Recent content by pensive in PA

I'd like to do some kind of experimental research; whether that's as a PI or for a university, company, or government isn't especially important. Theoretical/simulated physics is neat but I'm ultimately more interested in observation. I could see myself teaching if it weren't the main job (e.g...

Thank you for all the replies! Wait, I'm not remotely ready to apply to grad school, not least because I don't know what I'd want to apply for. No, the grad school I attended before wasn't elite, and I wouldn't expect to be accepted to even that same caliber were I to apply again. I just meant...

I like this idea, but I don't know where I'd even get started! Asking seriously: should I pick a few high-ranking physics schools and read about some of the professors' work to see what interests me? This also sounds appealing, though it would still come with many of the same challenges as a...

I live with my parents, and they moved away, so I did too. It wasn't the kind of job I could do remotely or transfer to a different location; and I had been thinking of quitting anyway to have more time/energy to look for something better. I did apply to some jobs while I was still at my last...

In 2017 I graduated with a B.S. in physics and went on to a physics Ph.D. program in the fall. After six months, though, because of mental health problems I left grad school on a "medical leave of absence" from which I chose not to return in fall 2018. After job-searching for a while, I settled...