Do you wish to know the "how" and "why" behind the workings of the things around you?

Are you excited by the natural phenomena of daily experience:

• gravity, light, stars, storms, earthquakes

and modern devices such as:

• computers, lasers, rockets

Would you like to feel the joy:

• of discovery
• of contributing to the world's knowledge
• of performing new experiments
• of establishing fundamental theories?

If so, then maybe physics is for you!

Physics has the reputation of being a difficult subject to master, but like many challenging things in life, leads to many satisfying rewards. A degree in physics leaves one poised to enter many professions that include, but are not limited to, traditional physics. The discipline of physics teaches skills that are transferable to those professions. These transferable skills include: mathematical modeling, problem solving, designing experiments, interpretation of experimental data, reflecting on answers before trusting them, research experience, laboratory technique, and communication skills.

Physics is the most basic and fundamental of all the sciences. Physicists want to REALLY understand how things work, in every detail and at the deepest level. This includes everything from elementary particles, to nuclei, atoms, molecules, macromolecules, living cells, solids, liquids, gases, plasmas, living organisms, the human brain, complex systems, supercomputers, the atmosphere, planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe itself.

Some of the main fields of physics include:

• acoustics, astrophysics, atmospheric and space physics, atomic and molecular physics
• biophysics, condensed matter physics, cryogenics, electrodynamics
• fluid mechanics and aerodynamics, general relativity and other gravity theory
• geophysics, medical physics, nuclear physics, optics and quantum optics, particle physics
• plasma physics, quantum field theory, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics

Physics is so basic a subject that there is scarcely a single area of modern life which is not affected by physics.

Physicists invented the transistor, which has led to the development of integrated circuits and computers. They invented nuclear energy and discovered superconductivity. They are the creators of Relativity Theory and Quantum Mechanics. Their theories explain gravitation, nuclear reactions, chemical reactions, energy transfers, light and radiation, the forms of matter, and all the processes and interactions that we witness every day. Physical theories are the basis of present scientific knowledge, and physicists are the scientists that develop physical theory.

For more information on important applications of physics for the benefit of society, try the AIP Physics Success Stories.

If you enjoy learning and want to REALLY understand things (everything!), and you like mathematics or computers or experiments, then you should consider becoming a physicist. You will find the subject fascinating. The ideas themselves will motivate you to study, and learning will become an enjoyable adventure. However, like anything that is worth being proud of, it is also a lot of work, often alone with the ideas, and often as part of a dedicated team with professors, beginning students, advanced students, industrial collaborators, etc.

The most famous scientists, such as Einstein, Feynman, and Newton, were physicists. Physicists are the most highly trained scientists, versed in mathematics, computer programming, and the design of complex instruments. As such, they are also the most versatile scientists, able to easily cross boundaries into other disciplines such as chemistry, biology, medicine, earth and planetary sciences, etc. There are biophysicists, geophysicists, astrophysicists, etc. When one has a deep understanding of nature, it is easy to apply that understanding to a variety of areas. When new applications and devices are developed, physicists and a knowledge of physics are usually required.

As further proof that there is significant demand for physicists in Canadian industry, our department offers a series of Co-operative Education programs, which will place students on work terms with employers as an integrated part of their undergraduate study program. For more information on these programs, see our Co-op web site.

Physicists end up in all sorts of interesting jobs and are virtually never unemployed, because of their broad training and adaptability. In particular they are needed at the start of new technologies and machines, or in particularly challenging projectes such as space missions, remote explorations, and failure assessment.

As a working physicist you may find yourself: trying to predict the stock market on Wall Street, testing satellites for space missions, developing new materials for industry, developing new electronic devices and components, doing medical physics in a hospital, teaching the next generation of physicists in a high school, trying to predict the next major earthquakes to hit San Francisco or Japan, developing flight simulation software, optimizing industrial manufacturing or transformation processes, developing a new measurement instrument, performing materials testing and characterization for special applications, launching a new software company or product, performing urban planning and optimization, etc.

There is a shortage of physicists in almost all parts of Canada, and this situation will become even more acute in the next decade.

Studies and statistics on the employment of Canadian physics graduates of all levels confirm that physicists experience very low levels of unemployment. One reason appears to be that they find many paths to a fulfilling career available to them, and not just those paths to the traditional physics related workplace. An AIP study focused on M.Sc. recipients has reached a similar conclusion. Regardless of where physicists find themselves working, they value their educational experience highly, as has been shown by both this study and the aforementioned AIP study. Several authors have argued convincingly that physicists are able to contribute the skills and/or modes of thought provided by their physics education to areas not normally associated with physics. Our own results show that physicists are also well paid, but we are not able to make comparisons between the salaries of physicists and that of those associated with related scientific disciplines in Canada. However, American data show that physicists in the United States are the best paid among those in the physical and natural sciences in that country which provides objective confirmation of the high value placed on their education by physicists themselves.

However, similar trends have been identified elsewhere, and they have been the subject of much discussion. ``Physicists tend to ....approach an application in terms of a few physical principles that can integrate and synthesize what often appear as unrelated aspects of a problem.'' (John Rigden in the Industrial Physicist.) ``.....physicists have a universal goal of understanding deeply whatever they are studying......Professionals from other disciplines, by contrast, do not share this goal...'' (Joseph Pimbley in Physics Today.) ``Employers are willing to pay premium salaries to gain the problem-solving skills physicists are able to apply to their companies' needs.'' (Brian Schwartz in APS News.) These are clearly subjective opinions but they invite further study into the role of physicists in non-physics related places of employment.

Our findings have implications for the education of physicists. If 40% of physics graduates find themselves using their physics background, but not in a physics related job environment, perhaps more attention should be given in their education to the application of the reasoning processes of physics to non-physics applications. Perhaps physicists could be even better prepared to integrate themselves into those non-science environments to which they bring their unique perspectives.

Although physics undoubtedly attracts individuals who enjoy problem solving and who seek deep understanding not only of nature but of any problem to which they wish to apply themselves, the value of such individuals to society is nurtured by their exposure to the rigour of a traditional post-secondary physics education at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Joseph Pimbley summarizes ``Four decades ago, a liberal arts education was thought to prepare one well for any professional endeavour.....Physics is the liberal arts education for a technological society''. We strongly recommend physics as a choice for post-secondary education to any student.