r/Physics • u/regularjig • 14h ago
From r/AMA: I'm a 28 year old physicist in a leadership position in a large space and defense manufacturing company; AMA
As the title says. I'm a 28 year old physicist, working as the lead engineer for a large space and defense manufacturing company. Part of my job is to work directly with all engineering team heads, doing project engineering, project management, and systems engineering. AMA
Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/s/ziHdUgtHrt
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u/Confident_bonus_666 14h ago
How do you find working with engineering as a physicist? Was it an easy transition? I'm thinking there must be a lot of stuff that isn't covered in a physics degree.
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u/regularjig 14h ago
Depends on what type of physicist you are. If you’re from an experimental background (i.e. programs like Engineering Physics) then it’s not that hard of a transition to my specific role. Because my specific role doesn’t require minute engineering knowledge. I work on the top level of all projects and my physics brain has actually made it a really enjoyable and smooth transition to this role. But if I were to work as an “engineer engineer” I’m sure I would have had a much tougher time.
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u/Heysoos_Christo 9h ago
Can you elaborate on this a bit? This might resonate with me - I haven't looked at your credentials as I was just perusing reddit and this thread popped up on my front page and I'm just now reading the questions/answers, but I'm guessing you're a PhD-level physicist? The reason why I ask is that I have a physics BS but have worked in a couple engineering roles (one was helping to build a dark matter detector and my most recent position was at a quantum computing startup) for the past 10 years or so doing experimental lab work. I'm taking time off to recover from burnout but I see this time as kind of pivotal in my career because I could try and go in a number of different directions, one of which may be more on the project management track.
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u/regularjig 8h ago
Happy to help. I do not have a PhD, and have a masters instead. You do not need a phd to become a professional physicist with a P.Phys certification. A combination of a physics degree and relevant work experience is enough.
My recommendation would be getting a degree related to PMP, and advertising yourself as a “systems engineer”. As a systems engineer you don’t work with the minute engineering details and you work with the top level information of all engineering sub teams, which in my experience a physicist’s brain is well suited for!
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u/Heysoos_Christo 8h ago
I did not even know a P.Phys cert was a thing! I'll have to look into that. Is this something that may be more common outside the US, do you think?
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u/regularjig 8h ago
It is how you become a registered physicist where I live! With a PhD you become globally known as a PhD and rightly so but there isn’t a certificate that comes with your PhD registering you nationally as a physicist. That’s a registration that you need to apply for, and education is only of it’s requirements! Here’s a link for your reference!: https://cap.ca/programs/pphys-certification/requirements/
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u/karmakramer93 14h ago
How do you feel about the rising anti-intellectualism and overall distrust in Science in the US?
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u/regularjig 14h ago
I think our society has turned into a pendulum. The general order swings from one extreme to another. People struggle to find the right balance. When it hits the very hot or very cold end of the extreme, it comes back around. So it’ll keep rising until it’ll burn itself and come back. The other end are the militant atheists IMO.
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u/bfeebabes 13h ago
Pendulum analogy is spot on. Know physics, human nature, history and the pendulums that feature in all of them and you're pretty set to navigate the world.
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u/substituted_pinions 11h ago
I’m confused—do you have your doctorate in physics? You would be a couple years out of your program max.
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u/regularjig 11h ago
You don’t need a doctorate to be a professional physicist with P.Phys certification. You need a certain level of physics education and a certain level of relevant work experience. I have the Master’s + work experience combo. See this:
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u/substituted_pinions 5h ago
I guess I’m old fashioned—as far as I knew, a physicist that didn’t have a PhD was called an engineer.
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u/regularjig 5h ago
I think in terms of verbally calling someone a physicist that’s still true. But if you want to be a “professional” physicist you have to get certified by your national association of physicists, and they don’t necessarily need a PhD (not at least where I live)
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u/SASAgent1 14h ago
Any interesting stories?
Related to defense? About your work there or one of the things you worked on
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u/regularjig 14h ago
Cosmetics play a much larger role than people think. Think of X-32 and F35. We have a system that works just fine, but higher management insisted on a cosmetic modification that would affect the structural engineering of the system. But they insisted, we changed, and the whole thing turned into a shit show that we had to rebuild the structure from scratch for.
