Experimental Physicist

As an experimental physicist, you work in a laboratory testing ideas about how things work - from the smallest particles to energy and forces. You plan experiments carefully, set up equipment (sometimes very specialised and expensive equipment), run the tests and collect the numbers. Then you spend time working out what the numbers tell you - whether your idea was right or whether something surprising happened.

You work with other scientists and engineers, sharing ideas and problem-solving together. When an experiment does not work the way you expected, that is normal - you learn from it and try a different approach. When you find something interesting, you write a report explaining what you found. The work needs patience and careful attention to detail, because small mistakes can ruin weeks of work. But when you discover something new, it is very rewarding.