Over the past year, Charlotte Bimson, a fourth-year student majoring in physics, and Robert Brown, the Institute Professor of Physics, gave a series of presentations titled “Life After Graduation with ‘Présumés.’”
The presentations were centered on the topic of career readiness for physics students (and faculty) and introduced the concept of a pre-resume or a “présumé” for the early students. Students at all levels were connected to internships and career starts.
“Life After Graduation” is a new course relevant for all levels of physics students from first year to advanced graduate students. The course addresses the needs for early students to broaden their career horizon, and for upper-class and graduate students to network broadly. Weekly visits by different industrial physicists bring information about a large spectrum of jobs, and stories about choice of electives, internships, job-specific resumes, interviews, mid-career issues, and the overall satisfaction with their career paths.
Bimson and Brown presented about the course at five conferences: national American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) meetings in New Orleans and in Boston, the national American Physical Society (APS) in Minneapolis and at the regional APS and AAPT meetings.