Physics Alumni and Outcomes
Physics graduates are encouraged to maintain contact and involvement with the department and other alumni throughout graduate school, careers, and beyond. By “keeping in touch,” graduates can continue to enjoy a lifelong relationship with the department.
Staying Active with the Physics Department
- Keep your contact information up to date by sending any changes via email sent to kwaybrig@gettysburg.edu.
- Share any news about you - a new job, a new degree, a graduate school acceptance, and/or other life events. You can submit this information using the Alumni Update form.
Physics Major Outcome Stories
Sebastian Gibbs '23
Systems Engineer, U.S. Department of Defense
“One of the people on campus that made a big impact right from the start of college was Prof. Benjamin Kennedy,” said Gibbs. “He changed my perspective on how to approach challenges and to always have a positive outlook on every situation that I encounter during my college career. Another person that had a very big impact on me was Prof. Ryan. E Johnson. He took me under his wing during the early stages of my college career and helped me to develop a big picture mindset which allowed me to have the confidence to pursue anything that I wanted to do in my life.” A member of the football team and Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Gibbs intends to use his physics major to enter the aerospace field as a systems engineer and work on defense systems for the government.
Han Gong '22
Software Developer, CGI
Gong’s proudest moment was being nominated for and awarded the student life committee award in the fall of 2021. Gong was highly involved on campus, serving as the yearbook editor-in-chief for two years, the Ski Club president, a student office assistant in the Office of Student Activities and Greek Life, and a resident assistant in his senior year. “These opportunities allowed me to fully embrace the Gettysburg experience,” Gong said. Graduating with a physics and computer science double major, Gong is considering various jobs or pursuing the dual-degree engineering program for electrical engineering at Washington University.
Careers for Physics Majors
Today’s world is complex and often confounding, but physics graduates are well prepared to enter this world. They have begun to understand the laws that govern the way things work and the physical principles behind these laws. Products and technology change constantly, but physical principles do not.
Training in physics mixes observation, imagination, calculation, and reasoning with finely tuned oral and written communication skills. The resulting expertise provides an invaluable foundation not only for graduate school, but for careers in a wide variety of fields, including medicine, music, engineering, education, law, business, public administration, and more.
- Because it provides the basic underpinning for all of the sciences, physics is one of the most versatile of all undergraduate majors.
- Physics majors acquire knowledge and discipline that are applicable to many fields of employment, including technical positions.
- Coursework, lab work, and an integrated program of colloquia offer tremendous preparation for both careers and graduate work.
The most important thing is not any one particular piece, but finding enough pieces and enough connections between them to recognize the whole picture.
Christiane Nusslein-Volhard
Post-Gettysburg Employment
Physics graduates are prepared to fit easily into any one of a number of technical jobs. The broad nature of the subject leads to such acquired skills as the ability to solve experimental and mathematical problems; the ability to use a wide range of general-purpose scientific instruments; and the ability to carry out a complicated set of instructions requiring organizational, research, reasoning, and communication skills.
Past physics majors have successfully entered such diverse fields as:
- Astronomy
- Biomechanics
- Business
- Computer science/programming
- Economics
- Electrical and mechanical engineering
- Energy and environmental research
- General and technical sales
- Geophysics
- Insurance
- Law
- Mathematics
- Medical technology
- Medicine
- Metallurgy
- Meteorology
- Molecular biology
- Ocean and environmental engineering
- Pollution control
- Psychology
- Publishing
- Secondary education
- Small business
- Systems analysis
- Telecommunications
- Theology
- The many sub fields of physics
Explore Career Options
Physics majors have many avenues for exploring potential careers:
- Visit Gettysburg College’s Center for Career Engagement for information on job preparation, as well as long-range career planning and in job placement.
- Visit the packed-with-information websites of the American Institute of Physics, including its listing of companies that are hiring physics majors. Physics Today Jobs delivers a diverse array of competitive opportunities upon graduation, and also offers free physics-specific career resources including career advice, webinars and document templates.
- Take every opportunity to talk with faculty, alumni, parents, and friends about potential career paths/jobs.
- Seek a technically-oriented summer job/internship. Check the Physics Department’s Summer Research Opportunities web page, as well as your college email for announcements that are forwarded on to physics majors and faculty as soon as they're received, and watch the bulletin boards for announcements.
Graduate Studies
The study of physics prepares students for graduate work in a variety of fields. Students considering graduate school are urged to meet with a faculty adviser as soon as possible.
Gettysburg graduates have undertaken graduates studies in such fields as:
- Astronomy
- Astrophysics
- Biophysics
- Business
- Education
- Electrical engineering
- Environmental engineering
- Geophysics
- Law
- Materials science
- Mathematics
- Mechanical engineering
- Meteorology
- Nuclear engineering
- Ocean engineering
- Physics
- Psychology
- Systems Engineering
- Theology
Among the graduate schools attended by recent Gettysburg College alumni are:
- American University
- Brown University
- Cornell University
- Duke University
- George Washington University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Kansas State University
- Lehigh University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Northwestern University
- Ohio State University
- Penn State University
- Princeton Theological Seminary
- Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute
- Rutgers University
- Stanford University
- University of California/Los Angeles (UCLA)
- University of California/San Diego
- University of Chicago
- University of Colorado
- University of Delaware
- University of Florida
- University of Maryland
- University of Michigan
- University of Minnesota
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of Texas
- University of Virginia
- University of West Virginia
- University of Wisconsin
- Wesleyan University Graduate Studies in Planetary Science
- Wharton School of Business
Ready to Do Great Work?
