My friend's son recently graduated with a PhD in physics and his first job out of grad school gives a $500k salary

trails for life wrote:

3.) How did he know how to find out about this job so that he could apply?

I ask the 3rd question because I'm horrible at this. I was also in a physics program for undergrad, but dropped it because it didn't matter who I asked at the university, no one could tell me what I could do with the degree (aside from be a professor), what industries to look into for employment, or where to look for jobs for it (aside from token online postings).

Have you tried the Internet? And what do you means aside from online postings? That's how almost everyone gets jobs. Either online postings, career/recruitment fairs at colleges, and personal connections.

Good Troll. Or you are gullible.

Yes, many very smart people are now going into finance because those jobs tend to pay well. This is diluting the Engineering talent pool and that in turn is recently driving up Engineering salaries some. But $500k out of the gate may not be impossible, but is highly improbable.

old timer here wrote:

My friend's son recently graduated with a PhD in physics from a top 10 school, and his first job out of graduate school is paying a salary of $500k. From what I was told, physics PhDs are in heavy demand in every technical sector now including tech and finance. I hear that many are choosing to not go into academia because of this. Times sure have changed!!

There is exactly zero percent chance this is true. Unless he somehow got a job as a Major League Baseball player.

It's slightly possible his comp could hit $500k, but not his salary.

Bra-ket wrote:

asdfasdfa wrote:

Thats abnormally high but physics Phds have been well compensated for a couple of decades. They tend to have really solid math skills and those translate into a bunch of fields.

Really! People with physics degrees have really solid math skills...I never would have guessed.

I think that the thinking that goes into solving physics problems - translating a physical problem into a mathematical one, solving it and then, mist importantly, interpreting the result and using it to predict things and discover unknown behavior is why physics people do so well in most every field.

Few people have solid math skills. Most people max out at thing like calculus and dif eq which is all you needed for most engineering problems. But they are pretty much just memorization and pattern matching. The next step iin math is drastically harder.

And yes doing those models well is why the people get the big bucks

old timer here wrote:

My friend's son recently graduated with a PhD in physics from a top 10 school, and his first job out of graduate school is paying a salary of $500k. From what I was told, physics PhDs are in heavy demand in every technical sector now including tech and finance. I hear that many are choosing to not go into academia because of this. Times sure have changed!!

I guess anything is possible, but personally, I think this is absolute B.S. There is not a company I know of on earth that will pay you a half million a year with no experience even if you went to the best school and graduated number one. Physicians are the highest paid PhDs and it takes them many years if ever to reach $500K. From what I know, most physics PhD don't make half that amount even with years of experience. However, there are some highly paid individuals with a physics PhD, but those individuals have made a career using their math skills and their degree just happens to be physics. With that said, insurance, finance and a couple other industries about 20 years ago started hiring individuals with strong math skills and training them, but you really don't need a PhD. A daughter of a family friend graduated 3 years ago with an undergrad in math, minor in physics and just completed her MBA will working full time. She is close to $200K. She works along side a physics PhD who does make much more than she does in spite having several years more experience.

Physicians don't get PhDs, they go to trade school.

he was hired for his skills, not physics degree

He's an undrafted free agent in the NFL, duh!

If this were true how come investment firms have such a difficult time beating the s and p 500? A lot of those firms who bought into the "sophisticated hedge techniques developed by quants" ate a sh*t sandwich in the last 10 years. Warren Buffet is having a hard time getting hedge fund managers t o take him up on his bet that they cant beat the s and p 500 over an extended period. Reeks of astrology

One of my friend's sons in the slums of Baltimore earned aprox. $500,000 just in the last couple of months. He never went past eighth grade.

judge holden wrote:

If this were true how come investment firms have such a difficult time beating the s and p 500? A lot of those firms who bought into the "sophisticated hedge techniques developed by quants" ate a sh*t sandwich in the last 10 years. Warren Buffet is having a hard time getting hedge fund managers t o take him up on his bet that they cant beat the s and p 500 over an extended period. Reeks of astrology

Renaissance Technologies has averaged over 30% over a 20+ year period. All quant. They don't waste time betting on their performance, they just perform.

That being said, most quant funds don't outperform the S&P. But most non-quant funds don't outperform it either.

Calling BS

https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/physicist-salary-SRCH_KO0,9.htm

I doubt the 500

Probably 375

Unless in Manhattan and crazy 70 hrs per week.

Highest pay I've personally known within the last 15 years was $200k lawyer and $325 E.R. Physician.

Also that lady with Engineering PhD, she'll want babies in 3, 2, 1

She'll get them, either quit work or neglect them.

your friend is a liar wrote:

Calling BS

The 500k guaranteed salary seems pretty absurd, but PhD physicists in careers where that's a conceivable number for total comp (including stock, signing and relocation bonuses, and performance bonuses) will have job titles more in line with "quant researcher/trader/associate" or "data scientist." Most new physics PhDs do not actually work as physicists.

your friend is a liar wrote:

Calling BS

link]https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/physicist-salary-SRCH_KO0,9.htm

Why are you posting a physicist salary? Did the OP say he was employed as a physicist?

Liar bc "out of the gate"

It usually goes like this

$50 k and after 10 years $90k computing work/scientific

$75k professor after 10 years $120k teaching research work

Pro-Bono No PAY for 5-8 years then $100-$200 Lawyer

And so on

So yes, calling BS

$500k

Or 1/2 Million I can't believe this

John 3:16

Romans 10:9

Repent and be saved

Get_married wrote:

Liar bc "out of the gate". It usually goes like this

$50 k and after 10 years $90k computing work/scientific

$75k professor after 10 years $120k teaching research work

Pro-Bono No PAY for 5-8 years then $100-$200 Lawyer

My guess is these numbers are from 1996.

I recently graduated from a top Ivy league MD/MBA program, at the top of my class, and then took a 50k resident salary. How is this news? Pissing contest?

old timer here wrote:

My friend's son recently graduated with a PhD in physics from a top 10 school, and his first job out of graduate school is paying a salary of $500k. From what I was told, physics PhDs are in heavy demand in every technical sector now including tech and finance. I hear that many are choosing to not go into academia because of this. Times sure have changed!!

Cool story, only slightly spoiled by being untrue