Also called: Optical Scientist, Optics Research Scientist
Studies how light behaves and invents new ways to bend, trap, slow down, or measure it.
Your morning is spent on a vibration-isolated table, nudging mirrors by a hair's width until a laser beam lines up perfectly. After lunch you compare what the experiment measured against your equations, and if they disagree, that might be a discovery. You end the day writing up results or a grant proposal with your research group.
BLS lumps optical physicists in with all physicists; figures reflect that group.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 10 years after high school. Bachelor's in physics, then a PhD in physics or optics (5-6 years, usually paid with a stipend); many do a postdoc.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Physics, Optical Sciences, Engineering Physics, Electrical Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 7% over 10 years). Growth figure is for physicists and astronomers combined.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI helps model light and analyze data; aligning real optics, spotting surprises and inventing setups stay human.
Classes: AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry.
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.