1. A Student's – personal – Point of View RECFA Meeting

2. A Student's Point of View 2Patricia Francisconi (HEPHY Vienna) March 13th, 2011 Short Personal Introduction High School: Waidhofen/Ybbs, Lower Austria Undergraduate: University of Vienna, Master's Program Exchange Semester: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Master's Thesis: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign PhD: currently enrolled at University of Vienna, working at HEPHY

3. A Student's Point of View 3Patricia Francisconi (HEPHY Vienna) March 13th, 2011 Education Undergraduate in Vienna: Possibilities: –Vienna University of Technology –University of Vienna Recently: Bachelor's Degree → Master's Degree Previously: Master's Degree Compared to US: –less rigid environment –Independent time management –Fewer students –Higher level –More focus on physics less on general studies

4. A Student's Point of View 4Patricia Francisconi (HEPHY Vienna) March 13th, 2011 Education Graduate School in Vienna: Curriculum: –Vienna University of Technology –University of Vienna Thesis: –Private Industry –Universities –Research Institutes (not/loosely affiliated with Universities)

5. A Student's Point of View 5Patricia Francisconi (HEPHY Vienna) March 13th, 2011 HEP in Vienna University of Vienna: small Theory-Group Vienna University of Technology: small Theory-Group Institute for High Energy Physics

6. A Student's Point of View 6Patricia Francisconi (HEPHY Vienna) March 13th, 2011 HEP Career Options In Vienna ? Private Industry or Research Reseach: Post-Doctoral Position –Universities –Institute for High Energy Physics Long term career ? –Tenure tracks ? –Professor ? HEP – Advantage: International Collaborations –International career options

7. A Student's Point of View 7Patricia Francisconi (HEPHY Vienna) March 13th, 2011 Problems Few career opportunities in Austria Very high degree of specialization → difficult to change field Budget Situation in Austria Job Security ? Frequent relocation: Family ?

8. A Student's Point of View 8Patricia Francisconi (HEPHY Vienna) March 13th, 2011 What I love Ability to work in international collaborations: –Lots of different and interesting people –Travelling Doing fundamental research: –Figuring out fundamental interactions of matter –New science –No cultural or linguistic barriers in physics

9. A Student's Point of View 9Patricia Francisconi (HEPHY Vienna) March 13th, 2011 Conclusion Good Education Few job opportunities create anxiety Many austrian students leave the country for lack of career options

10. A Student's Point of View 10Patricia Francisconi (HEPHY Vienna) March 13th, 2011 Thank You for Your Attention !