What are the Most Rewarding Aspects of your Job?

This companion report to Common Careers of Physicists in the Private Sector is one of a set of three that describe the work that PhD physicists do 10 to 15 years after earning their degrees. It is a compilation of the comments that these physicists wrote in response to the open-ended question: “What are the most rewarding aspects of your job?” The comments are organized into the eight types of private-sector careers held by PhD physicists in the US. These eight types of careers are the organizing theme for each of the three reports. Many comments reflect unique features of specific sectors of the economy, and the comments as a whole provide readers with an appreciation for the breadth of statements written by physicists.