What can I do with a physics degree?

One of the great things about choosing to study a physics degree is that it opens up a huge range of career options when you graduate. You’ll be prepared for a role in the physics industry, or further study, if that’s the route you are interested in. But the skills and knowledge you develop will also be valued in careers in a wide range of fields, such as finance, engineering, law or business. Your degree will demonstrate to any employer that you are intellectually curious, insightful and not afraid of a challenge.

You'll develop key, transferable skills as part of your degree

By studying a degree in physics and astronomy, you’ll develop key skills which will be valuable to employers in any sector, such as:

• Numerical: mathematics is the fundamental language of physics, and an important part of your course. You’ll develop strong mathematical modelling and statistical analysis skills, through finding solutions to scientific problems.
• Analytical: you’ll learn how to analyse large data sets and find solutions to complex problems
• IT: including coding and programming
• Communication: group projects will help you develop valuable communications skills, and you’ll learn to convey complex ideas clearly and construct logical arguments
• Project management: through planning and running your own experiments
• Problem solving: you’ll be able to solve complex problems using analytical approaches

You'll be prepared to do almost anything when you graduate

The transferable skills and knowledge you develop on your degree will prepare you for a wide range of careers. You might be interested in a role which is directly related to your degree, in a field such as astronomy, space science, nanotechnology, photonics, medical physics, meteorology or geophysics.

Many students choose to go onto further study at PhD level. The international reputation of the School of Physics and Astronomy at Southampton means our graduates are able to secure PhD positions across the world.

Or, you might prefer to use your skills and knowledge to pursue a career in a different field. Your skills will be valued in professions such as accounting and finance, digital marketing, law, business, scientific journalism, manufacturing, engineering, teaching, computer science and software engineering.

Here are just some of the roles our graduates have gone on to:

• astronomer (hear from graduate Liz Bartlett)
• air traffic controller
• bioinformatics specialist
• business development manager (hear from graduate Richard Murray)
• data analyst
• digital marketer
• government science policy officer
• medical physicist (hear from graduate James Gray)
• satellite engineer
• scientific journalist (hear from graduate Daniel Sandford)
• statistician
• systems analyst
• teacher (hear from graduate Holly Farnham)
• weather forecaster
• web developer

View our careers pages to find out more about how Southampton will help you get to where you want to be.