<p>Can any adult here give me insight on what a physics major from a well regarded, yet non-elite program (Penn State Schreyer’s Honors College), would have to do as an undergraduate to be successful in the business world?</p>
<p>Would being an Economics, Business, or Math Minor help? Penn State has a solid Buisiness school, but I’m more interested in the logic of physics as an undergraduate.</p>
<p>What kinds of jobs or salaries are obtainable? </p>
<p>My s. is planning to major in Physics, and he was told at several places that people in the banking industry really like to hire Physics majors! They like the way they think and reason!</p>
<p>get the book “major in success” by combs. He explains how students can investigate and decide what intrigues them, and also explains (with many real-life stories) how students got internships that opened the door to their careers.</p>
<p>Internships are really the key these days for anyone outside the vocational majors (engineering, accounting, etc) and they’re pretty helpful even in those majors. This is the single most important thing you need to do in order to get a foothold into the working world. </p>
<p>From an employer’s point of view internships jump out from your resume. Why? Imagine you are an employer interviewing 2 college grads for a marketing position. Same major, same grades. One tells you he thinks he would like working in marketing and assures you he is a hard worker. He doesn’t seem too familiar with what the job actually entails, though. The other tells you of her experiences during her internship actually working in a marketing department and gives concrete examples of tasks marketers perform and why she finds them interesting. She also assures you that she is a hard worker, but in addition mentions that you can call her boss from her internship for a recommendation. Who is the stronger candidate?</p>
<p>And employers prefer to hire their former interns and coop students because they know them better. An intern has spend weeks if not months at the job. Contrast this with an interviewee who they’ve met for an hour at the on-campus interview and a few hours on the site visit, and who they’ve never seen actually at work. The intern is a safer bet, which is why it so often leads to a job offer after graduation.</p>
<p>From a students point of view, its better to take a peek at what its like in a law firm/accounting/marketing/etc. rather than start your career and find out you don’t like it. And even if an internship is in field A you will encounter people at work doing B or C, things you maybe didn’t even know about, and find you like them even more. Internships help open a student’s eyes to all the possibities that are out there in a way that grabbing a handful of brochures from the career center can never do. In effect once you’re “in the door”, even temporarily, you get a longitudinal glimpse of people at various stages in their careers, from people in their 20’s to mid-career people in their 40’s, to senior people in their 50’s & 60’s. You get to see a broad range of possibilities for where you can go.</p>
<p>H has several Physics majors on board. There are not that many Econ or Business majors that have the math that he wants from his analysts. A minor in math can be helpful, also certain targeted courses that are highly desired in jobs, doesn’t have to be a minor.</p>
<p>Mikemac gives good advice there. I’m not quite sure what you mean by the “business world” since there are so many different types of businesses, each having their own needs. There are some commonalities (eg, accounting), but when you say “business” that could mean anything from sales to IT to management to …?</p>
<p>I’m a physics (undergrad) and my first job after my B.S. was teaching math and physics, so maybe I’m not such a good one to answer that. But now (35 years later) I’m an international consultant in a certain business area. How? A long and fun road through a variety of jobs, following my interests. I deal with a lot of technical issues and with a lot of technical people. My background in physics has especially served me well in my current job - much more so than my graduate degree. </p>
<p>Reading between the lines of your post, it sounds like your S/D wants to major in physics and you don’t see how they’re going to use it. I agree that an undergrad physics degree is not necessarily going to get you a “physics” job. Sounds like you see “business” as the road to financial success, but success will depend more on the person than on the major. Just keep in mind that except for professional degrees (e.g., engineering), the undergrad major just doesn’t matter THAT much. Also keep in mind that undergrad business majors (unlike an MBA) are also considered by many employers to be somewhat useless. And an undergrad business major is not necessary at all for pursuing the MBA.</p>
<p>digimedia:I’m a HS senior, not a parent. I’m sorry for not making that clear. You have a very interesting story though, you’re at the kind of job I would be interested in ending up at.</p>
<p>Jamimom:That’s very neat how your H hires physics majors to be analysts. Perhaps you could elaborate on what is meant by “certain targeted courses”</p>
<p>Mikemac:I know internships are going to play a huge part in the job search. Penn State’s honors program has a pretty good record of internship placement, so I should be able to explore careers somewhat.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who replied, you were really helpfull.</p>
<p>The challenge facing a physics major is no greater, and perhaps less, than the challenge facing a hums or soc sci major, which is to prove why (s)he is worth hiring. The only ways to do this are by skills and experience. You can take classes to gain skills, especially ones more closely related to the working world. You gain experience by doing something relevant, anything from running a club, working, internships etc. And don’t ignore the less obvious. For instance, supervising a dormitory cleanup crew can look very good on a resume. [for the record, I was never promoted to management when I lived inthe dorm. I stayed “principal buffer operator” until my retirement.]</p>
<p>Any physicist worth his atoms would tell you that what you gain by studying physics is the ability to learn. They do have concrete math skills, but don’t overlook the fact they have demonstrated problem solving skills. They speak the language of math and can apply it to other arenas.</p>