Students point of view Ari Kiiskinen, HIP

Finnish education system Good primary schools, not much specialisation Take ~12 years & start at the age of 7 Men loose an extra year in military service Masters degree takes 4-6 years PhD degree requires many publications and study weeks, takes 4+ years Experimental HEP special features often cause delays: working abroad, timing of experiments, publication procedures in large experiments

Helsinki University Physics Dept.

Student in a small HEP country Only few experimentalists teaching, limited availability of courses (situation improving?) Small number of people, small groups Difficult to get and keep critical mass in groups Distorted ”age pyramid” structures in groups Less support but more responsibility for students No tradition for standardised PhD programs, graduate schools have started, situation maybe changing University PhD requirements not always designed for students in large HEP experiments

HIP & CERN HIP coordinates CERN and large collider activities Activities and people largely based at CERN Good chances for students to get to CERN!!! CERN groups and people easily disconnected from the home based groups Experimental HEP disconnected from the universities and physics students (also difficult to get s.w.) Collisions between expatriate/travelling work and family interests

Finnish personnel policies Salaries in science not competitive (as everywhere) Students have usually reasonably reliable financial support (graduate schools help), other contract issues often neglected, responsibility issues Finland just recently got the 1st experimental particle physics professorship No permanent scientist positions at HIP at all Small community, almost only one institute, no alternatives, personal chemistry issues Unpredictable career opportunities, large fluctuations

Continue in HEP after PhD??? Physics PhD’s (and MSc’s) have alternatives Industry, finance, consulting etc. employ physicists Personal enthusiasm and preferences Available positions and projects (in Finland and abroad), location of experiments and projects Salary level Duration and other details of the contract (importance depends on personal life situation) Future career prospects, future of HEP

Conclusions HEP experiments grow larger and larger Dicrepancy between HEP experiment and student’s timescales increases HEP very small in Finland Small is easily unstable and unpredictable Each individual person makes a difference Continuous challenge to attract young people to the field and keep them on the field