are complete dogshit postdoc-tier jobs. The vast majority of physics PhDs don't end up doing research in the long term not because they didn't want to but simply because they cannot (or are not willing to degrade themselves to poorly paid single-year contract jobs requiring moving every two years). Maybe some people never wanted to be in academia to begin with, but they are far from being the main issue at hand, if anything they are doing everyone else a favor.

Your anger would make sense if there was a shortage of practicing physicists, but there is not. In fact getting a physics PhD and leveraging that to get a bank/hedge fund position is getting more use out of your degree than most will. No it doesn't make sense and yes it's a waste of everyone's time but at least it worked out for the grad in question.
--- 15357035
>>15356888
>>15356930
While I agree with these points, I will defend the other guy a little. The people who go on from Physics/Maths/Stats PhDs to hede funds or top tier banks usually have top tier degrees. We are talking MIT or similar. These are the kind of people who have enough intelligence (and advantages in life) that could easily land a top research position and if they submerged themselves into their pure physics/maths/stats work would likely have a very successful career with more than one significant breakthrough. Instead they end up having breakthroughs for hedge funds to make more money.

However I think the fundamental issue is how universities are structured. The incentives are simply not aligned to attract ultra-high-achievers which is what would describe these top tier MIT grads. In finance you make as much money as you generate in value. In a university there are multiple layers of bureaucracy which decide what you will make. You could produce 2X the output and still receive the same compensation. It simply does not make sense for an ultra-high-achiever to limit themselves like this. However I, like many, am simply waiting for the current academic landscape to collapse due to the weight of its own inefficiencies. It just can't happen fast enough.
--- 15357103
>>15357035
My melanated friend I did my physics undergergrad and PhD at Oxford, am currently a postdoc at Harvard and I am absolutely not even close to making it in research. It's the same for me as everyone else. The people around me filtered into consulting/patent law/coding and only a very tiny fraction into research or even technical positions. Again not because they wanted to (though some probably did) but mostly because they had no chance of making it in academia. I'm going to have to do the same because all I see ahead of me is infinite postdoc hell.

I'm not going to be making it in a hedge fund either for that matter. That transition gets very difficult after a while and is most natural out of undergrad. Anyway seething about banks is kind of useless because it's not a particularly large sector for physics grad hiring. Yeah it does happen but way more go into the stuff I mentioned.
--- 15357193
why is it so hard to find entry-level EE jobs? wtf bros I thought EE was in high demand
--- 15357227
>>15357193
STEM jobs are a total fabrication, they don't exist, nobody has them, anybody that says they have one is an actor, a malicious entity trying to deceive you into thinking these jobs exist so they can extract as much from you and your family's generational wealth as possible to expand and refine the algorithm
--- 15357326
>>15357103
I don't know if this post is bait or things really are that bad in physics research these days.
>>15356888
Agreed. Perhaps the better question to ask is what the hedge fund manager studied/worked as to get to the position he has.
>>15356930
I agree that most postdoc positions pay poorly and academia has its own set of problems. Then wouldn't it be simpler to just reduce the number of available PhD positions to manageable numbers, such that those who do get a PhD are able to get good wages?
>>15356930
I agree. The people who could have led to some advancement in their scientific fields are now helping some rich old fart get even more rich. It is true that it is better for the individual, who receives much more money. But in the long term, it is a net loss for science. Imagine if the Gauss of today was influenced into working for an HFT firm rather into physics research.
Btw, I don't really have anything against physicists. Just wanted to illustrate the point of people in STEM doing jobs unrelated to their degree, which is a global problem. The most simple solution would be to limit the number of positions, but that seems unlikely.
--- 15357352
>>15357035
>However I, like many, am simply waiting for the current academic landscape to collapse due to the weight of its own inefficiencies. It just can't happen fast enough.
what are your predictions for this?
--- 15357443
>>15356875
>Why get a physics PhD in the first place if you wanted to work at a bank or hedge fund
You misunderstand the situation. Physicists can't really choose where they work after a PhD. They tend to take whatever jobs they can get. There is no real market for physicists.
--- 15357494
>>15356625
If they're passionate enough to be willing to take the risks involved then they wouldn't be here asking for advice.
Also you're clearly under 18, why would geology or pharmacy be discouraged on scg? Get some fucking life experience before posting, faggot

>>15356868
Rule of thumb for degrees is AI < Machine Learning < Statistics (and Machine Learning). 
But yeah applied math is the way to go. If you want to hedge your bets go for a Stats and ML type degree (different names in different universities, sometimes in the applied maths faculty sometimes in the compsci one, but you get the idea)
--- 15357497
>>15356868
Employers don't care how applicable your degree is, they care how much of a brainlet filter it its. Pure math is the best if you want to make money.
--- 15357501
Hopefully I'll be finishing my pure math degree in a couple of years and I want to start exploring my options.

