Education, Training, and Library · Holland code SIR
Physics Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses pertaining to the laws of matter and energy. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Also called: Instructor, Physics Instructor, Physics Professor, Professor, Adjunct Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Physical Science Professor.
O*NET 25-1054.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $100,310
- Middle half earn $74,050 to $132,650. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- Doctoral Degree
- 54% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 5 of 5
- Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as quantum mechanics, particle physics, and optics.
- Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
- Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
- Speaking4.1 / 5
- Science4.1 / 5
- Active Listening4.0 / 5
- Writing4.0 / 5
- Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Mathematics4.8 / 5
- Physics4.5 / 5
- Education and Training4.4 / 5
- English Language4.2 / 5
- Computers and Electronics3.9 / 5
- Chemistry3.4 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic46
- Investigative83
- Artistic38
- Social84
- Enterprising23
- Conventional44
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- physicist · DE Physiker/Physikerin · FR physicien/physicienne
- higher education lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft · FR enseignant-chercheur/enseignante-chercheuse
- earth science lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Geowissenschaften · FR enseignant-chercheur en sciences de la terre/enseignante-chercheuse en sciences de la terre
- engineering lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Ingenieurwesen · FR enseignant-chercheur en ingénierie/enseignante-chercheuse en ingénierie
- mathematics lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Mathematik · FR enseignant-chercheur en mathématiques/enseignante-chercheuse en mathématiques
- physics lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Physik · FR enseignant-chercheur en physique/enseignante-chercheuse en physique
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Secondary education teaching professionals (2313)504,100 employed
- Higher education teaching professionals (2311)258,500 employed
- Physical scientists (2114)31,600 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €61,714 |
| Germany | €59,529 |
| Ireland | €56,877 |
| Austria | €55,374 |
| Netherlands | €53,595 |
| Sweden | €43,567 |
| France | €41,515 |
| Spain | €35,735 |
| Italy | €33,649 |
| Portugal | €26,072 |
| Poland | €14,380 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.04. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (25-1054).
Related careers
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