As we dig deeper into the initial employment outcomes of new physics bachelor’s degree recipients, we are looking at a smaller and smaller group of people. In October, we noted that 47% of new physics bachelors enter the workforce; that is around 4000 people entering the workforce for each of the classes shown. Last month, we saw that 66% of those who enter the workforce take a job in the private sector. This month, we look at that group. In essence, we are looking at just under one-third of all physics bachelor’s degree recipients who take jobs in the private sector one year after graduation, or about 2500 people in each of these classes.
Over half of the private sector positions were in engineering (35%) or computer or information systems (27%). While almost one-fourth (23%) of the positions were in non-STEM fields, most of the non-STEM jobs required the employees...