Education & Library
Physics Teachers, Postsecondary
Also called: Adjunct Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Instructor
US median pay
$100,310
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+2.4%
about average or slower
Openings a year (US)
1,100
16,400 employed
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
Preparation 5/5 · Extensive preparation
What this job is
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.
What they do day to day
- 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.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
- Supervise students' laboratory work.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Instructing4.2/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.8/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.6/5
- Time Management3.2/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.1/5
- Coordination3.1/5
- Service Orientation3.0/5
- Persuasion3.0/5
Knowledge
- Mathematics4.8/5
- Physics4.5/5
- Education and Training4.4/5
- English Language4.2/5
- Computers and Electronics3.9/5
- Chemistry3.4/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 5 of 5 — Extensive preparation. Usually a graduate degree (master's, PhD, MD, JD) and extensive experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Doctoral or professional degree.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Doctoral degree54%
- Master's degree25%
- Post-doctoral training21%
Who this job suits
Mostly Social
Helping, teaching and caring for people
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.