Comments on “Careers by the numbers”

The October 2024 careers issue of Physics Today missed the mark in more than one way. In Richard Fitzgerald’s otherwise excellent article “Careers by the numbers ” (page 30), the figure showing new physics PhDs’ starting salaries (page 35) confusingly has federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs) separate from university-affiliated research institutes (UARIs). It lumps the former with government labs and the latter with universities. Both FFRDCs and UARIs are nonprofit entities that are sponsored by various government agencies and perform a broad range of research. But the mission-driven research at several FFRDCs, such as Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, is much closer in nature to the work at UARIs, whereas the discovery science research at other FFRDCs, such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory, parallels university-based research.

More egregious, however, was that the other two features in the careers issue focus mostly on academic careers. As Fitzgerald’s article lays out, the vast majority of new recipients of physics bachelor’s degrees and a majority of new recipients of physics PhDs do not find employment in academia. Why, then, ignore the many and important other ways that physicists contribute to society and the economy? This careers issue contributes to maintaining the myth that the only proper career path for physicists is one that is university based.