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u/SASAgent1 14h ago
Even at that level?
Surely the billions in defense contract, and the specifications mentioned would be more important?
Or is it that the ppl on the other side(i.e. not in your company) are swayed by a sexy looking plane
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u/regularjig 14h ago
Yes even at this level. The problem who insist on such modifications are not stupid though. As I’ve started working closer with the suits I’ve realized that. They know that customer X is interested in a product that looks like item Y, and even though our product Y1 does everything product Y does, we make it also look like that one to increase the chance of signing a contract!
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u/InfinitePoolNoodle 13h ago
Are you hiring?
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u/regularjig 13h ago
Yes. Where are you based?
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u/cooperslink 11h ago
Physicist here, currently working as a CS/Salesforce Monkey, would love to actually get a physics based job. Can we talk a bit?
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u/InfinitePoolNoodle 13h ago
Sacramento right now, but the wife and I want to move to San Antonio sometime soon to be closer to her family
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u/regularjig 12h ago
We do have a US plant/office but I’m not US based.
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u/Thongrim 11h ago
Europe?
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u/regularjig 11h ago
Company is headquartered in Europe yes.
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u/Thongrim 11h ago
Did you get a master degree or a PhD is preferable for transitioning to industry? Was the lack of academic positions the main factor to consider industry?
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u/regularjig 11h ago
I personally prefer masters + work experience as opposed to PhD and no work experience. It seems to be also a more effective pathway to break into the industry objectively. No I wasn’t considering a PhD at all. If anything I think breaking into the industry is harder than being accepted to a PhD.
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u/Thongrim 11h ago
Do you interview people leaving academia for positions at the company you work for? Do you see a pattern in them?
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u/regularjig 11h ago
I’m not a hiring manager in the company and we haven’t hired anyone in my fields of expertise since I’ve joined. It is possible that the hiring manager will ask me to join him in an interview for an applicant that’ll work with me. That being said there has been hires in engineering teams but those hires were interviewed by that engineering teams head, and HR. My role is in parallel with the engineering heads, so unless we hire one there, or someone in my current role, then I’ll more likely won’t have much exposure to that process.
However, I can speak through experience being on the other side of the fence. When I was looking for this role I would ask the people who were interviewing me, the same question. It seems like communication skills (or lack there of) seems to be the pattern in the upcoming generation. I personally think covid was a huge blow for that generation’s communication skills.
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u/browntrasher 14h ago
Do you support trump and if so how dare you?
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u/regularjig 14h ago
I don’t and it’s my personal opinion, it does not reflect the company’s posture. That being said we’re non US company, and we don’t build things that kill (company policy is no offensive product). The general morale in the company is also not in favor of Donnie.
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u/Salted_Liquorice 14h ago
What skills do you think are least available in your workforce?
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u/regularjig 14h ago
Surprisingly it’s not a technical skill. It’s reliable and effective inter-personal communication.
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u/TheInvisibleToast 14h ago
Salary and benefits?
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u/regularjig 14h ago
I’m on the lower end because of my relative young age, 120k + great benefits!
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u/omikumar 14h ago
How much penetration of generative AI do you see, in research and manufacturing activities in space and defense applications? If possible, could you highlight few use cases where it is being used.
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u/regularjig 14h ago
AI has been a great copilot for myself. Our older engineers are not comfortable with it and don’t really use it but I use it as a copilot. That being said it’s not nearly mature enough to do the first couple of steps in a complex project.
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u/CorruptArmada 14h ago
What’s your opinion on the comments from David Grusch regarding companies such as yours being engaged in reverse engineering of recovered off-world craft?
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u/regularjig 14h ago
I don’t know the guy, and our company’s tech is not even that high end compared to things that some other defense companies build.
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u/ZombroAlpha 14h ago
I’m 35 and only recently discovered I have a passion for physics. I can’t stop constantly learning as much as possible. My dream would be to become a theorist but I just need to get something going. Is it worth it trying to get a career at this point with my age and AI advancing so rapidly, and also given the current administration defunding everything important?
