Also called: Physics Faculty, Postsecondary Physics Teacher
Teaches physics courses at a college or university and runs a research lab, mentoring grad students and writing grants to fund experiments.
You lecture to 200 first-year students in the morning, meet with your grad students about their experiment at lunch, and write a grant in the afternoon. Summers are often for research and travel to conferences.
Varies hugely between community colleges and elite research universities.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 11 years after high school. PhD in physics; research universities usually also require postdoc experience. Community colleges may hire with a master's.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Physics, Astronomy, Physics Education.
Growing about average (about 2% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. AI tutors help students practice, but lectures, labs, mentoring and research leadership stay human.
Classes: AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, Speech.
Official data: O*NET occupation 25-1054.
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.