Onboarding plan
Physics Professor Onboarding Plan (30-60-90 Days)
A practical, printable plan to take a new physics professor from first day to full productivity.
Physics Professor onboarding at a glance
Week one covers orientation, safety and shadowing. Days 1–30 build vocabulary and supervised practice on core procedures; days 31–60 move to independent work with competency sign-offs; days 61–90 focus on full productivity, cross-training and a credential plan.
Before day one
- Confirm start date, schedule, pay and supervisor in writing
- Verify required credentials: Ph.D. in physics, Postdoctoral research (as applicable)
- Prepare equipment and access: lab apparatus; simulation software; python and MATLAB; telescopes
- Assign a buddy or preceptor
- Enroll the new hire in Physics Professor training so foundations are covered before or during week one
Week one: orient and protect
- Workplace tour, emergency procedures and incident reporting
- Follow laser and radiation safety
- Secure lab equipment
- Supervise demonstrations
- Protect student privacy
- Shadow an experienced physics professor through a full shift
- Training modules 1–3: role foundations, a day on the job and essential vocabulary (15 terms)
Days 1–30: learn
Goal: perform core tasks safely under supervision.
- Supervised practice: run a classroom physics demonstration
- Supervised practice: teach measurement uncertainty
- Supervised practice: host a public science night
- Training modules 4–7: duties, step-by-step tasks, tools and safety
- 30-day check-in: confidence, questions and early wins
Days 31–60: contribute
Goal: handle a regular workload independently.
- Teach physics courses: independently
- Run labs and demonstrations: independently
- Lead research: independently
- Mentor students: independently
- Competency sign-offs completed (see checklist below)
- Training final knowledge check and certificate of completion
- 60-day check-in
Days 61–90: own
Goal: full productivity and a growth plan.
- Meet productivity and quality targets for the role
- Begin cross-training on a secondary task
- Agree on a credential goal (for example, Ph.D. in physics)
- Discuss the career path: Postdoc → Assistant Professor → Associate Professor
- 90-day review
Competency checklist
| Skill or task | Trained | Observed | Signed off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run a Classroom Physics Demonstration | |||
| Teach Measurement Uncertainty | |||
| Host a Public Science Night | |||
| Physics expertise | |||
| Mathematics | |||
| Lab design | |||
| Computational modeling |
How to measure onboarding success
- Time to independent classroom work
- Observation and evaluation scores
- Licensing or compliance findings
- First-year retention
How Physics Professor training maps to this plan
- Introduction to the Physics Professor Role
- A Day on the Job
- Essential Physics Professor Vocabulary
- Core Duties and Responsibilities
- Common Tasks, Step by Step
- Tools, Equipment and Technology
- Safety, Compliance and Professional Standards
- Skills Employers Look For
- Launching Your Physics Professor Career
- Final Knowledge Check