Start preparing for your future
Career and Professional Development Services
Need help planning your next steps after graduation? Career and Professional Development Services (CPDS) can help. CPDS provides in-person and virtual resources for ASU students and alumni such as:
Career Assessments Career Advising Career Exploration Resume or CV review Practice Interviews
Start Preparing for your Career or Graduate School
Choose a Path
Research career paths to determine the best fit for you.
- APS Physics Career Planning Self-Assessment
- Physicist Profiles
- Common Career Paths
- Common Careers of Physicists in the Private Sector
- APS Career Guide
Some career paths may require a graduate degree. Use GradSchoolShopper to research graduate programs that thrive in your field.Helpful resources: Physics PhDs 1 Year Later and Who's Hiring Physics PhDs?
Interested in the medical field? There are various health related career paths you can take.
Network
Make yourself known to your professors by attending office hours, setting up one-on-one meetings, and attending department events. The best letters of recommendation come from those that know you in and outside of the classroom.
Explore Experiences
Elevate your education by completing an experience. Use the Elevate Experience Finder to find an activity that aligns with your interests.
- Internships - Build skills that are desirable to employers. Use Handshake, Indeed, LinkedIn, and other job sites to find available positions.
- Research - Research experience will help indicate your level of competency in a lab, your ability to work with other students and faculty, and your eagerness to contribute to the physics community.
- Additional Skills -Take time to figure out if you need skills that your degree did not provide. Skills could include: programming, industry knowledge, grant writing, project management, or even public speaking.
Attend a Conference
Conferences provide students with the opportunity to learn about research conducted by their peers and in some instances provides students with the ability showcase their own research.
Find a graduate program
Finding the right graduate program is more than a great location. Students should consider a university's specific faculty, funding, notable research, and group openings.
- GradSchoolShopper - a database that compiles information on graduate programs within the physical sciences.
- Inclusion - If you would like information on the climate for women in physics, APS has compiled 92 surveys from various institutions regarding inclusion.
- Medical School - Check out ASU's Pre-health website for information on various medical programs.
- Graduate School Comparison Worksheet - Use this document to help narrow down graduate programs.
Apply to Graduate School
Graduate Admission Workshops/Programs
Application Materials
- Letters of Recommendation (LOR)- Students should start requesting LORs a semester before they graduate.
- Personal Statement - Your personal statement will tell reviewers why you are applying and how you would contribute to their program and research efforts.
- Common Tests - For information on test prep, go to career.asu.edu/grad-school-and-test-prep
- GRE (https://www.ets.org/gre/test-takers/general-test/about.html)
- Physics GRE (https://www.ets.org/gre/score-users/about/subject-tests.html). Check admission requirements for your program to determine if Physics GRE is required.
- The Medical College Admission Test (https://students-residents.aamc.org/taking-mcat-exam/taking-mcat-exam)- For students applying to medical school.
Internships
Here are some popular places that offer internships:
Sandia National Laboratories Fermilab APS Northrop Grumman
Brookhaven National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory Textron
Research Experiences in Solid Earth Science for Students DAAD RISE
Department of Energy Scholars Program
For additional opportunities, please visit Handshake or APS website on Internships.
Internship Credit
Students are responsible for finding an internship opportunity. Once an internship is secured, students may apply to obtain credit for their experience.
Hours
Students may earn up to 3 credit hours for their internship experience. You should know the amount of hours you plan to work before applying for credit.
| Credits | Total Hours | Weekly Hours Fall/Spring | Weekly Hours Summer |
| 1 | 45 | 3 | 3.25 |
| 2 | 90 | 6 | 7.5 |
| 3 | 135 | 9 | 11.25 |
Eligibility
- Student must be a major within the Department of Physics
- 45 hours completed
- At least 12 hours completed at ASU
- A 2.5 Cumulative ASU GPA
- A 3.0 Cumulative GPA in critical courses (MAT and PHY)
Deadlines
To receive credit you must submit an application by the below dates. Exceptions will not be made for late submissions.
| Fall | August 1 |
| Spring | January 1 |
| Summer | May 1 |
Where are they now?
List of careers pursued by recent ASU physics graduates
| Career Title | Company/Organization | Location |
| Tutor/Camp Leader | All Around Math Learning | Tempe |
| Government Relations Specialist | American Physical Society | Washington D.C. |
| Process Support Engineer | Applied Materials | Chandler |
| Teacher Assistant | Arizona State University | Tempe |
| Teacher | BASIS Educational Group | Chandler |
| Technician Assistant | Don Air, LLC | Scottsdale |
| Quantitative Analyst | DriveTime | Phoenix |
| Materials Scientist | Headway Technologies, Inc | San Jose |
| Electrical Engineer 2 | Racion | Tucson |
| Test Engineer | Soraa | Fremont |
| Administrator | Stoneman Law Patent Group | Phoenix |
| Director, Photography | 282 Studios, LLC | Tempe |
| File Clerk | Aiken Schenk Hawkins & Ricciardi P.C. | Phoenix |
| Research Assistant | Arizona State University, Biodesign Institute | Tempe |
| Consultation Agent | Best Buy | Chandler |
| Director, Flight | Challenger Space Center | Peoria |
| Regulatory Affairs Associate | CR Bard | Tempe |
| Research Analyst | Global Patent Solutions | Scottsdale |
| Process Engineer | Intel Corporation | Hillsboro |
| Intern, Application | Nanoscience Instruments | Phoenix |
| Failure Analysis Engineer | Soraa | Fremont |
| Web Developer | Vuurr | Chandler |
| Engineer | - | Los Angeles |
| Mechanical Engineer | - | Tempe |
| Engineering Aide | - | Chandler |
| Process Engineer, Senior | American Society for Microbiology, Arizona/Southern Nevada Branch | Phoenix |
| Engineer | Boeing Company, The | St. Louis |
| Space Vehicle Controller | Boeing Company, The | Springfield |
| Software Engineer | Demandbase Inc | San Francisco |
| Associate, Senior | Discover Financial Services | Phoenix |
| Process Engineer | Lam Researcg Corporation | Fremont |
| Photonics Engineer | Optilab, LLC | Phoenix |
| Field Application Engineer | Radiall | Tempe |
| Associate Assistant | Discover | Phoenix |
| Corporate Accounting | - | Phoenix |
| Assistant Director, Finance | - | Sedona |
| Research Assistant | - | - |
| Tutor | Chandler-Gilbert Community College | Chandler |
| Unit Process Engineer | IBM Corporation | Albany |
| Software Engineer | Intel Corporation | Chandler |
| Systems Engineer | Orbital ATK, Inc | Gilbert |
| Traffic Support Lead | Sports Entertainment Services | Phoenix |
| Legal Assistant | Suzette Lorrey-Wiggs P.C. | Tempe |
| Tutor | Varsity Tutors | Phoenix |