Maybe something finance or tech related, but honestly don't know where to start looking. I want to start picking up the skills I'll need to have in order to get a job.

The bad thing is that I'll be in my mid to late 30's when I finish (I changed careers). Europe based btw.

Any advice? Thanks!
--- 15357524
Starting to regret changing field from physics to neuroscience for my PhD desu. I can't wrap my head around all these wet lab techniques and controlling for cofounding variables and statistical methods and the psychology way of doing things. Keeping my fingers crossed they'll let me switch to a supervisor that does more computational work.
--- 15357526
>>15357501
Stats and coding. Some Python, SQL, and R would get you pretty far in finance and tech. Alternatively/additionally operations research, heuristics for optimization is a growing field.
--- 15357574
Stop doomposting you stupid fucks, you are making me insecrue about studying mechanical engineering
--- 15357626
>>15357574
You'll be fine faggot, just don't be retarded and pass your courses
--- 15357652
I wish I had just gone for a comfy public servant position instead of going to university. I just want a safe job where I can chill.
--- 15357849
>>15356206
European and everyone I know in grad school got funding through their workplace, university or a research institution. No need to self-fund
--- 15357898
>>15356246
Plenty but keep in mind it depends on your specialism. Particle physics grads can struggle because their field is oversaturated and their skills are too far from industry and applied physics. That said they can still apply to the non-research jobs and the fields I listed are either experiencing a shortage of physics grads or have multiple hiring rounds a year. You don't even need to be that good for them.
It may be anecdotal, but I keep track of PhDs I've worked with or who went to my institution and the only ones who struggled for employment were looking for a niche postdoc and unwilling to move state/country.
--- 15357914
>>15357326
It's partially bait. Physics research is in a poor place generally but how bad really depends on which field and which country. Varies wildly.

