The Art of Industrial Physics Careers

You have probably heard that physicists are very employable and most of us find positions in the private sector. That is great news but making the transition can seem daunting when you are wrapping up your academic research on a hyper-specific topic in a narrow specialty. In this talk, I will recount many stories of physicists in industry, including my own, and formulate lessons learned into rules of thumb you can use on your own journey. In my own career, I have switched subfields three times since leaving graduate school, moving between areas as diverse as particle accelerator physics, magnetic confinement fusion, and aerospace. Along the way, I have made it my mission to improve career outcomes for physicists by mentoring dozens of students personally, co-founded a major mentoring program called IMPact (https://impact.aps.org/), serving as Chair of the APS Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics and Chair of the APS Committee on Careers and Professional Development, and authoring ProsperousPhysicist.com and the book The Effective Resume. It has been a fascinating journey I look forward to sharing.