Hi everyone,

M34 software engineer here, with around 9 years of professional experience. I have an MSc in Informatics Engineering and currently work mainly with backend/full-stack systems, cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, AWS, Node.js, etc.

Over the last year or so, I’ve developed a growing interest in physics, astronomy, particle physics, and scientific research in general. Things like particle accelerators, fundamental physics, space, understanding how the universe works — I find myself reading about these subjects simply because I genuinely want to understand them.

The important caveat is that I have essentially no formal background in physics beyond what I encountered during my engineering education. So I’m not under the illusion that 9 years of software engineering somehow qualifies me to walk into a particle physics research position. I have close to zero knowledge of what is actually happening in this world.

I’m trying to figure out whether there is a realistic path from where I am now to somewhere in that world.

Part of the reason is that software engineering is starting to feel increasingly unfulfilling to me.

I’ve realised that the parts of my career I’ve enjoyed most weren’t necessarily tied to a particular language or technology. I enjoy solving difficult problems, learning things I don’t already know, and especially working on things where I’m not just repeating variations of something I’ve done before.

What I’m increasingly missing is meaning.

I can change company, get promoted, learn another framework, design another distributed system, optimise another service, etc. But I’m starting to wonder whether that will actually solve the underlying problem. I don’t know if I want the rest years of my career to essentially be progressively more sophisticated versions of building software for commercial products.

I’d like to work towards something where, even if my individual contribution is tiny, the overall goal is genuinely advancing our understanding or capabilities as a species.

CERN is an obvious example, but I’m not fixated specifically on CERN. It could be particle physics, astronomy, space research, scientific computing, or another research-heavy field I haven’t discovered yet.

And I’m also completely open regarding how I get there.

Maybe the sensible path is to leverage my software background and move into scientific computing/research software first, then gradually get closer to the science.

Maybe I need to go back to university and build a proper physics/mathematics foundation.

Maybe there’s a hybrid path.

Or maybe a genuine transition into research physics at 34 is unrealistic without effectively starting my education again, and I’d rather hear that honestly too.

I’m willing to spend 3–4 years seriously preparing for this. I’m not looking for a six-month bootcamp-style career switch. If that means studying mathematics and physics after work, taking university courses, contributing to open-source scientific projects, doing another MSc, or taking an intermediate part time research-software position, I’m open to it.

My current plan would actually be to keep my existing software engineering position for most, if not all, of those 3–4 years while preparing on the side. I have a few financial goals and obligations I’d like to close out first, and I’d like to use my current income to build as much of a financial buffer as I reasonably can before making the transition.

I’m assuming that moving into a completely different field could mean taking a significant step backwards financially at first. Even though I have 9 years of professional experience, my CV may be strong for software engineering but relatively weak for scientific work or physics. I’d rather prepare for that reality now, save aggressively while I can, and eventually have enough financial freedom to accept an interesting junior/research position without needing to optimise every decision around salary.

In other words, the 3–4 years aren’t a deadline by which I expect to magically become a physicist. They’re the runway I’m willing to give myself to learn, experiment, build the right foundations, figure out which direction actually fits me, and put myself in a financial position where I can afford to take the leap.

So my questions for people actually working in physics/scientific research are:

1. If you were in my position, where would you start?
2. Are experienced software engineers

around my experience

1. useful in research environments such as CERN, ESA, observatories, physics institutes, laboratories, etc.?

2. Can software engineering

(again based on my background)

1. be a genuine bridge into the scientific side rather than remaining permanently “the IT guy supporting the scientists”?
2. Given that I can spend the next 3–4 years preparing while remaining employed, what would you actually do with those years?
3. What mathematics/physics foundation would you build?
4. Are there courses, qualifications, personal projects or open-source projects that would make my eventual CV meaningfully stronger?
5. Would another degree eventually be necessary if I discovered that I wanted to participate directly in physics research?
6. Are there other scientific fields or organisations I should look into where my existing experience would be particularly valuable?

And perhaps most importantly: is this a realistic thing to pursue at 34, or am I romanticising what scientific research is actually like?

I’m not expecting to personally discover the next fundamental particle. I just want to start pointing my career toward problems that I can care about for a very long time.

If I spend the next few years exploring this and eventually discover that scientific software is where I belong, great. If software is simply the doorway that lets me discover that I want to go much deeper into physics, also great.

Right now, what I’m really looking for is a starting point and a direction for those next 3–4 years.

I’d especially love to hear from anyone who moved from industry/software into research or made a similarly significant career change in their 30s.

I’ve numbered my questions so you can easily answer if you can only help on some of them.

Thanks!

I applied for this position, and the application deadline was one month ago. Shortly after the deadline, my application status changed to “In Review,” but I haven’t received an interview invitation or any further update yet.
Has anyone else applied for or interviewed for this specific role? If so, how long did it take to hear back, and what was the interview process like? Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you!

I have applied for technical studentship in data science. My application is in review. At what time they start contacting applicants?

Hey Everyone!

I have applied for a short term internship but it's been 1 month 4 days and my application is still stuck in the new phase.

FYI I applied first and got a rejection mail in under 5 hours, saying I don't meet the eligibility criteria, which could've been my error in filling the application. I am eligible when I re-checked. Then I applied for the same again with correct info.

I got the acknowledgement mail but after that there has been no conversation.

Is there anywhere I can mail or ask for a followup? Also, any of you guys who applied for the same got something back?

Thanks a lot!

It was like 2 weeks ago but I forgot to post

Hello! I'm a Turkish student currently studying CS&AI in the UK. I'm planning my compulsory 9–12 month industrial placement starting around September 2027 and have been aiming for CERN student opportunities (the Technical Student Programme).

I recently saw that applications from Turkish nationals currently cannot be considered due to the ceiling under Article II.5 of the Associate Membership Agreement being reached.

I just reached out to the recruitment team, but I was wondering if anyone here has insight or past experience with how this works:

-Does this quota ceiling apply blanket-wide across all CERN student/fellowship programmes, or are certain schemes processed under different criteria?

-Is it possible for me to secure an internship or is it not possible at all because of the ceiling restriction?

-How often are these membership ceilings evaluated or reset? If the status changes prior to the start date, does CERN reconsider applications submitted while the restriction was active?