Career Opportunities :: RPI Physics, Applied Physics, & Astronomy

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Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 Eighth Street, Troy, New York 12180— 3590 USA

Telephone:
(518) 276— 6310
Fax: (518) 276— 6680
E— mail: physics@rpi.edu

Job Opportunities

Physics Today

Physics Today is a partner in the AIP Career Network, a collection of online job sites for scientists, engineers, and computing professionals.

Summer Research Opportunities

Cornell University is pleased to announce its Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in Observational Astronomy for the summer of 2012.

Career Opportunites

Our goal is to help you develop the skills you need to establish a rewarding and productive career. There are many options, depending on your talents and interests. You can fashion our flexible curriculum to suit your needs.

Traditional career choices include research in government, industrial, or university laboratories. Many of our students continue on to the best graduate schools to study physics, astronomy, mathematics, or engineering; others have gone on to successful careers in medicine, technical management, law, investment banking, and teaching.

	Jeffrey Kodosky ’70 co— founded National Instruments in 1976 and subsequently served as the company’s Vice President of Research and Development. He was named an NI Business and Technology Fellow in 2000, and also serves on Rensselaer’s board of trustees.
	Heidi Newberg ’87 earned her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1992 and is now a Physics faculty member at Rensselaer. Her research and teaching focuses on galactic and extragalactic astronomy, and she frequently represents the interests of women in science.
	Cynthia Landberg ’89 started at the GE Global Research center after completing her Ph.D. at Rensselaer in 1995, where she continues to work on the physics and technology of imaging. She is now manager of the X— ray systems laboratory, where her group includes physicists and engineers.
	James Cronen ’96 worked on educational materials development as a student and has recently returned to teaching science in the Capital District after experiences working as a programmer in New York and Boston.
	John Marsh ’03 stayed at Rensselaer and is now earning his Ph.D. in Economics. He does research on the productivity of the U.S. undergraduate education system and the effects of federal support on stimulating research.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Physics can serve many educational and career goals. About one third of our graduates go on to graduate Physics or Astronomy programs with the goal of a career in research and/or technological development. About one third use their Physics degree as preparation for graduate work and a career in a related field, such as Solid State Electronics, Optical Engineering, Space Science, Geophysics, or Materials Science. About one third take employment directly upon graduation, including taking commissions as officers in the Navy, Air Force, or Army.

Here is a summary list of where BS students over the past five years have gone after graduation, ranked by number of students attending each program.

Graduate School in Physics

Rensselaer, Cornell, Harvard, UC Santa Barbara, Cornell (Astro), UC Irvine, Johns Hopkins, Dartmouth, Brandeis, MIT, Columbia, Stanford, Brown, U Chicago, NYU, Virginia Tech, U Minnesota, U Texas-Austin, San Diego, Penn State, U Arizona (Astro), Florida International, U Colorado Boulder, Duke Texas A&M, U Maryland U Heidelberg, Brandeis U Michigan, U New Mexico

Graduate School in Related Fields

Materials Science

Rensselaer, Penn State, U New Mexico, U Connecticut, U Illinois, U Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Carnegie Mellon, UC Santa Barbara, U Tennessee

Electrical Engineering

UCLA, Rensselaer, UC Santa Barbara

Geosciences

UCLA, U Rhode Island, Columbia

Biophysics

Harvard, Cornell

Mathematics

Rensselaer, Cornell, Tulane

Other Engineering Programs

U Central FL – Optics (CREOL), Florida Institute of Tech – Aero, Rensselaer – Mechanical, Rensselaer - Nuclear, U Michigan – Nuclear

Other Graduate Programs

Carnegie Mellon – MBA, Finance, U Penn - MBA, McGill – Economics, Albany – Architecture, Harvard – Law, Georgetown - Law, BU – Premed, U BC – Film, Rensselaer – Architectural Acoustics, U Wisconsin – Medical Physics

Employment

Boeing, IBM, National Instruments, Commissioned Officer – Air Force, Navy, US Government, Rensselaer, Educator (HS Teacher, Tutor, Tech Trainer), Bank of America, Cisco, EIT Research Group, General Cable, CREE, TRADoc Analysis, U Washington, Still River Systems

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