How to Identify Your Skill Set and Narrow Down Your Path

As a physics or astronomy student you possess valuable skills, but it can be challenging to articulate them and pitch them to potential employers. To get an idea of which careers might be a good fit for you, take some time to reflect on your experiences, as well as the knowledge and skills you’ve learned and how those skills transfer to the job market. A great first step is to consider the wide range of capabilities that physics and astronomy students commonly develop.

Working with laboratory instruments

As you participate in lab courses or research, you learn to use a variety of instruments (e.g., optical components, electronics, machine shop tools) and often develop skills related to their operation, maintenance, repair, quality control, and troubleshooting.

Conducting research

Research experiences engage higher level thinking skills such as research design, data collection and analysis, critical thinking, error analysis, problem solving, and the ability to find, read, analyze, and interpret relevant background information to simplify a problem.

Utilizing computer hardware and software

Research often involves writing or modifying code, using statistical analysis software, and applying modeling, image processing, or simulation techniques. You may also have used programs like LabVIEW or Python to run equipment and collect data or built specialized interfaces for this purpose.

Communicating complex ideas

You’ve likely had lots of experience presenting complex information or ideas to different audiences, such as writing technical lab reports and research papers, presenting research or class work via a talk or poster, and participating in an outreach event for kids or the public.

Thinking analytically and quantitatively

Through endless hours of homework and labs, you’ve learned to apply mathematics to a variety of practical problems. You can manage information effectively, think logically, interpret data, and intuit what information is relevant to finding a solution. You also have lots of experience identifying essential unknowns.

Working with others

Teamwork, collaboration, leadership, and decision-making come along with earning a physics or astronomy degree. Don’t underestimate the importance of being part of research teams, campus organizations like SPS, and group projects.

Solving problems and thinking critically

Again and again, in labs, research, group projects, and homework, you’ve examined a situation, identified problems, thought creatively about solutions, and implemented them. You’ve also learned how to find solutions through literature and online searches, collaborating with colleagues, experiments, and reasoning.

Now spend some time brainstorming—and actually writing down—an exhaustive list of every experience you’ve had that could be relevant to a career. Include classes, labs, and research, but also include jobs, extracurricular activities, hobbies, side gigs, and volunteer work, even if they seem unrelated to your intended career.

Next, go through each one, revisiting the broad categories and identifying the specific skills you developed through that experience. Be specific and avoid generic terms like “worked on.” Instead, use more descriptive verbs: collected, measured, assembled, repaired, calibrated, trained, analyzed, processed, designed, managed, etc.

Finally, analyze your list of skills. Which were most fulfilling, exciting, or fascinating to develop? To apply? Did you enjoy applying a skill in some environments more than others? Are there any skills you never want to use again? What common themes emerge?

Keep these skills in mind as you explore different careers through the stories in this issue, informational interviews, and beyond. People with the same degree may have vastly different experiences and levels of success in the same career. Noting how well your skills and passion align with various possibilities can be a helpful way to zero in on great options for you.

This piece is adapted from Tool #5 in the SPS Careers Toolbox, a workbook published by SPS and the American Institute of Physics.

The SPS Careers Toolbox

The SPS Careers Toolbox is an in-depth resource for physics and astronomy undergraduates planning to enter the workforce after graduation. Many of the tools can also be applied to finding internships, research positions, or even entrance into graduate programs. Explore the toolbox at spsnational.org/sites/all/careerstoolbox .