Breakout Session I: Non-Academic Careers Stefan Zollner New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM (NSF: DMR )

Breakout Session Goals Understand skills, knowledge, and habits of mind critical to success of physicists in non-academic careers and how they can best be provided. Define and discuss preparation of T-shaped physicists (breadth and depth). What are the model programs or good practices that prepare students for non-academic careers. Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State University

About Me New Mexico State University Traditional physics Ph.D. preparation at one of the best schools in my field, postdoc at IBM Research. What skills/experiences made me different? –One-year foreign exchange program (Arizona State). –Excellent language arts preparation. –Foreign language and culture skills. Academic experience: Iowa State University: 1992 to 1997 Industrial experience (incl. management): Motorola, Freescale, IBM: 1997 to 2010 Academic faculty & administration experience: NMSU Physics Department Head since 2010.

New Mexico State University Industrial Physicists are everywhere! How do we prepare them for their jobs? “There are four chips in this phone. I know what they do and I know how to make them.” New Mexico State University Stefan Zollner, 06/09/2012, Conf. for Undergrad. Women in Physical Sciences 4 InGaP HBT epi stack 32nm CMOS

Question 1 Over the past 5 years ( ), how many students received a physics Ph.D. in your department? 23 Ph.D.s (9% Hispanic, 74% Foreign, 13% Women) Statistics about first place of employment: –% in academia (postdoc or permanent) –% at government research labs (postdoc or permanent) –% in private sector –% unemployed or underemployed (fast food, taxi, …) Answer: I have no systematic data. Most of our Ph.D.s become postdocs or return to Jordan for a faculty position. Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State University

Question 2 Now think about your students who received their Ph.D. between 2002 and Where are they today? Statistics of employment for your department: –% in academia (postdoc or permanent) –% at government research labs (postdoc or permanent) –% in private sector –% unemployed Answer: I have no clue! How do we track this? Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State University

Question 3 Who in your university or department keeps track of this information? Answer: Registrar’s office counts degrees (about 90% correct). Our department does not track Ph.D. recipients. How many Ph.D. programs track their graduates? YES: NO: Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State University

Question 4 Now think about your Ph.D. graduates who left five or more years ago. Which skills do they find valuable? Did they learn these skills in your department? What are the three most important lessons they learnt in your department (skills, knowledge, behaviors)? Answer: I have no clue. (I know this for our undergraduate engineering physics majors, but not for our Ph.D.s.) Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State University

Interlude My wife’s comment: You sound like an education person. If we were in a College of Education, US DoEd would require us to track our graduates. Our BS in Engineering Physics is ABET accredited. We have these data for our undergraduate program, but not for our Ph.D. program. If we (physics community) are not proactive in tracking this information, somebody may tell us what to do. Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State University

Physics Degree Holders: What do they do? New Mexico State University Stefan Zollner, 06/09/2012, Conf. for Undergrad. Women in Physical Sciences 10 Bond: What do I need to disarm a nuclear bomb? Response: Me! Nuclear physicist Dr. Christmas Jones Many NMSU physics graduates work for the government, in some capacity or other. How to be a spy:

Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State University Physics Degree Holders: What do they do? My classmates: –Hans-Peter Wagner: University of Cincinnati (physics) –Martin Muscholl: University of South Florida (physics) –Heidrun Schmitzer: Xavier University (physics) –Norbert Kaiser: TU Munchen (physics) –Jose Menendez: Arizona State University (physics) –Roberto Merlin: University of Michigan (physics) –Tobias Ruf: Director of spark plug R&D at Bosch GmbH –Diego Olego: CTO of Philips Health Care –Thorsten Heyen: CFO Wacker Polysilicon New Mexico State University

Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State UniversityNew Mexico State University Statistical Employment Data for physicists (NSF 2006) Sources: AIP Statistics Characteristics of Doctoral Scientists & Engineers in the US, NSF, September 2009, April 2011 Erratum Tables 12, 15, 36, 75 APS Industrial Member Survey (2006) % 34% of ~34300 Ph.D. physicists at colleges (4+) This includes 1710 postdocs. Primary or secondary activity: 28% Basic research 32% Applied research 24% Teaching (instructors) 19% IT 34% Mgmt, Sales, Admin. 36% Design & Development 12% Other (incl. services) Less than 50% list “physicist” as occupation 47% 17% Stefan Zollner, 06/09/2012, APS/AAPT Department Chairs Meeting 12

Physics careers are very diverse A study of APS members in industry was performed by AIP in 2006: /upload/2006_Industrial_Member_Survey.pdf Need a new survey: Focus on skills Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State University

Size of employers (2006 AIP Survey) Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State University No clear differences in survey responses by size or employer.

Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State UniversityNew Mexico State University Statistical Employment Data (NSF 2006) Source: Characteristics of Doctoral Scientists & Engineers in the US, NSF, September Table 54 Median Ph.D. Physicist Salaries: $ 99,900Physics Ph.D. overall $ 52,400Teachers (High school, community college) $ 74,700Colleges and universities (4+) $ 109,200Private sector (for-profit) $ 117,200Federal government Early career salaries are higher in industry. Mid- career salaries in education and government are competitive.

Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State University Alumni Surveys: Skills and Challenges (Engineering Physics BS; not in grad school) Skills for success: –Problem solving skills in a broad range of topics –Working with interdisciplinary teams –Commitment to life-long learning, willing to change –Written/oral communication skills Greatest challenges: –Complexity of federal bureaucracy –Written/oral communication skills (documentation) –Living in a large east-coast city. –Consider return on investment (time management). Does anybody do alumni surveys at the graduate level?

Question 4 Who in your department has the skills your graduates find valuable? Answer: We have three faculty (out of 15) with non-academic experience: –Department Head –Non-tenured professor –Instructional lab coordinator Stefan Zollner, New Mexico State University