Universities can't reduce PhD numbers because their senior researchers lose so much time to teaching/admin, making the research output dominated by PhD contributions.
--- 15357919
>>15357652
Use you uni degree to skip or fast track to higher up public servant positions. Can still be safe and chill
--- 15357930
>>15357919
I haven't seen any positions as of yet where I could use my master's in thin film physics to land me a position. I'm in Germany, so things are probably different from the US situation. There are very specific requirements and degrees for any position, and most that can remotely use a physics degree require a PhD in a relevant field. I've thought about doing a 2 year apprenticeship for a low tier position, but I'm already in my late 20's so it'd be an uphill battle.
--- 15357940
>>15357494
You don't know what you're talking about. Enjoy having a ratio of thousand software engineers and to one chemist/physicist/biologist in the future.
--- 15357943
>>15357930
Understandable, that does sound more difficult. You might be able to leverage your degree for quick promotions but is unlikely
--- 15357986
>>15357035
>However I think the fundamental issue is how universities are structured.
The issue is that society is structured around capital.
>>15357326
>Agreed. Perhaps the better question to ask is what the hedge fund manager studied/worked as to get to the position he has.
Probably ivy league business.
--- 15358001
>>15357940
The current ratio is already 30:1, and codemonkeys are STILL more in demand. 
It would be incredibly irresponsible to push indecisive people to study something that will give them much worse life prospects. 
Therefore, you are a nigger and a faggot.
--- 15358040
>>15357494
>Rule of thumb for degrees is AI < Machine Learning < Statistics (and Machine Learning).
Ok thanks.
>>15357497
>Employers don't care how applicable your degree is, they care how much of a brainlet filter it its. Pure math is the best if you want to make money.
What kind of employer are we talking about? If finance then maybe you're right. But if I want to find meaningful work applied math will take me further, no? I doubt any lab would hire a student with an Msc in Riemannian geometry.
--- 15358080
>>15358001
>demand demand demand
Completely missing the point I was trying to make. Don't regret when the scientific output of your country stalls when every eligible scientist decides to work as a software engineer etc. Btw this is already happening in many developing countries.
--- 15358100
>>15358080
Your "point" is completely inconsequential.
This is STEM CAREER GENERAL, the "country's scientific output" is completely irrelevant when giving advice to anons about their careers.
--- 15358118
But for reals, if after the engineering degree I get a masters degree the issue solves itself doesn't it?
The problem is a lot of retards finish the 4 years and then try to find a job while completely unqualified to do anything
--- 15358187
>>15358080
There are way more science PhDs than science research positions. If a country's research output is stalling it's because they haven't invested enough into making actual research jobs. More people getting a PhD won't help this, there's already enough willing to become scientists, they simply go elsewhere because there aren't enough science jobs.
--- 15358217
>>15358080
I'd argue that the science output would grow if less people did a PhD. It's much easier to concentrate on your work if you don't have to constantly worry about your next years of employment.
--- 15358244
>>15357193
only niche areas in any traditional engineering discipline are actually in demand, basic bitch generic EE or ME is never in demand
--- 15358254
>>15358118
Companies don't actually care as much about technical skills as they care about soft skills and experience. They're probably just gonna vet you anyways.
--- 15358271
>>15358254
>soft skills
I can speak with people
> experience
My university makes us work in companies during last year and the last year project can actually be produced if financed so you can get out of uni with already something on your cv
>They're probably just gonna vet you anyways
I don't know what the fuck this means.
--- 15358291
>>15358271
>I don't know what the fuck this means.
They take you to a vet (animal doctor, cheaper than people doctor), do a basic health checkup, give you missing vaccinations and install a microchip.
--- 15358297
>>15358271
vet (third-person singular simple present vets, present participle vetting, simple past and past participle vetted). To thoroughly check or investigate particularly with regard to providing formal approval.
--- 15358309
>>15358291
Oh that makes sense, thanks
--- 15358325
>>15357574
>mechanical engineering
He fell for the ME meme.
--- 15358362
I need some advice. I am a physics major in America, need 5 classes left to graduate, in other words this semester plus 1 more class over the summer. I had been doing excellently in my classes until last semester where I collapsed randomly, unable to care seemingly. The semester was so bad it dropped me from a 3.8 GPA to a 3.26. I should note these were not in physics, as that semester I was taking philosophy electives mostly. I figured it was an aberration, but it happened again. Going strong until post-spring break I just could not seem to focus or do work. At this point my best case scenario is 2 Bs, 1 C, and 1 F. (granted, none of these are major's core classes -- I got an A in all of those (done with my physics requirements, now doing electives and stuff like state government)). More likely is 2 Fs and 2 Cs. 
Most likely this is some mental stump, something akin to depression or burnout. I have been considering withdrawing for a semester, and continuing next Spring, and in the meantime getting a retail job or something and focusing on other side interests I have (such as learning languages, reading interesting books, learning math and CS stuff). Ultimately I want to finish my BS, and go for at least a masters. I would think 4 Ws looks better than two consecutive shitty semesters. The main thing standing in the way is the shame I would feel, mainly with respect to my parents as they have been so supporting (in addition to paying), and with high expectations. It more or less feels like a betrayal of their trust. Additionally, they live in Europe, and the plan had been that I would do my graduate school over there starting next year in the fall. I just feel terrible having to tell them this would have to be canceled, and that recently every time they asked me how things are going, and that I responded with "fine", it was a lie.
--- 15358459
>>15358362
Getting some bad grades isn't the end of the world. It's a prominent part of your current life so it'll feel important but in time you'll see it's not worth getting all twisted up over. Setbacks are a part of life, and it might even be healthy to come to terms with not being all perfect all the time. That said, it's a good idea to try and get your shit together, not least because you'll restore your confidence.

I would recommend not withdrawing unless you really can't avoid it. You'll just kick the can down a road and it'll be a lot of hassle for you. It's hard for me to articulate but things generally follow a certain path and once you stray from it you will feel out of place/sync and it'll take a bit of mental effort to get everything going again. And dropping out for a semester is probably more to explain than some crappy philosophy grades.
--- 15358460
>>15358362
Damn sounds tuff.
--- 15358461
>>15358362
How do you get an F in a non-STEM class? Literally impossible (unless you got politically incorrect or something). In any case stop feeling bad for yourself and finish your degree.
--- 15358589
>>15357526

