Re: Essential (was Computer) Skills

[Doug Craigen <dcc@cyberspc.mb.ca>]

James Mclean wrote:
> Your admin. may constrain your particular case, but in general I am
> wondering if the essential skills for a practicing physicist are
> necessarily the same as essential degree requirements.  How many physics BS
> recipients go on to be physicists?  (Not a rhetorical question -- I really
> don't know.)  Perhaps replies to this thread might include this
> distinction, where it seems appropriate...

Yes it is an important distinction.  Has anybody read Preparing
Physicists for Work btw? ( http://www.aip.org/careers/prepare.htm )  Not
that I have, but I'd be curious what it has to say.

In 1995-96, 1,438 PhDs were granted by US physics departments.  In this
time there were approximately 200 faculty hired by PhD granting
institutions.  For more stats have a look at
http://www.aps.org/jobs/index.html

Any which way you put it together, the fact is that the average member
of phys-l is by no means in a job typical of a recent Physics graduate.

If I was to put together a wish list of things that I should have
studied given where I've drifted over the years it would include project
management, accounting, technical writing, and presentations.

The problem is that requiring a physics student to take all the external
courses that will assist them in their career would leave them with no
room to study physics.

I think that computer skills are a pretty universally required skill for
practising physicists these days, and has been pointed out by others
they provide the student with a tool that can enrich their study of
physics.  Whether or not programming classes are required of physics
students, their advisors should be impressing on them the importance of
taking some.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Doug Craigen          "Technology with purpose"
                       http://www.dctech.com