My path from being a Physicist to becoming a Software Engineer

This may seem like a no-brainer to most. Physics is the basis for most engineering disciplines. You ask a mechanical, civil, or electrical engineer about physics, and you'll get a earful. These engineering disciplines came from applying the understanding of the universe to a set of problems. I make it sound simple, but its complicated, and math is involved, and its crucial for our modern society. However, one discipline that did not come from physics is Software Engineering, and of course that's the one I fell into.

I had been in IT since high school, and used it as a way to pay my way through college, earning enough money for laundry and a few extras. It was a great experience, I learned a lot. When I did REU programs (Research Experience for Undergraduates) over the summers, I always ended up being the guy maintaining the Data Acquisition (DAQ) system. That's the machine/computer that monitors and records different experiments to allow for analysis.

My IT specialization carried through to physics in graduate school as well. In grad school, I wrote some software that saved Millions of dollars annually by allowing people to calibrate complex detectors with very little downtime. You may think that is incredulous, how could a graduate student save that much money with such little effort?

First, you'd be right for thinking that. Second, the answer is it wasn't a priority. That is a phrase that has echoed throughout my entire career. You see, in large organizations, the "big rocks" are thought about up front. In physics, at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, that meant understanding the beam line, the shielding and mechanisms to keep researchers safe, the physics that was being studied, and organizational pieces like who makes what decision when. Years went by, and the ability to quickly calibrate using things as simple as cosmic rays to calibrate the detectors was an after thought. Some experiments used them, sometimes, while most would actually turn the beam on to calibrate their detectors. Doesn't sound like a bad thing, until you realize specialized safety officers had to come and walk through the experiment hall to make sure it was safe. That is after waiting for a cooldown period. Then, on top of that, the traditional calibration approach had to be executed multiple times.

It was an afterthought to create a piece of software that could read from every detector and tell you what it was seeing as far as cosmic rays were concerned. It was also seen as not necessary. After the tool came online during my PhD experiment run (a PhD I never completed), it was revolutionary. It saved time. It meant no longer opening the lab hall, but being able to get a "good enough" calibration to get started.

Shortly after this I got married, and didn't have good insurance. See, I in a gray area of employment. Graduate students earning a stipend is, on one hand, an employee. You paid taxes on your income, you had some benefits, but those usually only extended to on campus items. I went to Kent State University in Kent, OH, but was stationed at JLab in Virginia. This meant doctors were expensive.

On top of that, the reality of physics set in to me. People like to think of the sciences as a pure pursuit of knowledge, but that's not what it is. The pettiness of normal people exsists there, just like everywhere else. Who is first on the paper? What contributions did you make? Who do you know? All of these things matter. Plus, physicists are people, meaning they all have their own biases, whether or not they like to admit it.

I became disenchanted with physics, feeling that if the this pure "search" was muddied by humanity, then I might as well find a way to make a difference. By that time, I had a lot of IT tools under my belt. From some basic server administration and end user support, to writing, maintaining, and publishing software. I left my graduate program with my Masters, and searched for other areas I could be useful.

My skills were all IT, and software was interesting, so I went there. From grad school, I served NASA as a contractor, then the US Navy, and on from there (for more info, checkout my resume).

Physics is a worthy pursuit, don't get me wrong! I miss the days of looking at data and determining what it meant through careful analysis. I count my days at JLab as interesting, exhilarating, and fun! For me, though, I wanted more. I wanted to have a family, provide for them what I didn't have growing up, but more importantly, I wanted to help people. The discoveries of physics are usually years or decades away from practical use. I wanted to help now, and the best way I could, was software engineering.

It is not the normal path. My peers who went to school for Computer Science often don't take me seriously until they realize I can sling code with them and keep up (and sometimes break ahead). While I may not be the normal "Software Engineer", I love the fact that I am one. Everything from coffee makers and cars, to Web Applications and data processing and machine learning are all in my purview these days. I can't think of a better way to get into the field, from studying the physical universe, to making a digital one!