Cheers, I appreciate it. Could you expand a little bit more on that? Share any more details or ideas? Thanks.
--- 15358727
>>15358461
I just could not be bothered to do any work. As for this semester, it is actually 3 STEM classes, and 1 meme class.
>>15358459
Right, so a realistic scenario is 2 Fs and 2 Cs at this point. That lowers me to below a 3.0 (hence filtering me out of graduate school). In addition, I will have to stay for next Fall, and possibly spring depending on whether they offer the classes I need to graduate (stat minor).
--- 15358737
>>15357914
Don't know why you're saying my post is bait but it isn't. I really did go to those universities, and while there I of course got to know quite a lot of people with similar career aspirations. The people who got their own research groups at a university I could count with one hand. Partially that's of course affected by the fact that they're fairly early in their careers, but even so, the vast majority ended up getting out of science sooner or later. 

There's another important aspect to this, which is that university name is not everything, especially at the research level. It does help in some ways, but it would be foolish to assume that someone from MIT is a godly genius and always better (in skills or prospects) than someone from Meme State University.

t. >>15357103
--- 15358748
>>15358727
Just do the work retard you are basically self sabotaging.
--- 15358767
>>15358727
Can you not wothdraw on a class by class basis? Just withdraw from the ones you're going to fail and retake them in the summer, a 3 class summer load isn't too bad, a sub 3 GPA will effectively eliminate you from any graduate school that isn't a scam. 

But isn't it past the withdraw deadline anyway?
--- 15358773
>>15358767
It's not past the withdraw from the university deadline. I have no drops remaining (used them during COVID).
--- 15358786
>>15358727
>>15358748
>you are basically self sabotaging
This. It sounds like you have some sort of transient self-esteem issue and this sometimes leads to self-harm (in your case, flunking your classes). You pity yourself then do some harm to yourself which leads you to pity yourself some more, etc. It's a quite common psychological phenomenon. The ideal way is to realize what it all is and simply stop doing the harm part while simultaneously picking yourself up. This may not be very popular on this board but perhaps try praying. Where in Europe are you from? This self-harm shit is quite popular amongst Easterners.
--- 15358847
>>15358786
Britain.
I won't dispute the self-sabotage claim, but in this case isn't it already done? Why is it less sabotage-y to withdraw and take another semester off, then returning while still having a mildly respectable GPA instead of the shitshow it's going to be after this semester?
--- 15358856
Are you happy with your career choice ?
--- 15358863
>>15358856
I've realized happiness was never an option.
--- 15358870
>>15358847
>the shitshow it's going to be after this semester
How do you know it's going to be a shitshow after this semester? You gotta try your best to finish strong if you can't withdraw and see how you feel by the end of the current semester. How's your mental health anyway? Are you going out, do you have friends you hang out with? Depression is normally treated with SSRIs so you may want to see your school psych but as a good student you have no reason to be depressed imo.
--- 15358874
>>15357574
Go electrical engineering or industrial engineering
--- 15358895
>>15352962
>not even my college's career counselors
Career counselors are to industry professionals as gym teachers are to pro athletes.
Counselors are invariably stupid. They become counselors because they can't hack it anywhere else.
--- 15358907
>>15358874
But I like physics and thermodynamics and motors and producing mechanical force....
--- 15358919
>>15358870
>How do you know it's going to be a shitshow after this semester?
Because I can calculate what my grade is right now, and take into account what is said in the syllabus (dropped HWs, curves etc.). When I said B B C F was the absolute _best_ case, it really is.
>How's your mental health anyway? Are you going out, do you have friends you hang out with? Depression is normally treated with SSRIs so you may want to see your school psych but as a good student you have no reason to be depressed imo.
Not too great, but nothing I haven't recovered from in the past. I don't have much of a social life, but I have always been a sort of autist-schizo. I have about 2 friends I hang out with on occasion, and acquaintances from classes and basketball courts.
--- 15358987
>>15358362
It's fine anon, especially since you're (ostensibly) european, where it's normal to not finish "on time". No need to be ashamed as long as you complete it.

>>15358856
Yes, I can work remotely when I want and shitpost on company time

>>15358589
A lot of these overlap or go by different names, operations research scientist is sometimes just called data scientist for example. Or some jobs will be described as "systems engineer" but be primarily about optimization algorithms. 

>Data Analyst & Data Scientist
 Broad field and lots of overlap, but generally ranges from making dashboards with data visualizations to creating predictive models based on historical data. Python + SQL + Stats.

