Also called: Quantum Research Scientist
Studies the strange rules of the tiniest particles, where things can be in two places at once.
You might spend the day cooling atoms to a millionth of a degree above absolute zero and watching them behave like waves. Or you could be at a whiteboard working out equations for how entangled particles share information. Results go into papers that push the edge of what humans understand.
Within the BLS physicists category.
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 (usually paid with a stipend), often followed by a postdoc.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Physics, Applied Physics, Mathematics.
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 with calculations and data; cooling atoms, building experiments and new theory stay human.
Classes: AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, Linear algebra dual-enroll.
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.