What do physicists get paid to do? I recently wrote about a physicist’s need to consider and understand the business aspects of the work they do for a living. Now we will look at my view on the five major roles that physicists play in traditional jobs for physical scientists. These are jobs with titles like professor, lecturer, researcher, scientist, etc. The five roles will provide a structure for understanding the business and physics components of these types of jobs. Here they are:
Teacher – This is perhaps the most obvious role. You cannot earn a BS or PhD in physics without encountering many physicists playing the role of teacher in your courses. Most graduate programs will also require you to spend some time working as a teaching assistant to gain experience in this role yourself. Communication is the core skill of the teacher. The result they are paid for is the transmission of knowledge.
Artisan – Lots of physics research involves building stuff: codes, experiments, delicate detectors, etc. Creating these complex and typically one-off research tools is the province of what I like to call the artisan. Artisans can have a variety of skill sets depending on their niche. The result they are paid for is a typically a useful product, e.g. a simulation code module or a diagnostic instrument.
Sage – The sage’s role is to generate original ideas and distill raw data into understanding. For many, this is what they think of as the core job of a “physicist.” Research, synthesis, data analysis, and the disciplined application of intelligence to identify key problems and their solutions are the sage’s primary skills. They get paid for new ideas and innovations.
There is a shift between the three roles above and the two below. The roles above focus on individual contributions. One person can successfully teach a class, build an instrument, or come up with a new idea. However, many of the interesting problems in physics are too big for one person and require a team approach. That, in turn, creates the need for someone to manage the team and lead the effort. Leading and managing are distinct activities by the way. As Peter F. Ducker put it, “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Here is my favorite formulation of the same idea: Leaders show you where to go; managers get you there.
Manager – Coordinating individual contributors and ensuring successful execution of team projects are roles of the manager. While technical knowledge is useful, this role is really about people. The manager’s primary skills are organization, communication, and emotional intelligence. Meeting project goals on time and within budget is the result that earns their pay.
Leader – The leader’s role is setting the direction the group will take and enlisting everyone in that vision. Vision, strategic thinking, and story telling are the leader’s primary skills. They get paid to keep their organization and its members headed in a successful direction. Technical knowledge in their field is also useful to the leader, but this is another role centered around people.
Like all models, this one is imperfect, but I find it captures reality with sufficient fidelity to be useful. When deciding which jobs to pursue or offers to accept, it is helpful to understand which roles the job requires and in what proportion. For example, I am a Lead Scientist in charge of the plasma diagnostics group at a private company. Here is how I would characterize my distribution of roles: Leader – 30%, Manager – 30%, Sage – 20%, Artisan – 10%, Teacher – 10%. As indicated, I spend over half my time on people-oriented work rather than technical tasks. By contrast, the diagnostic scientists that work for me spend over half their time in the artisan role, designing, building, and operating sophisticated detector systems.
None of the five roles is better or worse than the others. The key is identifying which ones you are best at and enjoy. Then find work that maximizes your strengths. If you find yourself drawn to a professional role outside the five listed above, then a non-traditional career might suit you better.