How Do I Get Physics Work Experience?

People with backgrounds in physics work in academia, in manufacturing and engineering positions, and also might perform research for private and public organizations. To get physics work experience, you first need to consider your level of qualification in terms of education and previous work experience. For example, a gifted physics student in college who has little in the way of work experience might find that he or she is not eligible for jobs that graduate astrophysics students apply for. A person who wants to get physics work experience should also become familiar with different employment models, such as internships as opposed to casual work placement.

It's often difficult to get good physics work experience without first enrolling in academic programs. Those interested in eventually getting some on-the-job training in the field of physics should apply to undergraduate or graduate programs. When applying for undergraduate programs, it is normally okay not to have a specific focus, though admissions boards for master's and doctorate programs almost always prefer applicants who already have understandings of their fields and who already know which issues they would like to study.

A person who wants physics work experience should determine if he or she would like to participate in an internship or in casual work placement. When students get internships, they normally have a number of highly structured work tasks and time frames. Internships are quite similar to regular jobs, except participants might receive academic credit instead of monetary payment, though in some cases, graduate programs might consider internship work to be work that goes toward paying tuition. In most cases, to get a physics internship, it is essential to have a strong academic background in a related field, references from instructors, and a curriculum vitae (CV) that shows you have demonstrated essential skills and grasp of relevant knowledge.

An individual who gets physics work experience through casual work placement, on the other hand, might find that he or she only is needed for a short period of time. These aspiring physicists might act as research assistants for the duration of a project. Casual physics work experience tends to be more loosely structured than internship experience and may not always result in pay or academic credit, though it can improve your resume or CV.