>Actuary & Risk Analyst
Not always the same, but similar enough. Basically using math to measure risk for insurance (typically) but also financial investments in general. Definitely want to brush up on statistics for this one, maybe some R too. Probably a good idea to take an economics/finance elective as well.

>Optimization Engineer 
Varies a lot and often goes by different names (e.g. Operations Research Scientist), ranges from algos and operations research to design optimization of structures/topologies etc. The guys I know in this field /adjacent fields use Java/Scala on the more software heavy side of things, but I don't know for sure what's most widely used.

Banks and investment firms are a good place to look, but also aerospace and logistics companies. For Data Science/Analytics it's basically any company you want, everyone hires them these days or uses it as a catch-all term for a bunch of other positions.
--- 15359009
>>15358919
>Because I can calculate what my grade is right now, and take into account what is said in the syllabus (dropped HWs, curves etc.). When I said B B C F was the absolute _best_ case, it really is.
Ok can you withdraw? If yes then do it (for the two bad classes at least; if you feel like you can handle one or two classes that'd be nice and it would take some workload off of you in the next semesters). If you can't then do your best (obviously) and use the summer to work on yourself.
>>15358987
>It's fine anon, especially since you're (ostensibly) european, where it's normal to not finish "on time". No need to be ashamed as long as you complete it.
Aren't bachelors 4 years in the US instead of the regular 3?
--- 15359013
>>15358987

Thanks again, I know this is personal, but do you think it's worth to pick up the skills to aim for the highest paying kind of jobs? or do the long hours/stress make it not worth it in the end?

I'd like to get a remote job down the line, but wouldn't mind moving again to a big city and put long hours for a while if the pay is right. Any opinions on this? Cheers.
--- 15359015
>>15359009
>Aren't bachelors 4 years in the US instead of the regular 3?
Yes, but they graduate high school a year before most Europeans do. So in Europe that 1st year of college becomes the last year of high school instead.

What I was referring to was how many Europeans spend for example 4 years on a 3 year degree by taking gap years, internships, switching majors, etc.
--- 15359033
>>15359013
It really depends anon, but salary and hours aside, it's still a good idea to pick up skills that give you the flexibility to choose. Opening up more career options for yourself doesn't hurt.
--- 15359058
>>15359015
>Yes, but they graduate high school a year before most Europeans do.
No, it's 18 afaik.
>What I was referring to was how many Europeans spend for example 4 years on a 3 year degree by taking gap years, internships, switching majors, etc.
Not sure about that. Switching majors is probably easier in the US (unis love it since you end up spending more). In public schools in Europe it would definitely be more of a hassle. As for gap years I don't know if they're that popular here.
--- 15359102
>>15359058
19 in Scandinavia, Finland, and parts of Germany at least, where they have 3 year bachelors. Spain also does 18, but their bachelor degrees are 4 years. 
And you're right it's easier to switch in the US, but that's why it's more socially acceptable to be delayed in your studies. Most of my peers spent 6-7 years on their bachelors and masters combined, either by being behind on their studies, taking gap years or switching programs.
--- 15359169
>>15352089
Medicine is a meme in non 1st world countries because they're actually ran by cartels. If you manage to get in as a mediocre student the path ahead is going to be very difficult. It's an extra 5 years of school and because you're an immigrant without any connections, finding a residency spot will be hardest thing to do and it's a requirement to finish your degree. Resident doctors get paid less than min wage so you'll start your actual career in your early-mid 30s and will make less than a 23yo engineer straight out of college in your lifetime because of the extra school/debt you've compounded over the years.
--- 15359177
>>15357898
How about nuclear physics?
--- 15359272
hello once i graduate from bachelor math what do?
--- 15359324
>>15359272
See previous posts ITT
--- 15359394
>>15358987
>>15359009
Thanks guys. I will think about what was said.
--- 15359453
>>15359169
Thanks man, I was under the same impression and feeling. Those cunts on the archives from 2015 and earlier, here and in other forums, were all right.

