Job hunting resources for Ph.D. students in CMP/AMO physics and related fields

Note added 5/28/2020: I just learnt that there’s a tool called UIUC Fellowship Finder. While completing excellent research work is the most important thing for a Ph.D. student, selling yourself is also critical to your career. Getting a fellowship from big tech companies like Google, IBM and Microsoft in the early stage of your Ph.D. study would definitely boost your future career significantly. It’s really a pit that I only get to know this when I’m about to graduating.

I’m about to graduate next Spring and it’s time to make a future plan. The following are some resources that you won’t get easily by googling “jobs AMO physics”.

• Academic job postings - CMP
• Academic job listings - AMO physics and CMP
• CMP/AMO Rumor Mill
• Academic job listings - Ultracold atoms

While the academia may not be the best choice for everyone, industry jobs are also great choices. In general, a physics Ph.D. can find a way to all kinds of industries including information technologies, software engineering, finances, data science, etc. Personally, I’m more interested in quantum computing and Wiki provides a List of companies involved in quantum computing or communication. At this moment, many US companies are hiring and some of the big ones are Honeywell, IBM, Microsoft, Raytheon, etc. There are lots of startups either, like IonQ, Atom Computing and QuEra. However, due to government funding sources or other contractor constraints, companies like Honeywell and Raytheon only recruit US citizens.

This year all graduating students like me will have to face the difficult situations in their jon hunting, as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, and having a physics major definitely does not make it easier. But I guess a PhD in physics basically tells people that you can overcome any challenge in your career or life. So… Good luck to everyone who read this!