PlotFuture PlotFuture
PlotFuture / Careers / Physics Teachers, Postsecondary

Physics Teachers, Postsecondary

Also known as: Adjunct Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Instructor, Physical Science Professor
median $100,31010-yr demand +2.5%AI exposure 0/100typical entry Doctoral or professional degree
Physics Teachers, Postsecondary is well paid, AI barely touches it so far, and demand is steady.

The full pay distribution

Not one number — the spread from the bottom 10% to the top 10% of filed salaries.

Where it pays the most

Median salary by metro — the bar in amber is the U.S. median for comparison.

How pay grows with experience

From entry to expert, by reported wage level.

How exposed is it to AI?

Two things matter: how much AI is actually used in the role today (right), and how much it could automate in theory (up). Partially affected.
Each faint dot is another occupation. The amber dot is Physics Teachers, Postsecondary — its position tells you whether the disruption is here yet or still over the horizon.
used today 0/100 automatable in theory 42/100 archetype The Hybrid Zone

If AI does come for this job — where could you go?

Adjacent careers ranked by how much safer + how much more they pay, and the skill gap to get there. Click any to see its full breakdown.

Which majors lead here

College paths that commonly feed this career — see each one's full outcomes.
Teacher Education And Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas
CIP 13.13
see major →
Astronomy And Astrophysics
CIP 40.02
see major →
Chemistry
CIP 40.05
see major →
Physics
CIP 40.08
see major →
Physics And Astronomy
CIP 40.11
see major →
Public Health
CIP 51.22
see major →
How this is built. Median pay and the full distribution come from filed U.S. wage data (BLS OEWS + DOL/LCA filings); AI exposure blends O*NET task content with model-based automation potential; escape routes are computed from skill overlap between occupations, then ranked by how much safer + better-paid the move is. This joins real distributions and projects them forward — it needs the real distributions and the skill graph, not a guess. Figures describe group medians and trends, not any one person's outcome.