  There is increasing pressure generally for lecturers to adapt their
supervision practices of postgraduate students to better prepare postgraduate
students for careers outside of academia. In this paper we examine what such
pressure may mean for the supervision and preparation of theoretical physicists
specifically, theoretical physics being a sub-discipline of physics usually
perceived as a highly specialised niche area of scientific practice. In this
exploratory study we apply the concepts of the Specialisation Dimension of
Legitimation Code Theory to analyse and reveal the dominant concepts and codes,
as well as the code shifts that may occur during postgraduate studies, based on
an autoethnographic account of theoretical physicist identity development. The
findings demonstrate an underpinning value for both knowledge and knower
attributes in the journey to becoming a legitimate theoretical physicist, and
the critical role played by postgraduate supervisors in facilitating the
process of theoretical physicist identity development. Also highlighted are
possible implications for supervisors faced with students intending to take up
employment outside of academia.
