What can I do with a physics degree?

One of the great benefits of studying physics is the employability and the wide range of potential career directions afterwards. They may pursue careers in science in academia or industry, seek work in a related area such as teaching physics or science communication, or take up jobs in business or finance. Many physics graduates go on to further study after finishing their undergraduate degrees.

This guide should help you think about the skills you have, the jobs they can be applied to, and the range of options available. You will also find out about employment rates for physics graduates, the areas of employment that attract them and the type of work they are likely to be doing six months after graduation.

Skills for your CV

Skills you should have picked up include:

• communication and presentation skills
• computational and data-processing skills
• data analysis using a range of appropriate statistical methods and packages
• identify and predict trends and patterns
• problem solving skills
• report writing
• research skills

Job roles and career areas you could work in

Obvious careers for physicists that want to start working now include graduate schemes with research companies like DSTL or consultancies like Atkins. These employers generally use on the job training and recruit graduates on an annual basis.

Other jobs physics graduates go into include finance and IT. The creation of models or running of analysis are also big employers of physics graduates. Associated roles can include anything from risk analysis to weather forecasting.

One area where physics students are sadly lacking is teaching. There are scholarships and bursaries available to help with the cost of teacher training to encourage physics graduates to enter the profession.

With further qualifications or training, job roles open to physics graduates in science, business and other areas include the following:

• accountant
• commissioning editor
• computer scientist
• consultant
• environmental scientist
• ergonomist
• materials specialist
• medical physicist
• nanoscientist
• patent attorney
• patent examiner
• research scientist
• secondary school teacher
• technical author

What do physics graduates go on to do?

Here’s what graduates of physical sciences who finished their degrees in 2018 were doing around 15 months after graduating, according to the graduate outcomes statistics reported by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in 2020.

Destination

Percentage

Full-time employment

55

Part-time employment

6

Voluntary or unpaid work

1

Working and studying

9

Further study

18

Unemployed

6

Source: HESA's higher education graduate outcomes statistics, 2020

Key areas of employment for physics graduates

These are the top five areas of work taken up by 2018 graduates of physical sciences around 15 months after graduation, according to the graduate outcomes statistics reported by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in 2020.

Areas of employment

Percentage

Professional, scientific and technical

23

Education

15

Manufacturing

11

Information and communication

8

Wholesale and retail trade

7

Source: HESA's higher education graduate outcomes statistics, 2020

Which careers attract physics students?

Energy and utilities was by far the most popular career choice for students of physical sciences identified by a 2020 survey of more than 71,000 undergraduates carried out by Cibyl, a research business owned by the same company as targetjobs. Just over a quarter (25.9%) of students of physical sciences, a group of degree subjects that includes physics, who participated in the survey said they were interested in this area. The most popular careers for students of physical sciences were as follows:

Career

Percentage

Energy and utilities

25.9% expressed an interest

Scientific research and development

14.3

Construction, civil engineering and surveying

13.7

Engineering, design and manufacture

11.3

Consumer goods – manufacturing and marketing

9.4

Source: Graduate Survey 2020

Famous people with physics degrees

Of course there are plenty of other things you can do with a physics degree. They don’t even have to have any visible connection to physics. Just take these famous graduates for example:

• Brian Cox – completed his undergraduate degree, masters and doctorate at the University of Manchester, and has since presented science documentaries such as Wonders of the Solar System.
• Dara Ó Briain – the host of Mock the Week has a degree in maths and theoretical physics from University College Dublin.
• Brian May – the lead guitarist of Queen has a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College London.
• Angela Merkel – worked as a research scientist before becoming Chancellor of Germany.

Get science, research and development related careers advice.

What salaries can physics and astronomy graduates earn?

Want to know what graduates in your degree discipline typically earn in different locations? The Pay Index has provided targetjobs with a handy graduate salary tool showing just that.