Help with Physics degree

[LilyFlower2222]

DD is in year 12 doing further Maths, Physics and Chemistry. Completely undecided on what to study at university. Now she says she wants to do a Physics degree at the top uni’s. What are the job prospects and what does she need to do to prepare for interviews etc. She will be the first in family to attend university. Thanks

Does she have any idea of her predicted A level grades yet?

Apart from oxbridge, I'm not sure if many other unis interview for physics - she should check websites for the unis she's interested in for details of that sort of thing, a level requirements etc obviously.

If they do interview then it's likely to be very subject-focussed. Same applies to personal statements for STEM degrees. So, what physics-related interests does she have (eg in/helping run school science/robotics type clubs)? She might do well to see what's happening re Headstart schemes this year.

Re job prospects - has she had a look at this yet? Lots of possibilities!
For employability for specific unis, look in the league tales (the Times ones generally good, guardian is often somewhat misleading re which are 'top' courses)

www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/physics

(Sorry- meant to say re personal statements, for stem subjects it's the predicted A level grades which are most important).

Thanks for the responses. She’s interested in medical Physics and Astro Physics. We’ve been busy going on all the sites mentioned and hopefully will be able to get more info on applications and interviews

I believe a Imperial interviews for physics.

Very few interview. So no great need to worry about that. Leaving out Oxbridge and Imperial, there are some great universities that offer Physics. Having said that, the new Physics building at Oxford is a total stunner!

Lots of the top universities in the Complete University Guide offer a variety of courses. Therefore looking through the offerings from
each one will pay dividends. I would also consider if she wants small city/town, large city or campus. In the mix she might consider , UCL, Lancaster, Bath, Loughborough, Warwick, Bristol, Sheffield, Durham, Leeds, York and Manchester. Check the grades they want and she needs an aspirational choice (or two), two or more realistic choices, and one easier to get into choice - the insurance if exams go badly!

Physics grads will go into a variety of graduate level jobs. Mostly well paid. The university web sites tell prospective grads what they might aspire to career wise. Also, she doesn’t need to know now. University is about exploration and finding your niche from a very wide number of avenues. They have careers festivals with employers actively interested in the students. There is a wealth of info available at university.

Lastly, she might also consider a Mechanical Engineering with her A levels. Again it’s a good choice for careers.

My dd also wants to do physics and, as well as the previously mentioned unis, Manchester also interviews I believe.
Job prospects- good, as others have said.

Oh yes. They do. They also want AAA! The Brian Cox factor one suspects. He’s mentioned in their blurb. Other universities without a tv star are available!

I'm a medical physicist. Great job. Very different to astrophysics though - what connects them in DDs mind?

She's unlikely to get on the graduate training thing without an excellent degree, which is partly luck of the draw, but if she wants to stick at it there are other routes in via clinical technologist posts. Or she might want to be a tech. Audiology is another clinical field that physics graduates can go in to, or neuroscience (e.g. brain MRI) at the more research end of it.

I actually knew someone whose first job after their PhD in Astrophysics was in a medical research lab. Physics can take you anywhere! Of all degrees it is perhaps the one you least need to worry about career prospects.

I did Theoretical Physics, which is a bit different but similar obviously. Great prospects for graduates from both physics and maths degrees. I worked in finance and am now a lecturer in a financial field.

I personally would encourage her to pick a general physics degree rather than astro or medical physics at this stage. That way she'll learn about a wider variety of fields without closing any doors. The typical physics degree will have astro and medical modules so she will still get to study those subjects.

She might also look at biomedical engineering (Imperial is well.regarded and has a new dedicated building) if only to rule it out.

Its a big growth area: scanning; medical devices; nanotechnology so good employment prospects. A lot of applied physics.