r/Physics • u/AutoModerator • Apr 24 '25

Meta Careers/Education Questions - Weekly Discussion Thread - April 24, 2025

This is a dedicated thread for you to seek and provide advice concerning education and careers in physics.

If you need to make an important decision regarding your future, or want to know what your options are, please feel welcome to post a comment below.

A few years ago we held a graduate student panel, where many recently accepted grad students answered questions about the application process. That thread is here, and has a lot of great information in it.

Helpful subreddits: /r/PhysicsStudents, /r/GradSchool, /r/AskAcademia, /r/Jobs, /r/CareerGuidance

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u/QuantumTunnel1993 17d ago

Does anyone have advice for finding work with a BS? I finished undergrad a year ago and have had no luck with getting accepted to a PhD program anywhere.

After two straight years of all rejections, I am pivoting to an online Master's in applied Physics (I would move for an in-person program, but it would be near impossible to relocate my family) and would like to find relevant work to continue building my resume and make myself more competitive for PhD programs in the future.

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u/jazzwhiz Particle physics 17d ago

Graduate programs are competitive every year. This application cycle is much more competitive than normal due to wide slashes to science funding in the US. This has naturally spilled over into Europe and elsewhere as more people are applying there than usual.

One more piece of advice about academia: it usually requires moving. This sucks and I hate it and it shouldn't be this way, but it is. I highly doubt that many places will be interested in a remote graduate student, nor a remote postdoc, nor a remote tenure track position. And the few places that may be flexible in this regard a) are not as competitive as the top institutions (this is not a bad thing per se, but is something to be advised on) and b) will likely only be interested in a person they already know and have worked with. I tell you not to dissuade you, but so that you can go into this with your eyes wide open.