Hosted by Amazon – Project Kuiper
This summer, we will be featuring blog posts written by PhD students who participated in Career Services’ Career Exploration Fellowship (CEF), a program that helps doctoral candidates explore their career interests through networking opportunities with advanced degree professionals. Click here to learn more about CEF.
Modern particle physics requires one to be a jack of all trades – programmer, data scientist, mathematician, engineer, and whatever other hats you’re expected to wear on a given experiment. The skill set I’d acquired at Penn was broad, but facing a choice between continuing as a postdoc or entering industry, I found myself stuck on how to sell this training as one cohesive package to a potential employer unfamiliar with the day-to-day operation of a particle accelerator.
When I saw Dr. Bradley Dober’s background as a potential CEF host, I knew this would be my opportunity to get the inside scoop on how to navigate the physics-to-industry switch. Here was a Penn physics Ph.D. who had navigated both a postdoc and a successful transition to the corporate world, even managing to stay closely affiliated with physics by working on device testing for Amazon’s satellite deployment for Project Kuiper. Brad made it clear that his NDA made discussing Kuiper details a no-go, but there was plenty to discuss even without getting into the rocket science. Dr. Dober offered an honest perspective into both the postdoc and industry tracks, and encouraged me to fully consider a postdoc before making the jump to industry.
The major takeaway from my CEF experience, though, was how crucial my professional network would be to any kind of opportunity. When I discussed my confusion on how to communicate a physics background to potential employers, Brad offered a simple but critical reframe: I didn’t need to find the perfect words to explain the worth of my skills, but instead find the people who already knew my skills’ worth. Dr. Dober went on to relate his own experience in developing his career through the friendships and connections he had made at Penn, finding career opportunities through his relationships rather than endlessly trawling the job market.
Leveraging the strong working culture in my research group, I’ve been meeting with one of our alums every week to gain industry insight and expand my network. My starting list of six recent Penn ATLAS graduates has now grown to ~20 potential connections, as our former group members have given me their time, advice, and references based on nothing more than our shared time at Penn and passion for particle physics. Adding a single LinkedIn connection or sending one email may feel minuscule in the grand scheme of things, but I now know how important every professional connection can be.
I’m eternally grateful to Dr. Dober, the Career Exploration Fellowship, and my Penn ATLAS colleagues for the insight and new outlook I have on navigating the transition to industry. As my time at Penn nears its end, I no longer dread sending out job apps or searching for any odd opportunity, but instead know I will be able to find a fulfilling career in a physics-adjacent field. I encourage anyone reading this post to send a message and strike up a conversation – an opportunity can come from anywhere, and I’m excited for when I can repay the kindness that’s been shown to me in turn.
