Can someone tell me more about Quantum Physics? What is it, what is the future for it, and what kind of a employment outlook does it have? And how hard is it to get a job in that field?
Quantum physics is just a theory. About the only jobs in the field are physics professor. There's a few other jobs studying black holes, dark matter and the super collider in Switzerland.
Check out Richard Feynman, Lawrence Krauss, and Brian Greene. http://www.worldscienceu.com/ (An initiative started by Brian Greene) MIT's undergraduate physics courses (Classical Mechanics, Electricity & Magnetism, Vibrations & Waves) are on youtube in full.
I am very interested in quantum physics.....the field is exciting to me. It seems I cannot know enough and neither can we yet.
Quantum Physics is the study of physics of the very very small, study of subatomic particles. I assume it's pretty difficult to get a job in, as a lot of it deals with very complex physics and formulas. It seems quantum physics has a very bright future, a lot of ideas are featured on shows such as Through the Wormhole and various Science magazines. However from what I've read, it seems the various 'schools' of ideas surrounding Quantum Physics become rather 'trendy' and go in and out of popularity in the field. Some of the Pop Quantum Physics stuff relies on equations, which have yet to be physically verified and perhaps really will not likely be verified in the near future, so from an outside perspective, there seems this kind of no-(wo)man's-land in Quantum Physics, which I don't know if is good or bad in terms of pursuing the field(s) as a career.
Quantum physics is a theoretical field, pretty much all of the "jobs" in quantum physics are academic careers .. basically you stay in school.
There is alot more to be explored. For example with quantum computers we would be able pretty much to see the future (predict wheater accurately)
Quantum mechanics is the most wildly successful physical theory of all time, the dream of the alchemists. With the exception of mass and gravity it describes everything else known with an accuracy of parts per billion. Its future is limited because a Theory of Everything is likely to replace it in the near future or, at least, require major revisions to the theory. It is used in every branch of the sciences and possibly all of engineering as well. There is even a branch of psychology known as Quantum Cognition that uses a simplified version of the math to explain otherwise inexplicable experimental results. I would never recommend anyone in the US study quantum mechanics or any of the sciences with the goal of working in the field because the US just imports all the talent they want from other countries and the competition for jobs is fierce. Either you really like the field or you don't, but the best jobs in the US these days are in management and handling money because we import anything else we might need and other countries often pay more of the cost for college.
Getting a job in quantum physics is maybe not necesarrily a job in quantum physics, but a job in what quantum physics allows you to do. For example researching and developing new materials and technologies. Where quantum physics is going in part is toward a unified field theory reconciling quantum mechanics and the general relativity.
