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  • Careers and Recruitment
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Physics grapples with its image problem

Nature volume 398, pages 265–266 (1999)Cite this article

Fewer young people are wanting to study physics but universities are fighting back by designing more relevant courses. Graduates in the subject find plenty of openings in industry but a shortage of posts in the academic world.

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Figure 1: Education peaks: US physics PhDs rose in the 1980s, outstripping the number of faculty posts.
Figure 2: First destinations: work or further study chosen by recent UK physics graduates surveyed in 1996.

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  1. freelance science writer, 27 Edge Hay Green, Colden, Hebden Bridge, HX7 7HJ, Yorkshire, UK

    Helen Gavaghan

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  1. Helen Gavaghan
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Gavaghan, H. Physics grapples with its image problem. Nature 398, 265–266 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/18482

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