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Industry wants very bright problem solvers who have a broad technical underpinning. Physics graduates fill this part of the bill and they are frequently hired simply because employers know that the physics major effectively weeds out all but the most talented. There is currently a high demand for high-tech workers, and, in recent years, more than half of those with new physics PhDs have taken potentially permanent positions in the industrial sector, doing applied physics, engineering, software development, and the like. Those new employees largely report being content with their jobs, although some question whether their PhD program was the most appropriate training.
Aspects of management consulting certainly appeal to a number of physics doctorates, because it involves many of the same skills as physics, such as problem solving and quantitative analysis, but offers rewards on a shorter time scale and allows participation in a greater variety of projects.
Traditionally trained physicists are hired when specialized talent is scarce but, they are at a competitive disadvantage when demand wanes. Being smart isn't always enough. Industry expects new hires to contribute from day one. They are driven by bottom lines, deadlines, and rapidly shifting needs that require teamwork, versatility, and adaptability. Industrial employers perceive physicists to be on the periphery of the high-tech talent pool; they believe that physicists often lack the social skills needed to work on a team or that physicists are too narrowly focused on a topic and too easily diverted from practical goals by interesting science. One prominent industrial physicist said that academic physicists are "utterly clueless about what it takes to survive in the industrial world… They have no idea about customers, on-time, on-target delivery of results without excuses, or participation in teams."
Many physics faculty members don't have the background to prepare students for a career outside the world of academia. Moreover, there persists in academia the remnant of an elitist perception of what proper physics is and what one's best graduates should do. These days, elitism is decreasing and is rarely expressed, but students are masters of reading subtle, subconscious signals from their advisers.
Since the job crunch of the early 1990s, there has been a healthy trend for physics departments to take a broader view of the preparation of their charges and to embark on long-term improvements. Faculty members realize their departments must change if they are to attract good students and serve them well.
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