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u/regularjig 13h ago
If you ask me, never is too late to start learning. That’s because there’s so much to learn that by then end of our lives you and me and Einstein will have pretty much the same order of magnitude of knowledge of all knowledge out there. With a theoretical path, it’ll be a longer journey to turn it into a career that makes money but it’s certainly achievable. If you have the financial backing for at least 5 to 10 years I’d say go for it as a career. If not, I say have a career but also do physics on the side!
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u/eradicater101dh 13h ago
At what age did you get your PhD ? And What was your dissertation topic?
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u/regularjig 13h ago
I actually don’t have a PhD. I have a masters and my professional physicist certification from our national physicist association is through that masters. Bachelor’s in engineering physics, and master’s in Space Physics.
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u/StoicMori 10h ago
Yeah nothing you’ve said adds up as someone currently in the industry.
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u/regularjig 10h ago
Can you give me 5 examples of things that I’ve said that don’t add up?
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u/StoicMori 9h ago
- 28 y/o PM at a large defense company.
- Physics degree with no PhD.
- You don’t know how security clearances work.
- You say you’re a PM but can’t act as a hiring manager. It’s possible it’s different there, but I doubt it. I’ve seen PMs personally try and recruit people many times.
- If you were a PM, with a clearance, you’d be making significantly more than 120k. That is just barely higher than what we pay engineers fresh out of college in a beginner role. You’d be being paid as a PM if you were one regardless of everything else you’ve said.
There are a ton of inconsistencies in what you’re saying throughout your comments. I’ve had a clearance since I was 17, did 8 years in the navy and worked jointly with DIA, and now I work at a small medium size defense company.
This is a sad attempt at trolling. “Cosmic top secret clearance”.
This whole ama is actually hilarious to read as someone who has spent their whole adult life around it.
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u/regularjig 9h ago
I’m happy to provide proof if you can somehow guarantee my information won’t be used elsewhere. Here’s an idea: Send me a meeting link in my direct chat, then we can set up a video call, you show me your ID and send an email to my burner email address with your company email. Then I’ll respond with my company email to your company email. How’s that sound? Happy to do that if you’d be willing.
Seems like all of the 5 items listed are just about my PM function. PM is part of my job for some projects but not the entire thing.
For the security clearances, did you try googling “cosmic top secret clearance” before commenting?
Physics degree with no PhD; is that one about the professional physicist certification? If so I provided a reference in a different comment but here it is again: https://cap.ca/programs/pphys-certification/requirements/ you don’t need a PhD to be a professional physicist.
And for the pay, US pays significantly better and I’m not US based, and even in my own country I’m at the lower end because of my lack of extensive experience.
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u/StoicMori 7h ago
Again, there are just too many red flags to ignore. The way you speak about the topic does not align with my experience.
And no, I was not referring to being a professional physicist. I was referring to the general education and experience level that would be expected from someone in your claimed position.
Cosmic Top Secret clearance is real; however, it is a NATO clearance level, akin to a TS in the US or Canada. It strikes me as odd that you would reference a NATO clearance level rather than your home country’s. Perhaps most of your work is with NATO, which could help explain it. Regardless, some of your explanations on the handling and dissemination of classified information seem unusual.
But no, I will not be scheduling a meeting with you. The burden of proof is on you. After all, this is your AMA, not mine. This is simply my interpretation of the things you’ve been saying.
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u/regularjig 7h ago
If something doesn’t make sense to you, it doesn’t mean it’s not true. I’m not asking you to give proof, I’m asking you to be a witness for it! I’m only safeguarding my personal information. How about this one: I’ll schedule the video call, use your burner email to join, we talk, once we build trust we use our company emails for verification. How’s that sound?
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u/StoicMori 7h ago
I just don’t understand the approach here. You’re willing to give out actual PII to a stranger, but not the company name, the country you’re in, or your home country? How long have you been in your current role exactly?
I’m willing to admit I may have jumped the gun in saying you aren’t who you claim to be. But I need details, and I don’t mean your PII. Because I also don’t want you having my PII.
You could be a foreign adversary at worst, or someone I need to report as a foreign contact at best.
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u/regularjig 7h ago
Check your DM. I appreciate the change in tone! I’m not here to fight! Hope the DM will give you enough clarity.
