Physicists in the Wild
It might surprise you, but most physics PhD students eventually end up in careers outside of academia. Some leave before graduating, some leave straight after, while others pursue an academic career for years before making the transition. Yet, despite the numbers, current PhD students often find it hard to envision any career beyond the academic horizon. Why? They're simply not exposed to the countless other exciting opportunities available to them.
"Physicists in the Wild" aims to change that.
Join Aggie Branczyk as she interviews physicists who have turned their PhD training into diverse and often unconventional careers. From the corporate world to government, from education to finance, discover the “other” paths traveled by those with graduate training in physics.
Tune in every two weeks to hear the stories of physicists in the wild.
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Aggie works at IBM as a Senior Research Scientist on the Quantum Computational Science team, and the opinions shared in this podcast are her own and are not in any way endorsed by IBM.
Physicists in the Wild
Jay Lowell - AMO Physics PhD to Chief Scientist in Aerospace
Aggie Branczyk interviews Jay Lowell, who did his PhD in AMO Physics and is now the Chief Scientist for Boeing Disruptive Computing & Networks. Jay shares with us his winding journey, that started with him wanting to be a fighter pilot, then led him to teaching at the airforce academy, then to managing programs at DARPA, and eventually to an interesting and varied career at Boeing. Jay reflects on the choices he made and what mattered to him as he was pursuing the career that he wanted. He talks about how he structures his work at Boeing. He also shares useful advice and insights, including how to broaden your opportunities for getting into a PhD program and the differences between the academic, government, and industry sectors.
Aggie Branczyk on LinkedIn
Jay Lowell on LinkedIn
Podcast video on YouTube
Jay works at Boeing as a Principal Senior Technical Fellow, and the opinions shared in this podcast are his own and are not in any way endorsed by Boeing.
Opening music by Alexey Ivanov from Pixabay.
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Aggie works at IBM as a Technical Program Manager for the Quantum Working Groups, and the opinions shared in this podcast are her own and are not in any way endorsed by IBM.