With reference to the letters sent by Professor C.V. Sammut and Alan Tua regarding my letter titled “Physics after university”, I am replying in an effort to substantiate my initial claims.

First of all I would like to congratulate Dr Sammut for being awarded the title of Professor of Physics and his appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Science. This is no mean feat. Knowing his dedication and expertise I must admit that I was not surprised at all. Prof. Sammut was one of my favourite two lecturers of Physics even though I doubt whether he is aware of this. I took Quantum Physics and Electromagnetism classes with him. He was a very good lecturer but also a good teacher with whom I did really well. As a matter of fact, I got the highest mark in the group twice in his three exams.

Alan Tua, who is nothing more than an undergraduate was very biased in his article and seemed to be on a quest of building or consolidating a good reputation and relation’s with the department. He gave the impression that in order for a candidate to have more chances in landing a physics related job, a final year thesis is indispensable. During my years at the Faculty, three professors told me that a B.Sc.(Hons.) in Mathematics and Physics implies you are a Physics and Mathematics graduate no matter which subject you choose as the main one in the final year. So according to these three professors, Alan Tua’s statement is nothing more than rubbish.

Suppose his argument is true. A thesis/project is still worth nothing if there is no demand for physics graduates. I have been carefully following the job market in the newspaper (Government Gazette included) and with job agencies since January 2006 (six months before I finished my final exams) and I can assure this student that physics related jobs are non-existent. Professor Sammut can argue that employers in this field have a tendency to personally consult the Faculty of Science for recommendations rather than advertise on the newspapers. With that reasoning, if company x needs somebody specialized in a particular field and the department doesn’t have anyone to recommend, then common sense implies that this company advertises the vacancy. However, I never ever came across a single job advert in the papers. It is pretty obvious that if a company is not given names of potential candidates, it would revert to newspaper advertisements rather than giving up and hiring nobody.

May I inform Alan Tua that I am an ex student of the Dean’s List and was awarded a first class classification but was never approached by anybody on the recommendation of the department. Obtaining a first class classification does not necessarily mean that I am a genius but it certainly shows that I am a serious and hard-working person and therefore deserves to be at least interviewed. Even though I opted for electives in Mathematics in my final year I still expect to be recommended.

Professor Sammut invited me to ask former physics students to confirm that they found a job in this field (not teaching). It might be a coincidence but from all the physics students in my group and the previous one, nobody except one managed. This person had to move to the UK to be able to work in the Physics field. Three of them ended up teaching, one in the pharmaceutical industry, one in a bank, one in a multi-purpose lab and two in another field I prefer not to mention. The latter five jobs have nothing to do with Physics. This should serve as a very good indication for the Dean and for people like Mr Tua, who apparently are oblivious of this situation.

I felt that Professor Sammut insulted my intelligence when he stated: “I therefore fail to comprehend the motivation for Mr Portelli’s version of ‘harsh reality’ ”. It is a harsh reality indeed.

Michael Portelli

ATTARD