newma

Any thoughts on job prospects for bs in physics or math? I read some articles, and talked to dept chairs at competitive, but not top, liberal arts schools and they say everyone that wants a job get a job. On the other hand, I have read many posts from people with a bs in phys or math that can't find a job at all and regret their major. Any comments?

Lemaitre1

I think students who earn a bs or ba in Physics or Math have clearly demonstrated superior intellect and that usually makes them very employable is some capacity. However the number of jobs in Physics and Math themselves are somewhat limited which means that most Physics and Math majors have little trouble finding employment in a wide range of fields but few actually work as physicists or mathematicians.

Blobof

In either case, with a BS, what you get is not a specific job training but problem solving skills and the ability to think abstractly. The kind of jobs you can get with those involve number crunching and some programming. Thus, the most useful courses in that sense are statistics, computer science and applied math. The theoretical foundation and pure math courses are still useful, but to get the most out of just a BS in physics or math, you want to take a wide variety of applied courses. If you stick to pure math or theoretical physics, it will be harder to adapt and find an appropriate job.

In fact, even with PhDs, jobs in theoretical physics and pure math aren't easy to come by. I've known a number of them ending up doing teaching in non-research institutions (high schools and colleges), working in finance, being code-monkeys in some tech companies or doing statistics for government or banks.

MSORSA

Let me make this clear. A BS in Physics only demonstrate you have the potential. You are not considered a Physicists unles you have a PHd. BS in Physics are considered foundation majors without any real knowledge to apply on the workforce. You will not find any employment at all. Employers will only look at your resume if you have a minimun of a MS in Physics. You have to be extremly lucky to land a job with just a BS(ex. Nuclear Regulatory Commission hire some BS in Physics but is very rare).

Trust me on this I went through that. I did my BS in Theoretical Physics and employers will just tell you ,"i'm sorry, i'm looking for BS in Engineering or at least if you had a MS we could talk".

So if you really want to do Physics, start planning on what you want to do your graduate school because it is extremly hard to find a job with just a BS.

I end up doing a MS in Systems Engineering/Operations Research and now jobs fall from the sky night and day(I guess they know I'm smart with my little BS in Physics).

GLOBALTRAVELER

If you going to major in Math, it needs to be Applied Math (Math/Finance, Math/Economics, Math/Computer Science). I did a Math/CS degree and always had employment...albeit always software-related.