The study of physics is the most direct way to understand our universe. Therefore, a profession in physics research is the best way for one to be on the frontier of our explorations of the world we live in. on the other hand, when talking about physics, people immediately come up with images of geniuses like Newton, or Einstein, making the subject far from the daily lives of the public.
I once held similar thoughts, which formed contradictions in my head between the intriguing nature of physics and the intimidating difficulty in perusing a higher level of physics research. In addition, I was holding the stereotype that the career options of a physics major are extremely limited, which proves to be untrue after the interview I conducted with a professor in physics. It is due to such conflicting ideas and doubts of career perspectives that I decided to choose the profession of physics as my area of interest. The interview results and analysis, together with relevant research on the topic will be presented in this report.
The interviewee is a professor at the department of physics and astronomy in a renowned university. He has had over 15 years of experience at the point of the interview. Before assuming the position as a professor, the interviewee had never been in a similar position. After studying as a graduate student and obtaining his postdoctoral degree, he was working in a national institution as a researcher. The size of the institution enabled it more than adequate funding in major physics projects, of which some the interviewee took part in himself.
Such experiences have helped him in the application for a faculty position in his current university. However, it is stated by the interviewee that teaching positions for physics in universities, especially of advanced levels, are not in abundant supply. This is partly because many of the established professors in the field remain in position even in their 60s and 70s, but the situation is becoming better now.
After a year in the position and the successes, the interviewee has obtained tenure, which enables him to enjoy academic freedom without worrying about livelihood: he is free to choose high risk and high reward research based on his interest in the field. With a tenure, the contractual bonds grant him relative security of the position. In terms of training before the profession, the interviewee had to go through six years of Ph.D. and even more for a postdoctoral, before working as a researcher to gain experience for 3 years.
However, little pre-occupation or on-the-job training was required for him. Such lack of training in the teaching areas is described by the interviewee as “learning on the job for 15 years.” As a result, different colleagues adopt different teaching styles. However, he also acknowledges teaching as one of the biggest challenges faced by him in the profession, as it can be difficult at times to convert physics into understandable ideas. similar concerns on the lack of training for professors are expressed in the study done by Jolly (2009), emphasizing the importance of innovative methods of teaching, instead of the casual and ununiform style currently adopted by most universities.
As a professor in physics, one of the major responsibilities of the interviewee is teaching. it is mostly students of advanced levels that the interviewee teaches, but sometimes he also teaches entry-level physics to undergraduates. However, the amount of work-related to teaching is only the tip of the iceberg for a profession (Herbst, 2012). A large amount of preparatory work needs to be done, shifting through books and articles to find suitable materials that help the students.
In addition, professors also need to come up with exam papers that require annual updates and address the questions of individual students. Since the interviewee has already obtained a tenure position, the work listed above accounts for only a small fraction of all works to be done by him. As a professor for advanced physics, the dominant parameter of evaluation for his works is the active research done in physics.
Continuous efforts must be made in performing experiments and drafting academic reports and journal articles. The research problem can be troublesome, but that is considered the whole point of conducting research by the interviewee: to solve problems that haven’t been solved before.
In addition to the teaching in classes and grading of assignments and exams, the interviewee has other responsibilities as well. as a faculty member, he needs to fulfill the services to the department and the university. For example, sometimes the interviewee needs to help do management work in some of the projects initiated by the university, steering things in the right direction.
Review of internal stuff can also be required sometimes. As a member of various physics committees, he also needs to fulfill these responsibilities and maintain cooperation and communication with his peers. Doing so enables him to obtain relevant information that helps him in his research, inspiring him with new research ideas as well. from the interview, it can be