Employment for Physics
Students and Graduates
(Including Computer Science)
John Sohl, WSU Physics
And Team Hill:
Joyce Peters
Kasey Thompson
Larry Smith
Overview
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National Physics Job Data
WSU Physics Job Data
Hill Air Force Base Jobs
How to Prepare Now
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Class Choices
Projects
Research
Experience: Internships, Jobs
• What Next
Stepping back for a moment:
What one thing do all reviewers
of applications (grad schools or
employers) have in common?
They want the best!
What are Your 3 Options?
• Strive to be the best that you can.
Work hard, it will pay off.
• Hope that the best apply
somewhere else.
• Ski or beach bum.
In Today’s Standard Examiner
How to Prepare Now
• Reference Letters Mirror What You Do Now
• Class Choices & Performance
• Projects
 Flashing LED ornament or warp drive?
• Research
 Be aggressively involved
 Present your work every chance you can
 Attend all seminars
• Internships
Graduate Study in Other Fields is mostly engineering.
(39% of “Other Fields” group)
55%
Major Physics Employers
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Department of Defense (Civilian)
DoD Military Branches
Military Industrial Complex
Aerospace
High Schools
Colleges & Universities
Federal and State Agencies
Utah Employers 2006-’08 (Partial List)
of New Physics Bachelors
Air Force Civil Service
Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd
BlueHost, Inc.
DHI Computing Services
General Electric
K-tec
L-3 Communications
Nate Coan Enterprises
Simco Electronics
Sohl Source Consulting
Sylarus Technologies
U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground
University of Utah Hospital and Clinics
Wasatch Front Regional MLS
Wasatch Photonics
Watson Pharmaceuticals
Source: AIP Statistical Research Center, Initial Employment Surveys, 2006-2008
WSU Physics Alumni Job Data
Examples of Actual Positions
• Corporate President
• Engineer Consultants -- self employed with own
consulting firms
• Design Engineers
• Systems Engineers
• Programmers
• Research and Development Managers
• Civil Engineers
• Test Engineers
• Teachers
• Statisticians
Source: Lisa Largent, WSU Development Office
WSU Physics Alumni Job Data
Sample of Employers
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JR Simplot
Bureau of Reclamation
KempTriel
L3 Communications
ATK Thiokol
Source: Lisa Largent, WSU Development Office
Boeing
Olson Peterson
Northrup Grumman
Autoliv
InfoCore, Inc
Ball Aerospace
World Class Capability
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Software Maintenance Group
The 309th Software Maintenance Group
(309 SMXG) at Hill AFB is a recognized
world leader in “cradle-to-grave”
systems support, encompassing
software engineering, hardware
engineering, program management,
data management, consulting,
and more…
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BE AMERICA’S BEST
Present Workloads
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F-16 Operational Flight Program (OFP)
Avionics Embedded Software
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Weapon Systems Mission Planning
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Automatic Test Systems (ATS)
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Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV)
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BE AMERICA’S BEST
Present Workloads (Cont.)
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Human Engineering Development Station (HEDS)
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Common Modular Environment (COMET)
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Common Aircraft Portable Reprogramming
Equipment (CAPRE)
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Software Control Center
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BE AMERICA’S BEST
Present Workloads (Cont.)
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Milstar Space Communication and Warning System
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Ground Theater Air Control
System (GTACS)
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Range Support
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Software
Technology
Support Center
(STSC)
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BE AMERICA’S BEST
Future Workloads
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New F-16 and A-10 OFP Workloads
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Future Automatic Test Systems
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F-22 and F-35 Systems Software
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Space and C4 ISR Workloads
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Air Force Battle Control System (BCS)
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Theater Battle Management Core System (TBMCS)
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Command and Control System-Consolidated (CCS-C)
Expanded EFV Embedded Software Workload
BE AMERICA’S BEST
Areas of Excellence
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Software Engineering
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Systems Engineering
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Web-based Applications
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Configuration Management
BE AMERICA’S BEST
Areas of Excellence (Cont.)
