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" Over the past eight years, the physics job market has steadily improved, due to the strong economy and tech industry. There appears to be a reaffirmation on the part of business, industry, government, and academia of the important coupling of science and technology to the health of the economy.
Almost a decade ago, an extraordinary confluence of events on both global and national scales conspired to make the job market very bleak for young PhD physicists looking for employment in the three traditional physics work force sectors: academia, government labs, and industry. These events included an economic recession that affected both the hiring and retention of large research staffs at venerable industrial laboratories and the hiring at small colleges and universities. At the same time, the cold war had ended, and the national labs were undergoing a period of instability with respect to both their mission and their funding. The dissolution of the Soviet Union also resulted in a number of distinguished Russian physicists suddenly becoming available to compete for positions in US research institutes and universities. Physicists did not suffer alone during this time--so did practitioners in other scientific and technological fields.
In the early 1990s, postdocs were in "holding patterns", many taking a second, third, or even fourth postdoc appointment in hopes of eventually landing an academic or research position. The Young Scientists' Network was started by and for recent PhDs who were frustrated by their job searches. It provided an electronic forum for the exchange of concerns, news about information resources, and practical advice. Within the first two years, the network had gained 3000 subscribers, and it continued to be an important resource until 1997, when its Web presence was discontinued.
Recently, however, opportunities have come knocking! Recruiters are on university campuses, often successfully luring graduate students away--sometimes before completion of their PhD research--with promises of signing bonuses, stock options, and competitive salaries. Just when faculty slots are beginning to open up, due in part to an increasing retirement rate among physics professors, academic jobs may be looking less inviting in contrast to opportunities in the private sector. The number of physics PhDs awarded each year continues to decline, especially among US citizens. Thus some departments may find it increasingly difficult to fill their openings. In short, employers are looking for more physics-trained graduates as physics undergraduate and graduate departments are struggling to find enough students to enter their programs.
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