Granted, I got my physics degree 20 years ago. At that time, there was actually a lot of frustration in the physics community about the lack of preparation for industry jobs. So I'd hesitate to speculate on why (or even if) the situation has improved. But I will anyway. ;-)
I think that physics students aren't always "monogamously" in love with physics, so much as we're intellectual omnivores / opportunists. I was in love with math, electronics, and programming. But I ended up at a college with no engineering school, and the people who seemed to have the most fun playing with toys were my physics profs.
But as a result, my ability to roll circuits and sling code with the best of 'em was still marketable in 1993. Today, I see a trend towards hiring people with more formal skills in their job areas, such as CS and EE degrees for programming and electronics design. And I see more emphasis on tools (IDE, CAD, etc.) than on knowledge of fundamentals.
As an aside, it's worth noting that the public image of physics is the Theoretician, but most physics students are Experimentalists.
I think that physics students aren't always "monogamously" in love with physics, so much as we're intellectual omnivores / opportunists. I was in love with math, electronics, and programming. But I ended up at a college with no engineering school, and the people who seemed to have the most fun playing with toys were my physics profs.
But as a result, my ability to roll circuits and sling code with the best of 'em was still marketable in 1993. Today, I see a trend towards hiring people with more formal skills in their job areas, such as CS and EE degrees for programming and electronics design. And I see more emphasis on tools (IDE, CAD, etc.) than on knowledge of fundamentals.
As an aside, it's worth noting that the public image of physics is the Theoretician, but most physics students are Experimentalists.