What do I do with my Physics degree?

The oldest J8H2RHFW4BTK question in every individual's adult career, and one question that has no answer to satisfy the questioner. Almost every year, I man booths at the NUS Open House, answering questions to prospective students. And this question is by far the most common one I had to answer. It is also the one I always felt uncomfortable answering.

Academic Research
That is the most obvious career path for those choosing a degree in physics - to be a physicist. It quite an unusual choice in life, when compared to other "typical" careers, in terms of settling down, family and so on. But those interested in an academic career in science probably won't be demanding questions as to what other jobs there are for such an undergraduate degree. So I needn't elaborate much here.

"What can I do besides teaching?"
I think the problem stems common misconceptions about the physics discipline (one which I will talk more about later). One of the biggest problem I had about this is that the assumption that physics graduate all end up to be teachers ("and I don't want to teach!" says the student).

Well, firstly, (A) What's so bad about teaching? and (B) This assumption prevails because almost everyone has heard of story that "Mr. X graduated from physics and is now a teacher." However, nobody seems to notice that many people went into teaching because there is a demand for teachers. So naturally you'd expect people to go where the demand is.

Industrial and commercial RnD
Okay, if someone who doesn't want to teach, and doesn't want to do scientific research, but still wants to take a physics degree, usually may want to do RnD for tech companies. I almost got a job in a government research institute for my knowledge (which is actually not much) in computer simulation of molecular dynamics. The applications of which are on drug design and delivery. That is just one example, and there are many other similar ones. Another one that comes to mind is a radiation physicists, currently on demand at hospitals. Many medical equipment and procedures operate on advanced physical principles, for example the PET scan, CAT scan, MRI, radiation therapy and so on.

"What can I do besides research and teaching?
A bachelor's degree in science is a general degree. Whether you're majoring in physics, mathematics, chemistry or food science, you can use it to apply for many positions that only ask for a general degree. And if one is applying for administrative/corporate jobs (sales, HR, etc.) then the actual science major is probably irrelevant. Of course, if one is applying for a position in a pharmaceutical company, a chemistry major probably has a slight advantage over a physics major. But the point is, having a BSc. in chemistry doesn't make you a chemist, nor a BSc. in physics doesn't make you a physicists, because these are not professional degrees.

And, many people do not end up in the jobs they study for anyway. Your career path is determined by what you do when you work, and your undergraduate studies won't stop you. Of course, having a business degree makes it easier to get a corporate job, but that doesn't mean it is forbidden for a physics graduate to get the same job.