Student’s point of view 2011-07-15 Mihai Cuciuc R-ECFA, Bucharest

2011-07-15 Mihai Cuciuc Outline Academic evolution of the Romanian physicist and possible career paths The financial aspect and its influence on life choices My path through HEP Research vs other fields Conclusions ADVISORY PERSONAL OPINION

Academic evolution & career paths 2011-07-15 Mihai Cuciuc Academic evolution & career paths Incoming 13 year old pupil Not interested 6th grade physics Interested (7%) High school physics Too hard Like it (28%) Unrelated field Engineering Research in Romania (12%) Teaching Choice of faculty Economic studies Physics (14%) Research elsewhere (12%) Numbers stem from a “back of the envelope” calculation based on the colleagues I’ve had throughout the years. This results in a researcher yield of ~0.03% in environments similar to mine. I know of nobody willing to go into teaching, and I think this has a heavy impact on the “researcher yield” While physics does get taught, programming is usually learnt by oneself

Financial aspects 2011-07-15 Mihai Cuciuc The first detriment towards a career in physics is the promise of higher income that the analytical mind receives from competing fields. I think little can be done at this step except increasing awareness about the work being done in research and that it’s not all about labcoats and glasses My push towards physics came from a childhood dream of doing something really important for mankind combined with curiosity regarding the inner workings of everything and allowing myself to consider income a lower priority Choice of faculty Economic studies Physics Engineering Unrelated field Engineering Research in Romania (12%) Teaching Research elsewhere (12%) The bigger threat is the considerably higher income that a potential researcher (after receiving training in physics) is promised in other fields. Factoring in the associated costs one arrives at the following ranking of “good career moves”: Unrelated field / Engineering (mostly IT: programming, technical support, etc) Research elsewhere Research in Romania Teaching

2011-07-15 Mihai Cuciuc My path through HEP I was lucky enough to be given the chance to learn about the detectors, electronics, triggers, acquisition systems and slow control hands-on, not by reading about them from a book Getting used to a huge collaboration is pretty confusing but Once it happens there is a feeling of “belonging” to something great Workforce being needed on many subjects I could choose the one that fits me best Frequent travelling: usual pros and cons Common opinion among PhD students: 3 years is insufficient to finish the required lectures / tasks http://xkcd.com/242/

Research vs other fields 2011-07-15 Mihai Cuciuc Research vs other fields Research Other fields Constant interaction with experts in many fields (i.e. physics, computing, engineering, etc) Constant personal growth Keeping oneself up to speed with the latest and greatest in both knowledge and technologies Being a career choice it’s easier to meet people with common interests Much easier to become an “international person” – no cultural / social barriers Bragging rights Best case: constant interaction with experts on a particular field Risk of ending up doing (albeit well) just one single thing More homogenous distribution of interests (income, better positions..) – not necessarily a bad thing, groups of physicists tend to be seen as “the weird bunch”

2011-07-15 Mihai Cuciuc Conclusions Funding in education (or lack thereof) plays a key role in a country’s visibility in research The choice of heading towards research comes from within oneself, leads to devoted scientists Once in research, the freedom to choose one’s own subject makes for intellectually satisfied scientists I think “financially satisfied human being” is an oxymoron, therefore this aspect will always be subject to debate

Thank you