Department of Physics & Astronomy

Tyler Smart

Year Graduated:

2016

Software Engineer

Job description

After graduating from HSU, I joined the physics Ph.D. program at UC Santa Cruz. After five years, I finally felt my thirst for learning physics was beginning to be quenched. In its place, a desire to understand computer programming had grown immensely. So after graduating from UCSC in 2021 I was hired as a Software Engineer at Intel. As a software engineer, I am in charge of designing, debugging, and implementing code. As of this writing, the particular software I am focused in these days involves testing the functionality of solid state drives. This codebase is primarily in python (my favorite language) with some parts written in C++ (my second favorite language).

Why did you choose this program?

When I started at HSU I knew I loved math, but felt drawn to something more application heavy such as engineering. After some deliberating in my first year, I decided that physics was a perfect split down the middle. In physics, you still spend a lot of time working on cool math problems, but these math problems are motivated by interesting physical phenomena. More specifically, a discussion with Monty Mola, who was the chair at the time, sold me on this program because I wanted to learn about the topics he mentioned to me, such as electricity, magnetism, relativity, and especially quantum mechanics! Quantum mechanics is a fantastic subject.

How did this program prepare you for your job?

My job track was a bit odd, but odd is the normal for a physics major. Being a physicist says a lot about your ability to solve technical problems and employers love that. So it is very possible to have a career switch to a different field such as computer science, as I have done.

What did you enjoy most about the program?

That's impossible to answer, as there are several things I enjoyed about the program. To be brief, the faculty was amazingly supportive which I think is crucial. This extends to the Math Department as well, where I spent a fair bit of time.

Job description

Why did you choose this program?

How did this program prepare you for your job?

What did you enjoy most about the program?

What would you say to prospective students who are thinking about applying to this program?

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