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u/SCICRYP1 13h ago
I was working in aerospace too (private launcher R&D) before picking up biochem stuff
What is your opinion on the trend of people with big money joyride to space and service building around it? Scope of this question is for the launch that is purely for sightseeing and not include privately or self funded science project
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u/regularjig 12h ago
I have mixed feelings about it. In one hand it helps mature our space capabilities, on the other hand I’m not sure if that’s the most needed place for that money to go. If I think of it as a fun thing that they personally want to spend money on (for example as opposed yachting) then I personally prefer they spend it in going to space.
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u/DAIQRY 13h ago
A couple of questions:
- Could you explain what exactly your job entails?
- What were things that were easy in your job because of your physics background, what were things hard to transition into coming from physics?
- Did you want to move into this industry in uni already? If yes, what were things you deliberately did to "move out of the pure academic environment" / align yourself better skills-wise?
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u/regularjig 13h ago
I’ll try to do it as much as I can without giving away the actual names of things I work on! My job is to be the cement in between the bricks. The bricks are the engineering teams, and the brick layer is the director of engineering. My job is very cross functional. I have to work with all subsystems like software, electronics, mechanical, and also PM stuff. I make sure that these subsystems are integrated, are talking to each other effectively, and my engineering understanding is good enough to get the cream on top from all teams.
Systems level thinking is a great skill that a physicists brain develops. I am really grateful for having that. It feels like doing nuclear fusion as an analogy. The whole things is a big pile of hot mess and you want to make it converge and focus where you want it to focus. Pretty much like squeezing clay in your fist. It wants to squeeze out from between your fingers and you should stop that from happening. The most challenging part has been getting used engineering terminology and vocabulary so far!
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u/regularjig 13h ago
Forgot to answer the last one before I hit send.
Not at first. Earlier in my physics journey I was going after cosmology. And it’s still my true love. But as time passed I realized if I want to contribute to cosmology, we as a species need more progress in the industry than in the theoretical physics. So that’s why I switched.
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u/CTMalum 13h ago
Do you ever feel like you chose the dark side?
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u/regularjig 13h ago
Sometimes. But not in terms of morality since we don’t manufacture weapons and offensive stuff. But mostly because my life ideology is to be in the deep space exploration field and I’m in defense and space field now. But these days they’ve almost become the same field. So defense gotta be in you if you wanna be in space. I hope to be almost exclusively in the space sector in mid term future. But I think my current role puts me in a good position for that.
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u/Lost-Delay-9084 12h ago
Does your company bring on summer interns?
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u/Virtual-Ted 14h ago
Do you have any ethical concerns over the technology you develop being used to harm people?
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u/regularjig 14h ago
Absolutely. It was a massive consideration when accepting the job offer. As I mentioned in a different comment, company policy is that we don’t produce offensive tech. The things we build are not designed to kill. If a customer decides to modify it then that’s a different discussion, (you can even modify a car to kill!) but as far as I’m aware non of our products have ever been put into offensive combat positions.
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u/ZombroAlpha 13h ago
Sorry, one more question - do you have any reason to believe that artificial intelligence is far more advanced than the public is led to believe?
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u/regularjig 13h ago
I’m no AI expert, but from what I’ve seen it’s much much better than a non expert human in doing tunnel vision tasks that it might be designed to do. But a non expert human has much broader sets of expertises. I personally don’t think that AI is turning into the sky net (not yet at least!).
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u/YouThinkThatsAir 13h ago
What is your opinion if i say the black holes weaving time and space together creating a cosmological breathing that is pushing and pulling the universe forward till it can mutate a new dimension?
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u/regularjig 13h ago
My opinion isn’t really relevant since I’m no cosmologist, but it seems like a cool and poetic analogy to an interesting physical theory. I don’t know what you mean by mutation, but my understanding of physics dictates that I follow observations, and so far things seem to indicate a heat death end. That doesn’t mean I think that’s what will necessarily happen. A good physicist should be flexible, so if I see the universe stop expanding and start contracting, then probably the cyclical universe is true! But so far I’m only aware of expansion.
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u/StoicMori 10h ago edited 6h ago
Where is the proof of this? My company would never let someone with no experience into a PM role and it’s a small/mid size company.
I have an extremely hard time believing this.
Edit:
OP personally messaged me and provided more context. It's not concrete but things do match his story. If anything OP deserves a pat on the back for over achieving.