Physics Teachers, Postsecondary
What Physics Teachers, Postsecondary Do
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.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- Not available
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 5 of 5Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
- Job training
- Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Mathematicsimportance 4.8/5
- Physicsimportance 4.5/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 4.4/5
- English Languageimportance 4.2/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.9/5
- Chemistryimportance 3.4/5
- Engineering and Technologyimportance 3.3/5
- Mechanicalimportance 2.9/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- E-Mail4.8/5
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.8/5
- Freedom to Make Decisions4.8/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.5/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.5/5
- Contact With Others4.4/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary97% skill match
- Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary97% skill match
- Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary96% skill match
- Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary96% skill match
- Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary96% skill match
- Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary96% skill match
- Neurologists95% skill match
- Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary95% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Instructingimportance 4.3/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.8/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.6/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.3/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.1/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.1/5
- Persuasionimportance 3.0/5
- Service Orientationimportance 3.0/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
In-Demand Technologies
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Dependability
- Achievement Orientation
- Integrity
- Innovation
- Attention to Detail
- Cooperation
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- SocialHigh
- InvestigativeHigh
- RealisticMedium
- ConventionalMedium
- ArtisticMedium
- EnterprisingLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where physics teachers, postsecondary make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Amherst Town-Northampton, MA10.91× national avg
- 2Auburn-Opelika, AL8.54× national avg
- 3College Station-Bryan, TX7.42× national avg
- 4Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA4.65× national avg
- 5New Haven, CT4.47× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Chemistry Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
- Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
- Biological Science Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
- Environmental Science Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
See the full career path from Physics Teachers, Postsecondary →
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Environmental Health
- George Washington University (Washington, DC)grads earn ~$92,573
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)grads earn ~$86,115
- Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)grads earn ~$99,605
- University of South Carolina-Columbia (Columbia, SC)grads earn ~$58,715
- Columbia University in the City of New York (New York, NY)grads earn ~$98,728
Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education
- Western Governors University (Salt Lake City, UT)grads earn ~$65,801
- Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, AZ)grads earn ~$63,874
- American College of Education (Indianapolis, IN)
- Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College (Baton Rouge, LA)grads earn ~$61,045
- Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA)grads earn ~$59,442
Chemistry, General
- University of California-San Diego (La Jolla, CA)grads earn ~$77,249
- University of Florida (Gainesville, FL)grads earn ~$56,179
- University of California-Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)grads earn ~$82,386
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Champaign, IL)grads earn ~$70,197
- CUNY Hunter College (New York, NY)grads earn ~$54,699