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Hardware Engineering
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Modeling, Simulation
and Emulation
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Technology Upgrades
BE AMERICA’S BEST
Consulting and CrossTalk
The Journal of Defense Software Engineering
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Software Engineering Consulting Services
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CrossTalk, the Journal of Defense Software
Engineering
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DoD-approved, Bi-monthly, Peer-review Journal
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Published by STSC for 21 Years
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Over 22,000 hard copy subscribers
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415,000 electronic monthly readers
reach us at:
http://www.stsc.hill.af.mil/crosstalk
BE AMERICA’S BEST
Software Maintenance
Group Demographics
Support Staff
10%
Configuration
Management
6%
 850+ Employees
 High Growth
 Outstanding Work
Administration
5%
Technicians
10%
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Engineers/
Computer
Scientists
69%
BE AMERICA’S BEST
Needed Skill Sets
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Software Architecture
Database Driven Applications
Web Centric Application
Development
Command Languages
Web Languages
Gaming Application
Development
Sense & Avoidance Software
Virtualization
VMware
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Modeling, Simulation and
Emulation
Artificial Intelligence
Robotics & Intelligent
Systems
Printed Circuit Board Design
Software Assurance
Quality Assurance & Testing
Software Security
Certification & Accreditation
Software Configuration
BE AMERICA’S BEST
Hiring Projections
Next 6-12 Months
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F-16 Block 40/50 OFP:
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A-10 OFP:
85 new hires
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TBMCS:
85 new hires
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Other additional workloads:
45 new hires
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Attrition backfills:
35 new hires
TOTAL SMXG NEEDS:
100 new hires
355 new hires
next 12 months
NOTE: These are conservative estimates
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BE AMERICA’S BEST
Software Engineering
Workforce Challenges
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Insufficient candidate pool of engineers
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Mindset that “Only an engineer will do”
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Need to restructure many engineer positions to create
computer scientist positions
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Need to focus on necessary skills sets and not just
engineering degrees
Lack of business, acquisition and leadership skills
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Cannot hire enough engineers
Technical excellence is not the only competency
needed in Software Engineering
BE AMERICA’S BEST
Software Engineering
Workforce Challenges (Cont.)
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Federal qualification and hiring rules
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Citizenship and security clearance requirements
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Significant increases in workload
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Need to hire large numbers of personnel quickly
Aging workforce soon eligible to retire
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Control who and how quickly we can hire
Control pay and benefits that can be offered
Over 275 of Hill’s Software Engineering professionals
will be eligible to retire by 2015
BE AMERICA’S BEST
Aging Electronics Engineer &
Computer Scientist Workforce
Electronics Engrs & Computer Scientists Eligible to Retire
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BE AMERICA’S BEST
Qualification Requirements
For Computer Scientists
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Bachelor’s degree in computer science OR
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Bachelor’s degree with 30 semester hours in a
combination of mathematics, statistics, and
computer science.
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At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have
included any combination of statistics and
mathematics that included differential and integral
calculus
All academic degrees and course work must be from
accredited or pre-accredited institutions
BE AMERICA’S BEST
SMXG Work Environment
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SMXG is considered best place to work on base
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Ranks highest in Hill work culture assessments
Professional work environment
Very high retention rate
Worldwide career opportunities
Workload variety
Continuous training
Quality of life services
Fitness time
Work schedule flexibility
BE AMERICA’S BEST
Student Career Experience Program
(SCEP)
• Paid internship with health insurance
options
• No tuition, no guarantee of permanent job
• Must be ≥ half time student (Physics, CS)
• Contact Greg Nielsen or Karen Doutre
(WSU) for details
• Awesome experience
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NOW WHAT?
• Physics Majors – Minor in CS, take the
new Computational Physics Track
• CS Majors – Minor in Physics
• Take statistics class from Math Dept.
• Get involved in HARBOR
• Select GREAT projects and research
tasks
• Excel in everything you do.