Discover
/
Article

Physics manpower: present and future

JAN 01, 1980
This summary of the APS Physics Manpower Panel’s report explores the employment paths of recent PhD’s, looks at attitudes and expectations, and makes projections for future supply and demand.

DOI: 10.1063/1.2913908

Ralph A. Alpher
Milan D. Fiske
Beverly Fearn Porter

The decade of the 1970’s has been a time of turmoil and transition for the support of physics and physicists, especially of young physicists just completing their graduate years. Science, the Endless Frontier, had come to have financial horizons quite close in during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. A whole generation of physicists had become accustomed to automatic careers, in which demand so far exceeded supply that the greatest problem was to choose among desirable alternatives. The great expansion of higher education had created limitless opportunities in the mode most familiar to the graduate student, and academic research—perforce with some teaching—became the normal career goal.

More about the Authors

Ralph A. Alpher. General Electric Corporate R&D Center, Schenectady, N.Y..

Milan D. Fiske. Retired, General Electric Corporate R&D Center, Schenectady, N.Y..

Beverly Fearn Porter. Manpower Statistics Division of AIP.

This Content Appeared In
pt-cover_1980_01.jpeg

Volume 33, Number 1

Related content
/
Article
Technical knowledge and skills are only some of the considerations that managers have when hiring physical scientists. Soft skills, in particular communication, are also high on the list.
/
Article
Professional societies can foster a sense of belonging and offer early-career scientists opportunities to give back to their community.
/
Article
Interviews offer a glimpse of how physicists get into—and thrive in—myriad nonacademic careers.
/
Article
Research exchanges between US and Soviet scientists during the second half of the 20th century may be instructive for navigating today’s debates on scientific collaboration.
/
Article
The Eisenhower administration dismissed the director of the National Bureau of Standards in 1953. Suspecting political interference with the agency’s research, scientists fought back—and won.
/
Article
Alternative undergraduate physics courses expand access to students and address socioeconomic barriers that prevent many of them from entering physics and engineering fields. The courses also help all students develop quantitative skills.

Get PT in your inbox

Physics Today - The Week in Physics

The Week in Physics" is likely a reference to the regular updates or summaries of new physics research, such as those found in publications like Physics Today from AIP Publishing or on news aggregators like Phys.org.

Physics Today - Table of Contents
Physics Today - Whitepapers & Webinars
By signing up you agree to allow AIP to send you email newsletters. You further agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.