So, you finally finish your undergraduate degree specializing in quantum physics, and you’re totally ready to go and share the awesome information you found with the world. Everything feels great, except you hit a snag. You’re not really sure what kind of careers are out there for you to go into, and how you could use the information you have learned in a salary-paying position. Well, for all you curious as to what a person who studies quantum mechanics can do (and for all of you who aren’t… curious, that is), you’ve come to the right place.
Quantum mechanics has very many different career paths, and all of them are extremely cool. From laser physicians to optical engineering to fusion reactor construction, there is a wealth of different opportunities for quantum physicists. In this month’s career profile of Quantum X-pressed, we are going to X-plore a person with one of the coolest jobs in the world: Bilge Demirkoz.
Demirkoz is a particle physicist, and currently a research scientist working with the European Organization for Nuclear Research known as CERN. CERN is the world's largest particle physics laboratory, situated on the French-Swiss border, in Geneva.1 Demirkoz’s work includes all kinds of cool, crazy projects, and in the past she has worked on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, (which was installed on the International Space Station) the Large Hadron Collider, and the ATLAS Semi-Conductor Tracker.3
She is currently working on the ATLAS High Level Trigger. And she is currently only 28 years old! 2 The ATLAS is actually “the largest of the four detectors built to study particle collisions inside the Large Hadron Collider”3 Demikoz has been working on the LHC for the better part of ten years, designing the detectors and writing computer code for them. In fact, she has committed so much work toward this project, that when it was about to open, she made the comment, "I will probably cry when we see the first collision."2
At 27 kilometers long, the Large Hadron Collider is the biggest machine in the world, and is currently on the cutting edge of physics research, despite being down due to technical difficulties. The purpose of the LHC is to accelerate “Counterrotating beams of protons to within a whisker of the speed of light and smash them head-on 600 million times a second.” Although that may have gone over your heads, you can simply note that this is one of the closest attempts to creating anti matter that scientists hope to come to. For this reason, engineering the Large Hadron Collider was not easy, and attention to detail was vital. For example, one of the most distinctive features about the LHC is it’s temperature- 1.9 Kelvins, a tiny bit above absolute zero. This is to avoid problems of over heating that occur when protons are shot at extremely fast speeds. 4
And this is just one of the possible jobs a person could get as a particle physicist. Particle physics is simply a branch of physics that focuses on the study of subatomic particles and their interactions, and how this information can have real-world applications. Most particle physicists focus on research aspects of particle physics, and can work as professors, reactor engineers, or researchers. The careers in particle physics are very varied, but all involve a basic study of how particles interact on a subatomic level. If you are interested in a job in particle physics, be ready to do a LOT of studying.5
Working conditions for physicists are fairly good- they work indoors in clean, well-lighted laboratories and classrooms, and sometimes spend time out doors. They can work at colleges and universities as professors, research centers, and government agencies. Most particle physicists either spend their time out in the field doing research, or teaching in universities.6
The basic education to become a particle physicist is a bachelor’s degree in particle science, usually with a minor in mathematics or computational science. 7 Specializations are usually done with the student choosing their specific area of interest, and doing research in that particular area. There are many hands-on research opportunities for students researching particle physics, but the majority of learning is theoretical.
The average salary earned by a particle or high energy physicist is $87,450 per year, with increases as scientists advance in their knowledge and skill in particle physics. 6 Physicists with a doctoral degree have better chances of advancement, and the best opportunities in terms of salary are probably in teaching physics. Salaries may vary widely, but the median income of physicists was $87,450 in 2004, and $104,917 in 2005 for government jobs. Physicists who teach in universities can also earn extra money through research. Benefits generally include paid holidays and vacations, health insurance, and pension plans.6
As a particle physicist, this may actually be funny for you (just kidding)