Introduction and Summer internship advice

Sally said:

He needs to do a Summer internship, not necessarily specifically in theoretical physics, but in a related area

That is a pretty specific field which has few jobs outside of academia I suspect but if he is able to apply what he is studying then he may be able to get an internship with some of the larger chemical or manufacturing companies in the UK.

I did a degree in Applied Physics and they would send us on industrial placements over the summer break to start to develop our skills at applying the theory so it was a very practical approach.

In the case of your son I would get him to contact the university and ask if they have a department that can help with this inside the physics campus - chances are they will.

I ended up working in explosives research which turned out to be great fun with lots of opportunities to blow stuff up - most tweenage boys idea of bliss, and this was all through the uni making connections and organising it for me.

I was a long way from home to do this - about 400 miles so it meant I had to learn a lot of practical skills fast about living on my own and organising things like finding a flat to rent, organising transport, living on a budget etc so there are probably a bunch of skills there you would need to teach him.

Another big employer for physics students is the defence industry. I was offered a full bursary from them for my course on the condition I signed up for 5 years post graduation. I wasn't interested in being limited to such a disciplinarian employer so I passed on that.

The structure and support they offer may work for your son however but this very much depends on his autistic challenges and interests.

If this appeals to him he should contact the military recruitment directly and ask about their graduate programs.

The one thing I found really challenging when doing this though was that the skills needed to do my research job meant I had to learn a great deal about chemistry and computer programming (this was back in the late 1980s when there wasn't much available to learn from) and having to do all this on top of learning a new job, writing a research report for the uni and write research papers for my employer put a heck of a lot of stress on me.

I would also recommend getting him to sign up here and ask his own questions as he will get a lot more from the dialogue I suspect.

Hello Sally ,

Thank you for sharing this with the community. Congratulations to your son on his studies. You may find it useful to have a look at our employment pages include information and advice on looking for an applying for a job. We also have a webpage offering information and support on in your rights at work, dealing with bullying and interacting and coping at work.  

You can also find a free online ‘Finding Employment’ module on our website. This module is designed to help autistic job seekers entering the job market in understanding their strengths and what next steps they could take towards gaining meaningful employment or work. 

Our Spectrum Live online series also features an episode discussing employment, this can be found here. 

Evenbreak matches disabled job seekers with employers to build a diverse workforce. You can visit the Evenbreak website for listed job vacancies. 
 
 

The British Association of Supported Employment (BASE), have a database of supported employment agencies, so you can search for one in your local area. 

Maximus offer a range of employability programmes throughout the UK, Including, programmes for disabled people who are struggling to fine work. 

Our current employment and volunteering opportunities with The National Autistic Society are listed on our vacancies page.  We particularly welcome applications from autistic people.

All the best,

Chloe Mod