High Satisfaction Jobs

Originally Posted by Milpool

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Computer simulation primarily. It is a direction that I see most probably because it is the direction that life seems to be taking me. I talked to a guy the other day in p-chem that said he never even touched a pipette during his PhD. His dissertation was entirely computational.

With computer costs going down and power going up so quickly, simulation is getting to be a very cheap option to test lots of things before spending the money to actually try them.

Computer simulation is a great skill to pick up. No matter where you learn it (I learned through physics), you can apply it in lots of contexts.

Originally Posted by Milpool

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Disagree entirely. Over the next several years, I expect the shortfall will be HUGE. It is brutally hard to find good people right now.

Of course, that doesn't mean I get a raise this year.

What kind of physicist jobs are you talking about? Because I know people with Ivy league PhDs and multi-page publication lists applying for really unprestigious teaching gigs.

OTOH, as I said above, those not hellbent on staying in physics are finding good jobs elsewhere.

Originally Posted by photoguy

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What kind of physicist jobs are you talking about? Because I know people with Ivy league PhDs and multi-page publication lists applying for really unprestigious teaching gigs.

OTOH, as I said above, those not hellbent on staying in physics are finding good jobs elsewhere.

This.

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I think that's a really good point. That said, there are jobs that people find more satisfying than others. Here's an article on a study about this point: http://www.livescience.com/health/07...isfaction.html. Basically jobs in which you help others (firefighter, physical therapist) are really satisfying, as are jobs that allow you a lot of freedom (author, painter).

As for finance, here's a story about one of my friends. The guy went to Wharton, had a 4.0 GPA (literally), got a great job after as a telecom analyst for a money management firm, and hated every second of his working life. He was 23, right out of college, getting five-figure bonuses around the holidays, in line to be making millions before he hit 30, but he hated the work. He liked the number-crunching part, but he didn't like the idea that he was basically just figuring out how to make more money for himself and everyone around him all day long. A few years later, he quits, goes to med school, and right now he's studying to be a radiologist. He's in debt, it's cold as **** where he lives, he studies for 10 hours a day, but he has no regrets at all about it. He's happier than he was before. No matter how much money you're making, if you're miserable at work 10 hours of the day it's just not worth it.

Originally Posted by longskate88

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One more thing to think about:

I remember reading various studies that show happiness is only about 10% circumstancial, whereas your attitude accounts for about 50% of your happiness. So a good attitude in a bad situation should make for a relatively happier person than someone in a good situation with a bad attitude.

Originally Posted by pickpackpockpuck

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I think that's a really good point. That said, there are jobs that people find more satisfying than others. Here's an article on a study about this point: http://www.livescience.com/health/07...isfaction.html. Basically jobs in which you help others (firefighter, physical therapist) are really satisfying, as are jobs that allow you a lot of freedom (author, painter). As for finance, here's a story about one of my friends. The guy went to Wharton, had a 4.0 GPA (literally), got a great job after as a telecom analyst for a money management firm, and hated every second of his working life. He was 23, right out of college, getting five-figure bonuses around the holidays, in line to be making millions before he hit 30, but he hated the work. He liked the number-crunching part, but he didn't like the idea that he was basically just figuring out how to make more money for himself and everyone around him all day long. A few years later, he quits, goes to med school, and right now he's studying to be a radiologist. He's in debt, it's cold as **** where he lives, he studies for 10 hours a day, but he has no regrets at all about it. He's happier than he was before. No matter how much money you're making, if you're miserable at work 10 hours of the day it's just not worth it.
So would you say the majority of his happiness IS circumstantial? If this switch in careers increased his happiness it sounds like that's the case. Another tidbit, I work at a golf course with many retired members. I can name a retired dentist with a brand new Ferrari who looks suicidal daily, while another frequent golfer is a landscaper/laborer, saves up to come play golf weekly, yet walks in with the biggest smile you've ever seen on his face. For these two men at least, it's all about attitude, as their circumstances couldn't be farther apart.

