With a degree in Physics you have many career opportunities in Denmark as well as abroad. Physicists at the Department of Physics and Chemistry at University of Southern Denmark find employment in many different places both in the public and the private sector. The technological challenges of the future become an exciting job market for physicists.
Physics is a very broad, scientific programme which opens the door to many different jobs: several of our masters work as teachers and mediators at high schools, colleges etc., others hold research positions at universities in Denmark and abroad. A third grouping work in the public health sector as hospital physicists. About half the masters work in various positions in the private business sector. It might be in connection with research and development assignments in private companies, but often it is the general and personal qualifications developed during your studies which are the most important when job hunting.
Teaching and research
Many study Physics in combination with another subject, for instance Mathematics, Chemistry or Philosophy, which gives you the opportunity for a career teaching high school.
With a completed MSc in Physics you have the opportunity of applying for a position as PhD student at the Faculty of Science.
More information on the PhD programme at the Faculty of Science.
Other career paths
There are many other possibilities for employment for physicists: hospitals, high technological production companies, tele-communications, power plants and chemical companies, which i.e. produce catalysts. Here the concrete knowledge of the fundamental physical theory creations and experimental methods is extremely useful, when the physical aspects of a certain problem must be separated and analysed to create a base for the solution.
Besides this, there is a demand for physical knowledge and method in the financial sector and in biotech companies. When physicists are hired in the financial sector, it is because the financial markets are complex systems which can be modelled in various ways which either resemble or are identical to physical models.
In the world of programming, there are also jobs for physicists. Theoretical physicists have acquired modelling qualifications and are trained in solving problems from scratch with the computer as an important tool. Physicists also find employment where experts are needed in connection with major modelling assignments.
In larger companies such as in the construction sector which usually employs engineers, physicists are also often employed. The practically educated engineers are paired in teams with physicists to solve major problems. This could be the construction of a bridge where practically-oriented solutions are needed, but also requires emphasis on the underlying physical phenomena.