Also called: High-Energy Physicist
Smashes particles together at nearly light speed to discover the universe's smallest building blocks.
You are one of thousands of scientists on an experiment at CERN in Switzerland or Fermilab near Chicago. Days include analyzing collision data, writing code, taking shifts in the control room, and video calls across time zones. Many particle physicists later move into data science.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 11 years after high school. PhD in physics, often several postdocs; academic jobs are competitive.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Physics.
Growing faster than average (about 7% over 10 years). Growth figure is for physicists and astronomers combined.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI now handles much collision-data analysis and code; building detectors and control-room shifts stay human, jobs are scarce.
Classes: AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2012.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.