Originally Posted by Milpool

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Computer simulation primarily. It is a direction that I see most probably because it is the direction that life seems to be taking me. I talked to a guy the other day in p-chem that said he never even touched a pipette during his PhD. His dissertation was entirely computational. With computer costs going down and power going up so quickly, simulation is getting to be a very cheap option to test lots of things before spending the money to actually try them.
I got a decent amount of experience running theory calculations, it's absolutely a good skill to have, especially as an experimentalist. Too many people do only theory or only experiment, doing some of both gives you a better perspective on both. All the papers in my thesis feature both experiment and theory calculations, it really doesn't work without both. A lot of people bring in collaborators, but we managed to do it all in-house. It was a good experience, really brought in some good skills and you gain a much better understanding for what's going on. A bunch of my friends are pure theoreticians. It would drive me crazy, sitting in front of a computer all days, writing code and waiting for calculations. I gotta get my hands dirty at least a little, run some experiments for real. The ones with molecular mechanics experience tend to get some sweet pharma job though.

Originally Posted by photoguy

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What kind of physicist jobs are you talking about? Because I know people with Ivy league PhDs and multi-page publication lists applying for really unprestigious teaching gigs. OTOH, as I said above, those not hellbent on staying in physics are finding good jobs elsewhere.
The last postdoc in my old group was a physicist, decided to join a physical chemistry group to get some skills so he could actually get a job. Physics seems like a rough job arena, compared to chemistry anyway.

its those kind of guys who find medschool late and really utilize the experience that are happy. but i've seen too many early 30 year olds who went the med school route (straight from college into 4 years medschool + 3-6 yrs residency) and realized that they don't like it and are essentially fucked. in the hospital the happiest people i see are the pharmacists. they make like 80k or more a year work 8hour shifts and know their job inside out. physical therapists are pretty happy too.

Originally Posted by pickpackpockpuck

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I think that's a really good point. That said, there are jobs that people find more satisfying than others. Here's an article on a study about this point: http://www.livescience.com/health/07...isfaction.html. Basically jobs in which you help others (firefighter, physical therapist) are really satisfying, as are jobs that allow you a lot of freedom (author, painter). As for finance, here's a story about one of my friends. The guy went to Wharton, had a 4.0 GPA (literally), got a great job after as a telecom analyst for a money management firm, and hated every second of his working life. He was 23, right out of college, getting five-figure bonuses around the holidays, in line to be making millions before he hit 30, but he hated the work. He liked the number-crunching part, but he didn't like the idea that he was basically just figuring out how to make more money for himself and everyone around him all day long. A few years later, he quits, goes to med school, and right now he's studying to be a radiologist. He's in debt, it's cold as **** where he lives, he studies for 10 hours a day, but he has no regrets at all about it. He's happier than he was before. No matter how much money you're making, if you're miserable at work 10 hours of the day it's just not worth it.

I'd say being a Professor/Lecturer is highly rewarding. Grading stacks of hundreds of mid-terms, I'd have to say, is completely not.

I think a lot of his happiness is actually circumstantial. He's not overjoyed all day long, but he's definitely more content. Maybe he's the exception to the general rule. Then again, these studies on how much of happiness is circumstantial vs. personality may be focusing on the wrong circumstances. I think they're generally talking about money and health. For instance, people who win the lottery and are suddenly rich, or people who lose a limb and are suddenly confined to a wheelchair. For the most part (as far as I can tell), they're not looking specifically at people moving into careers that allow them to help others, which are the most satisfying careers. And for obvious reasons--if you're a tax attorney you can't just decide you want to be a physical therapist and go try it out for a while to see how you like it. It would be years between quitting the first job and starting the second because of all the education involved.

Originally Posted by longskate88

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So would you say the majority of his happiness IS circumstantial? If this switch in careers increased his happiness it sounds like that's the case.

Originally Posted by photoguy

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Computer simulation is a great skill to pick up. No matter where you learn it (I learned through physics), you can apply it in lots of contexts.

I find it tedious and boring. It scares me to death that perhaps I'll end up stuck in front of a computer even MORE than I am now. It is just so damn profitable though.

Appreciation, pimp, beer taster,

photography is the route i want to go. i really enjoy it, wouldnt mind doing it all the time, income proportianal to my abilities, schooling not necessary, free time.

just trying to figure out what field of photography i want to pursue.

Originally Posted by Eason

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I'd say being a Professor/Lecturer is highly rewarding. Grading stacks of hundreds of mid-terms, I'd have to say, is completely not.

You're a professor? For some reason I thought you were teaching ESL... maybe that's Aeglus.



Anyway, I'm a Social Studies/Phys Ed teacher in BC. Very rewarding, good pay (for a 24 year old) and lets me coach. I love it.