As well as providing an education in Physics, we place importance on being able to help you with your career choices. Many employers are looking for the types of analytic skills that physicists offer.

Nevertheless, companies seek graduates who are employable: those who possess an excellent scientific background, professional skills and personal transferable skills. Successful candidates demonstrate their employability through the possession of excellent written and verbal communication skills, they have an awareness of the functions of business and they can work as part of a team, manage and organise their time, can take positions of responsibility and lead others.

Skills development during your degree

The degree course in Physics provides many opportunities for skills development. Professional skills are incorporated into the many and varied elements of the degree course and acquired alongside and during the study of physics.

Many different aspects of the skills you will need for your future career are developed over your studies including: scientific/technical writing, training in proper referencing, searching the technical literature, critical thinking and review and the avoidance of plagiarism. Team work is developed through group projects (years 1, 3 and 4) and students also have the opportunity to give presentations throughout their degree.

Students are also be invited to attend Research Frontiers talks and Physics in Industry talks (Terms 1 & 2) to learn more about how physics plays a role in research and the commercial world.

Volunteer work, outreach, clubs and societies also provide opportunities for students to gain valuable experience whilst helping others while the College’s Horizons programme gives students the chance to broaden their skills with courses in business and professional skills or languages.

The Physics undergraduate summer research opportunities project (UROP) and international research opportunities project (IROP) schemes also serve to increase students’ skill base.

Departmental Careers Advisor

Prof Lesley Cohen

Blackett Room 912

Email: ph.careers@imperial.ac.uk

Office hours are 12.00-14.00 on Mondays and Fridays during term; please email to arrange an appointment during office hours.

The Departmental Careers Advisor is member of academic staff who acts as a point of contact between the students in that department and the College's Careers Advisory Service. If you want to discuss, for example, vacation training, research opportunities and further study, CV writing for technical jobs, or other career matters then you are welcome to come and see me.

Within the Department, notices about Careers Talks, Employer Presentations, Vacancies, etc are displayed on noticeboards within the student study area on level 2 of Blackett. Notices of MSc / PhD opportunities will also be displayed there. Careers reference and take-away literature is available from the Careers Service. 

Departmental Careers Consultant

Jessica Popplewell is the Careers Consultant responsible for the Department of Physics

Jessica will be offering career interviews this term for Physics students.

Students who would like an appointment should book via JobsLive. Appointments will be open at 07.00 on the day before the appointment takes place (e.g. if you look on a Monday morning you will see availability for Monday and Tuesday).

25-minute appointments with any of the Careers Consultants, are available in the Careers Service or online via Microsoft Teams. These are bookable via JobsLive. The Careers Service is located on Level 5 of the Sherfield Building.

The College Careers Service offers a range of services to Physics students. The Careers website is a comprehensive information resource where you can find help with every stage of planning your career, from making choices, to applying and attending interviews.

There is also information on psychometric tests and other activities that might form part of the assessment / selection process.  You may find the publication ‘Your Guide to Career Planning’ useful also. 

The Careers Service organises a programme of employer presentations, fairs, skills workshops run by employers and a range of careers seminars as well as a vacancy site. All the events can be booked via JobsLive.

• Diamond Light Source summer projects: Diamond Light Source is the UK's national synchrotron facility, located in Oxfordshire. Each year Diamond gives 10-15 undergraduate students the opportunity to work on a beamline during the summer period.
• Leonardo summer placement opportunities, Luton.
• STSI Space Astronomy Summer Program, Baltimore, USA.
• Cavendish Nuclear
• Met Office
• DSTL
• Oxford Instruments
• Renishaw
• National Physical Laboratory
• TTP

Additional physics related placements in the engineering and science sectors can be found on the Gradcracker website.