Reviewing your career options

Whether you’ve just graduated or you have several years’ work experience under your belt, you will spend a large amount of your life at work trying to ensure that you actually enjoy your job.

If you are serious about changing your career you will need to spend quality time thinking about what career you may want to pursue, whether further study is right for you and exploring the career possibilities out there.

Whatever you decide, bear in mind that a physics qualification can lead to a truly fascinating array of career options, from space technology to finance, and engineering to the world of museums.

The advice that follows will be most relevant to recent graduates. If that’s not you, the IOP offers members The Physicist’s Guide to Changing Your Career and the New Directions booklet (member sign in required). To request hard copies or large print versions of these booklets, email members.careers@iop.org. Both have a wealth of information specifically for mid-career job-switchers. But bear in mind that the fundamentals of job-seeking are the same whatever stage you are in your career … so why not read on?

What would suit you?
First of all, think about what you really want to do – what, in an ideal world, would you be doing career-wise? What were your childhood ambitions? What would make you feel fulfilled? If your ambitions involve further study, you’ll need to think whether you want to take a degree by research or by instruction. If you’re unsure, consider what you liked and what you didn’t like about your undergraduate or postgraduate degree: was it the pure research or lectures? You’ll also need to consider how your studies would be financed, what class of degree you’re likely to need and which institutions offer the course you’re after.

Your ideal job
Further study is one thing, but if you’re already in the world of work, or itching to get into it, there are plenty of things to consider. What kind of person are you? What drives you? Where would you fit in? Think a little about your broader personal qualities. Consider the following:

Your interests
What are you interested in – academic pursuits, high culture, current affairs, sports? An interest in politics and current affairs led Mike Long to become a speechwriter while for James Acton it was a springboard into international security.

Your personality
Are you ambitious and competitive, or quiet and creative? Enthusiastic and original or practical and steady?

Social skills
How would you describe yourself - a good mixer, influential, a leader, a team-player? Or do you prefer to work alone?

Motivation
What about your levels of motivation? Are you ambitious? A real go-getter or the cautious type? Are you entrepreneurial, a promoter of change, or a “safe pair of hands”?

These are exactly the kind of personal qualities employers will be measuring you by, so take a little time and make a mind-map of adjectives that apply to you. It works well to do this exercise with a friend, and compare results.

Next, think about more practical issues:

• Would you be happiest in the public or private sectors? What about an academic setting or an NGO?
• North/South – is location an issue? Would you be willing to move location to get a job? Would you consider working overseas? There’s a big difference between working somewhere like the US and a developing country like India. How would you cope with culture shock? Life in a remote observatory can be fascinating for some – a real turn off for others.
• Should the organisation be big or small? A multi-national or a start-up?
• Do you want to work full-time or part-time?
• Would you consider contract work, consultancy or freelance?

Armed with this information, you’ll have a better idea of the kinds of jobs that would suit you. The next step is to talk to people. If you’re a recent graduate, you could contact your university careers service, but the more thought you’ve given to the issues above, the more they’ll be able to help you and the more use you’ll be able to make of their resources. If you really feel at sea, you could try talking to a qualified career counsellor or take a career-orientated psychometric test such as Morrisby or MBTI. These tests can be quite expense, so if you want a taster type in ‘free MBTI test’ in to a search engine.

If you know someone working in one of the fields you’re interested in, ask them out for a coffee and a chat about their job. It’s always useful to get an insider’s view, but do remember that their opinion may be subjective. Questions, that you may ask them include: what motivates them in their job, what fulfils them and what aspect of their job they least enjoy.

Finding a job
If you know the kind of job you want, but don’t know which organisations offer it, try doing Google searches or reading a specialist “trade” magazine to find out more. Trade magazines will have job sections, too, and may advertise events or forums where you could network to find a job (see our section on networking). Look in Physics World and the New Scientist.

For more information on magazines and newspapers that carry job ads, go to the Sources of Vacancies page.

Of course, more and more jobs nowadays are advertised on the web. Check out the IOP’s own job site brightrecruits or these alternative job sites.

If you have a clear idea of the companies you’d like to work for, it’s a good idea to send off a few speculative CVs. Find out the name of the Chief Executive and write to him or her. (Don’t be tempted to write to the HR department - they don’t have the power to hire people.) You have nothing to lose, and your initiative will probably be admired.

The Milk Round
It usually takes place in spring or autumn, when blue chip organisations visit university campuses to recruit students in their third year. Be warned that the Milk Round can be highly competitive. But whether you get a job out of it or not, it’s good practice for future interview situations and you’ll be able to ask questions and find out more about the companies and what they’re looking for.

Your university careers service will provide lists of vacancies with small local employers, too.

Recruitment Agencies
You could sign up with a specialist recruitment agency for scientists such as CAMCO Scientific CK Science or Jobs in Science

You’ll be assigned a recruitment consultant who will be able to talk through your options and give advice, and, with luck, put you forward for upcoming vacancies they have on their books. Agencies can be a great hassle-free way of finding a job, but be aware that sometimes the advice they give can be slanted towards jobs they happen to have on their books rather than jobs that will ultimately suit you.

And finally …
Think outside the box. A physics degree needn’t necessarily lead to a career in IT, finance or engineering. Once a physicist is a series of case studies that includes profiles of physicists who have made some unlikely career moves, from politicians to jazz musicians.