Education · SOC 25-1054
Lab instruction and physical intuition are human-anchored; only grading and admin tasks face meaningful AI displacement.
Parts of the job are exposed, but judgment and context still matter.
Timeline: AI simulation and data analysis will assist research within 5 years, but experimental physics and hands-on teaching require human judgment and physical skill well past 2030.
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$86,350 median pay
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Industry pages show which sectors this occupation feeds and the AI companies driving the shift.
AI job-risk card
Physics Teachers, Postsecondary is watch on AIFear. Parts of the job are exposed, but judgment and context still matter.
AIFear.com
Our AI Fear Score for Physics Teachers, Postsecondary is 38/100 (Watch). Parts of the job are exposed, but judgment and context still matter.
38 out of 100, based on an AI-model review of this occupation's O*NET tasks against what current AI can actually do.
Most exposed: Grading student assignments and lab reports, Drafting syllabi and course handouts, Advising on standard curricula and career paths, Planning and revising standard course content. Harder to automate: Maintaining and operating complex laboratory equipment, Teaching physical reasoning and problem-solving, Conducting original experimental or theoretical research, Serving in department leadership.
Lean into Computational physics (Python, MATLAB, Julia), AI-assisted data analysis for experiments, Research grant writing, Laboratory instrumentation. Consider roles such as National Lab Research Physicist or Quantum Computing Research Scientist or Physics Department Chair.
Tasks, skills and AI-exposure for this role were reviewed by an AI model against its O*NET task profile (curated roles use published research anchors). Pay and employment, where shown, are U.S. BLS OEWS (May 2024) figures. This is an estimate, not a prediction about any individual's job. Compare all occupations.