That settles it, fair enough.
--- 15359574
>>15358856
could be better, could be worse. id probably enjoy it a lot more if i didnt have so much debt over my head.
--- 15359799
>>15358856
I do something I actually enjoy (though I often don't realise that until I take a holiday or break).
Doesn't pay the best, nor have the lightest workload and honestly it's a lot of stress but I do like it. So I'm content with my job and think I would be much less happy with the soulless finance jobs my peers filtered into
--- 15359860
Since the profession is shilled here so much:
What do I need to know if I want to become a patent attourney? What are the inverviews like? What do I need to read up on before applying? What do I expect if I'm accepted?
--- 15359871
>>15359177
Plasma and fusion people are doing great and it's a good time to start because by the time you need a job, the current fusion labs should be working and the new generation will be in design/building. Unless governments see that NIF and ITER are going nowhere and pull all funding so there is that to worry about.

For fission nuclear physics, general radioactivity, heavy nuclei and nuclei under extreme conditions... The impression I get is that things are fine, the field isn't rapidly changing, growing or shrinking and governments are pretty regular with funding it. Government and defence are regular employers for obvious reasons. Research institutions with accelerator and neutron sources or reactors are also big employers. For industry jobs outside of the obvious nuclear there is fabrication of nuclear generators for space craft and fabrication of medical or other radioisotopes, both normally done in research institutes anyway. You also have the option of going into medicine and training to be a radiotherapy technician or specialist, same for tomography and radiology. There aren't a huge number of research jobs nor universities which do experimental nuclear physics research but those that do exist are stable and not hugely competitive since it's seen as a more boring and less popular branch of physics.
--- 15359880
Thoughts on Technical Physics undergrad? (major Polish uni)
From the syllabus it seems like it's the standard physics theories mixed with some computer science and mechanics
--- 15359901
>>15359871
>those that do exist are stable and not hugely competitive since it's seen as a more boring and less popular branch of physics.
Really? What's seen as cool these days? Dark matter?
--- 15359967
>>15359860
Find a big national/international place like the EPO or IPO or equivalent. There are smaller firms but the big national ones are the most likely to employ scientists. They will employ you as a patent inspector, posts go up multiple times a year. As an inspector you don't work on the legal side. Instead you'll look at a patent applications, I'll use the example of a new electrical amplifier. From the application you'll need to judge will this amplifier work, is the physics correct, does it bring something new and commercially important to the industry, does it infringe on existing patents and is it likely to be infringed upon. Essentially use your technical knowledge do give the office all the needed information to decide if it is worth spending money defending and enforcing the new patent.

Given that, what a patent office want is someone with technical knowledge of a field, or the skills to get to grips with it quickly. They generally take masters students and assign them a technical area to specialise in. Research skills are a plus since checking if a new invention is derivative is much like a literature search. You'll need an eye for detail, paperwork, writing up and presenting findings and good communication with the clients who submit applications and with patent attorneys.
Interviews normally have multiple rounds, a technical one then a personal one. 
Worth reading up on the role of an inspector, as well as enough to show you're familiar with a branch of tech and the innovations in it to at least a basic level.

Once you get it expect a lot of training about the legal stuff and your specialist field. You'll also visit labs and conferences to keep up to date on the tech. The rest of the job is just endless meetings, paperwork and reading.
--- 15359980
>>15352440
I don't really buy this. Looking at the job market it seems like a physics BS is one of the most versatile ways to go. I only ever hear about meches and eleces complaining about shit wages and oversaturation.
--- 15360003
>>15359901
Astro and particle have have always been super popular, particle is incredibly oversubscribed and still growing. Theory is also always weirdly popular and string/dark matter within that especially so.

The new kids on the block are quantum computing and 2D materials. Quantum is huge because of massive investment right now but I'm convinced the bubble will pop before long.
Five/ten years ago I would have included graphene but that's a dying field and the people there have fled to other 2d materials.
--- 15360005
>>15352440
>If you want to be a physicist understand that you will have to go for a PhD
Not true. If you got a bachelor you can work in finance for good money.
--- 15360225
>>15359980
>>15360005
This seems like a US thing to me, never seen or heard this happening here in mainland Europe.
--- 15360249
>>15360225
Any quant graduate program really. Also see >>15356888.
--- 15360264
>>15360249
That's for a graduate program though, which would make sense. It's going directly into industry like >>15359980 that seems off to me
--- 15360391
>>15356037
that's because you live in india.
Engineers don't get hired in America. Every meche with a high paying job is either a boomer or a millennial with nepotism. There is no engineering industry in this country and what little work there is going to be taken over by outsourcing and diversity hires.
Grabbing a cs, physics or math bs is unironically a smarter move than an engineering bs.