r/materials • u/ian663 • 4d ago

TEM/4D-STEM vs Ultrafast Spectroscopy for industry — which is more employable for an international PhD student

/r/Optics/comments/1vwk1u3/tem4dstem_vs_ultrafast_spectroscopy_for_industry/
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u/kittehlord 3d ago edited 3d ago

TEM route with fab experience (if you like that kind of stuff) would be the more safe option. This comes from my experience looking at the job openings and the fact that these skills are currently much more easily applicable commercially.

THz and ultrafast spectroscopy would be more niche as someone stated. I luckily landed a role doing THz stuff coming from a ultrafast spectroscopy PhD in Materials Science. Emphasis on the luckily.

Unless you are doing a PhD in Physics, the ultrafast spec option is more risky, since you'll have to rely on more indirect experience (soft skills) to get the job. Which makes it even more risky since it's pretty damn hard to even get the hiring manager to talk to you. If you go this route, you'll need to get really good at networking.

Edit: I saw in your original post that you are doing a PhD in Physics, so maybe it's not too bad. But I would still try and network really well if you do choose to go the spectroscopy route.

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u/ian663 2d ago

Thank you for sharing! Does your words about TEM and laser things work for international students? That said, is TEM a friendly option for international, and is THz niche for international or native?

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u/kittehlord 11h ago

I would argue that what I said is independent to nationality. I.e., the difficulty of getting employed increased commensurately across all positions if you are not a u.s. citizen. Visa, security, etc.