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It's Never Too Early to Start Exploring Career Options

By: M. J. Wright, Physics Professor and Department Chair, Adelphi University

Some students seem to have everything worked out: what they’re going to study, where they’re going to work, which city they’re going to live in. For others, the idea of choosing a career path is daunting—an impossible task to save for some time far in the future. Trust me, after mentoring countless students over the years, the reality is somewhere in between. The training you receive as a physics major prepares you for an unlimited number of careers. That’s both kind of exciting and kind of scary. How do you decide what to do with so many different possibilities? 

You have to get started early and explore. It’s much like studying for a physics exam—the sooner you start trying things out and learning, the better the exam will go. Meanwhile, those who wait until the last minute may struggle and not achieve their best potential. So, too, with your career search. Dive in early. I promise it will be more fun than studying for that physics exam.

Here are some simple ideas to help you get started with exploring career options, beginning with the easiest.

• After class, talk to your professors (and not just your full-time professors) about what they do and how they made their career decisions. 
• At gatherings, talk to your friends, neighbors, aunts, uncles, and other family about what they do. Trust me, your family members will be eager to give you advice.
• Watch people talk about their careers on the internet, TikTok, and YouTube.
• Participate in the wonderful local career events put on by the physics club or career center at your university.
• Attend national career events put on by SPS or the American Physical Society (APS). The next Physics and Astronomy Congress, hosted by SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma, takes place in 2025 in Denver, Colorado, and it’s going to be amazing. Come see me dress up in a full-body shark costume and give my “Be a Shark” career networking workshop!

Attending workshops and talking with other people is a great way to learn about careers. But in my opinion, the best way to learn is to do. Here are some ideas for opportunities to learn by doing:

• Get involved in a research project at your school, or apply for National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates, Department of Energy Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships, or similar opportunities. Apply even if you’re still early in your school journey. I like my research students to start early so they can work with me for a while.
• Explore your neighborhood for cool places! Is there a makerspace in your community? How about at your school? Visit and check it out. 
• Make something! Try building something, coding up a new software company, writing a book, or starting a rock band. You may fall short of your goals, and that’s okay. In the process, the skills you develop and your experiences will help move your career forward. 
• Don’t be afraid to do something different. One of my best summers as a college student was spent as a camp counselor at a YMCA summer camp for kids. The experience taught me how to better interact with people and exposed me to so many different ways of thinking. The loose network I developed and the conversations I had then still have meaningful impacts nearly 30 years later.

As physicists and astronomers, we find that data helps us make good decisions. The more data we have, the better our decisions will be. So get involved, start thinking about careers as early as possible, and learn all about the opportunities that are out there.

Find Hands-On Experiences

• Department of Energy Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULIs): science.osti.gov/wdts/suli

• NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs): nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu

• SPS Jobs, Internship Listings: jobs.spsnational.org/jobseekers/internships

• SPS Summer Internship Program: spsnational.org/programs/internships