Graduate Careers Australia
Physics
Finding A Job
Will I Get a Job?
While employment opportunities for physicists can vary from year to year and according to different regions, they are nevertheless quite promising. The number of advertised jobs for which a degree or diploma in Physics or Applied Physics is a requirement has increased steadily over the past few years. In 2001, 78.3 per cent of physics bachelor degree graduates were in full-time employment, while 100 per cent of those with a graduate certificate or diploma were in full-time work, and 83 per cent of those with a PhD were working full-time. In 2003 the job market figures for physics students showed that competition for a relatively stable level of jobs was heightening - resulting in a greater need for candidates to display transferrable and generic skills, as well as areas of specialisation.
Who Recruits Physicists?
One of the major recruiters of physicists in Australia is the Commonwealth Government, and agencies such as the CSIRO www.csiro.au
, Bureau of Meteorology www.bom.gov.au
, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) www.ansto.gov.au
and the Defence Department www.defence.gov.au
provide many opportunities each year. The Higher Education sector also offers teaching, research and technical positions, while private sector positions can be broadly categorised into management/sales or other areas such as cooperative research. Secondary schools also stipulate physics as a prerequisite for a range of teaching positions; meanwhile some physicists who studied in Australia will take up research positions overseas.
Many opportunities are not advertised through general career vacancy channels (newspapers, job boards and the like). These include those offered by the Australian Institute of Physics (AIP) www.aip.org.au/jobs.php
and the Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine www.acpsem.org.au
, which are promoted via their website and professional journals; the Australian Research Council (ARC) www.arc.gov.au
also offers many opportunities each year through its own channels. Additionally, some firms recruit on campus and do not advertise their positions in national or local newspapers; this is the case for example in optoelectronics.
Check out the links to professional bodies in your field of interest and location, by performing a search on http://jobguide.dest.gov.au
How Much Will I Be Paid?
Starting salaries data is collected each year by GCA as part of the Graduate Destination Survey, the annual survey of graduates from all Australian universities four months after the completion of their studies. The findings of this research are collated and reproduced in a series of reports, as well as being made available on the internet. Further information about salary trends is available online at www.gradsonline.com.au
, which looks at gender and state salary and employment levels, as well as comparing physical science salaries with other study areas.
What Can I Do to Find a Job?
As with any area of employment, initiative is the key to finding a position. Talk to your university faculty or Careers Service (see Campus Contacts
) about contacting people in the field, and remember that networking is an ongoing, vital part of finding a job; visit government laboratories or research centres and talk with physicists about their work. You should also join professional associations, not merely because it will 'look good on your résumé' but in order to further network and keep up to date with developments in the field, not to mention finding out about job vacancies which are not advertised anywhere else.
It is also important to ensure you concentrate on developing your oral and written communication skills, and the more experience you have with tools, electronics, machinery and computing, the better. Lastly, become familiar with the job application process for government jobs at all levels - federal, state and local. Be prepared to say why you believe you are the person best fitted for the job.
How Do I Find Work Experience?
Again, your first port of call should be your university's Careers Service, and/or your faculty or department, as employers offering work experience opportunities will often go through either of these channels; industrial placements may also be offered as part of your course of study. You can also check out some opportunities online - the Graduate Opportunities career search - www.graduateopportunities.com
and SEEK job search - www.seek.com.au
both contain listings for opportunities in Australia.
You should also have a browse through the websites of the University of Adelaide Physics Department - www.chemphys.adelaide.edu.au/physics
- and the Australian Institute of Physics www.aip.org.au
.
What About Scholarships and Awards
The JASON (Joint Academic Scholarships Online Network) website www.jason.unimelb.edu.au
is a searchable database of scholarships and awards in Australia. Other universities' Physics Departments are useful too - find a full list of Australian and New Zealand university websites under Campus Contacts
.
Do Postgraduate and Further Studies Lead to Better Job Opportunities?
Many job advertisements in the national/major newspapers for physicists call for an honours degree or a postgraduate qualification, while jobs which require only an ordinary degree or diploma in physics are mainly to be found in the local press. Further training or study is also considered important to a range of positions suited to physics graduates, such as teaching in secondary schools, or where a higher degree qualification is stated or implied in the advertisement.
|
