Hey davrosthedalek, I'm facing a similar decision as well. I can't speak for everyone, but I'm definitely leaning towards startups because there are simply more opportunities for me in that direction. That will be different for everyone but one way to figure this out is to contact both sides and see how much interests you get from them.
I'm a biostatistician and my switch to data analytics comes rather naturally but my biology background does cause some organizations / people to do a double take (generally a negative one), but still I'm getting more interest in industry than in academia because the academic landscape in general is contracting, some fields like mine more severe than others.
I've chatted with a whole bunch of startups and folks in the industry and it seems people with quantitative degrees plus coding skills tend to be welcomed. Of course job specific skills varies a ton, but chances are if you're coming from nuclear physics you'll find a good fit somewhere.
My decision was not just motivated by the number of opportunities and levels of interest expressed by both sides, but also the chance to work on project that has fairly immediate impact on people's lives. That search for relevance (academic work can be buried deep in obscurity) is a big motivating factor for me.
Good luck on your hunt. I'll be needing a bit of that too.
I'm a biostatistician and my switch to data analytics comes rather naturally but my biology background does cause some organizations / people to do a double take (generally a negative one), but still I'm getting more interest in industry than in academia because the academic landscape in general is contracting, some fields like mine more severe than others.
I've chatted with a whole bunch of startups and folks in the industry and it seems people with quantitative degrees plus coding skills tend to be welcomed. Of course job specific skills varies a ton, but chances are if you're coming from nuclear physics you'll find a good fit somewhere.
My decision was not just motivated by the number of opportunities and levels of interest expressed by both sides, but also the chance to work on project that has fairly immediate impact on people's lives. That search for relevance (academic work can be buried deep in obscurity) is a big motivating factor for me.
Good luck on your hunt. I'll be needing a bit of that too.