
Ask HN: PhD in Physics in Tech/Finance Jobs - JoshCalbet
Do you guys work with&#x2F;hire people holding a PhD in Physics? or do know if it is a common or rare practice?<p>Most of the people holding a PhD in Physics or Astronomy deal all their carriers with data analysis. Last week I went to a career fair and there was a company referring to positions in the finance sector while doing data analysis. When I asked, the head hunter said people holding an MBA and Economics degree is preferred. Something like the &quot;Data analysis skill is the &#x27;extra&#x27; not the main background desired&quot;.
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JoshCalbet
Can be useful for future reference

[https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2017/12/21/13...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2017/12/21/13-top-
tech-skills-in-high-demand-for-2018/)

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itamarst
Maybe that particular position is a problem, but there are many software
engineers who started out as physicists. Also many data scientists.

Just as an aside, finance is a bit of a waste of one's skills, there are more
useful things one can do with one's career.

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JoshCalbet
Could you mention some concrete examples besides academia?

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sevensor
I don't think it's terribly unusual. I have a friend with a physics Ph.D. who
went to work for a D.C. area consulting firm, subsequently moved to a startup.
I've heard a lot of physicists get hired as quants too.

