Experimental Physicist Skills

[Anonymous No.12559378]

What are some skills that a future expiremental physicist should have in general? I want to start developing these skills now and have eventual mastery over them. I am not talking about course work, more so things that arent taught in the classroom that I can work on and develop by myself

[Anonymous No.12559433]

>>12559378
Ability to work with computers (learning new programs/coding/scripting)
Learning experimental design
Ability to handle/analyze data
Soft skills like being scientifically creative, being patient, learning to handle failure again and again and I'm sure there is tons of other things

[Anonymous No.12559453]

>>12559378
>presenting material not like an autist (this post is a bad example, do as I say and not as I do)
https://4chan-science.fandom.com/wiki/Universal_Material#Presentations
>writing worth a damn (dis post be a bad example, do as i say and not as i do)
https://4chan-science.fandom.com/wiki/Universal_Material#Technical.2C_Scientific.2C_and_Mathematical_Writing
>latex
Do all your math assignments in Latex
>code monkeying
https://4chan-science.fandom.com/wiki/Computer_Science_and_Engineering#Basic_Programming_.26_Data_Structures
>electronics
https://4chan-science.fandom.com/wiki/Universal_Material#Devices_and_Apparatuses
>networking
Join study groups even if you don't personally need to
Speak to your professors in office hours even if you don't need help
>troubleshooting
Make random coding or electronics projects or modifications of stuff and figure out why your shit is not working.
Doesn't matter if it's not physics related
Yes, this is important
>time management/scheduling
Stop fapping
>selling skills
"hurr durr, I want to work in experimental physics, not McDonald's or R&D"; yeah, good luck passing interviews or getting grant proposals....

[Anonymous No.12559548]

>>12559378
Learn a programming language. We mostly use Python, though some instruments are in LabVIEW.

[Anonymous No.12559573]

Machine tools and electronics. Obviously you need to know computer crap; don't listen to a bunch of weebs on an image board tell you to learn more about computers. Stuff like how to fix your car is vastly more important than chang's "muh software." When you build scientific apparatus or search for leaks in your vacuum chamber, the debugging mindset involved in fixing a wonky ford is vastly more useful.

[Anonymous No.12559659]

>>12559573
Computerized electric cars are the future. G/o/ back to your c/o/pe board

[Anonymous No.12559808]

OP here
>>12559433
>>12559453
>>12559548
>>12559573
thanks for the info
also
>Stop fapping
top kek

[Anonymous No.12559810]

what field of experiment do you want to go into? I'm an experimental physics phd currently

[Anonymous No.12559832]

>>12559810
havent decided yet since im in my 2nd year of undergrad for uni but i was thinking of getting into top quark physics, or electroweak symmetry breaking, something in particle physics, or even dark matter. Also whats it like being a expiremental physics phd? and if you dont ,ind sharing what uni?

[Anonymous No.12559834]

>>12559832
*mind

[Anonymous No.12559980]

>>12559832
I don't particularly want to share where, because I'm at a top world uni and the groups are quite small.
The work right now is completely fucked due to covid, but beforehand it was a fun environment. People working around each other on interrelated, but different, parts of the experiments at a time. I miss it.

My field involves much smaller experiments, however. The fields you're describing are more competitive as there are fewer positions available. To be quite honest, particle physics is not a "booming" field at the moment.

[Anonymous No.12560191]

>>12559573
>don't listen to a bunch of weebs on an image board tell you to learn more about computers
But it's super interesting

[Anonymous No.12560555]

>>12559980
Oh wow thats really interesting, i had never given it much thought to how covid had affected work in the research field what is your current field of experimentation anon?

[Anonymous No.12560595]

>>12560555
I work on AMO experiment. So much smaller scale but more connected with the experiments, since we're actually running them in our lab. For particle physics you're going to be doing a lot of designing and testing parts that then get built or shipped to actual collider/reactor facilities.

[Anonymous No.12560624]

>>12559378
Some of it depends on the field (ex. plasma physicists need to know probe theory, AMO guys need to know lasers, etc), but as far as some good basics for any field
1) Learn LabView, it will make your life so much easier. I've saved thousands of lab hours by automating my sensors and diagnostics and shit.
2) Learn a coding language for analysis. Any language will do, most people use Matlab or Python, but I know plenty of guys who do everything in Mathematica, one guy who insists on using IDL, etc. All programming is fundamentally the same, you just need to figure out the basics of data analysis, modelling, numerical solving, plotting, etc
3) Learn some basic machining. If you can design and/or machine simple parts on your own without having to submit shit to a busy machine shop, you will get so much shit done and be everyone's new best friend.
4) Get in the habit of documenting EVERYTHING - it's a pain in the fucking ass, but you never know when some obscure detail about an apparatus or something will come up and when it does you're going to be fucked if you've already swapped shit around for a different experiment if you don't have it written down.

[Anonymous No.12560654]

>>12559832
>2nd year of undergrad for uni
Here's what you want to do: First, look up your department's faculty and read through people's research until you find one or two that sound interesting. Two, email the people you're interested in, say you're interested in learning more about their work and if you can set up a meeting/zoom meeting/whatever to learn more. Three, if it's shit that gets your dick hard, ask if they'd be interested in taking you on as an undergraduate researcher.

If you want to get into experimental physics, you need to figure out what shit genuinely interests you enough to spend 60+ hours a week in a lab during grad school. Also undergrad research is grad application gold.

[Anonymous No.12560759]

>>12560654
good to know what else would you consider to be "grad application gold" as you put it?
>>12560624
Im teaching myself some basic python and java currently thank you for your recommendations anon on what to work on
>>12560595
interesting i didnt realize thats what most people did for particle physics also im curious as to what you consider to be a "booming" field at the moment

[Anonymous No.12560809]

>>12559378
I found it particularly useful to train your forearms. Not only does it give you a better grip, abut also more stable rotations when handling equipment carefully. It will also speed up everything you do. I found it really useful for flipping fries and burgers.

[Anonymous No.12561909]

>>12560759
>what else would you consider to be "grad application gold" as you put it?
Undergrad research, especially if you do a poster for a conference or something.
Public outreach stuff that’s related to your field is always good (ex. I helped organize a monthly night sky observing event, another guy I knew in undergrad went around with our lab demo guy doing demos for elementary schools, etc). Get involved with SPS as well (at a bare minimum it’s a good way to make friends and form study groups).
Academic performance is obviously important, but you’ll find that a lot of grad schools are more interested in finding people who have a little more going on.