# Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary

US SOC code 25-1052. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/25-1052

Also called: Chemistry professor, Chemistry postsec teacher, Chemistry faculty, Chemistry lecturer, Organic chemistry professor.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **19,980** US postsecondary chemistry teachers, with median pay of **$93,250** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **20,650**, in May 2022, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_301.20.asp) of **5,500** from 1950, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for postsecondary chemistry teachers: AI retrosynthesis platforms, 2018 to 2024.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 2.3% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-1052&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **40.2%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1847
- Latest US employment: 19,980 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $93,250 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Outlook: +2.3% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [22]

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1950 | 5,500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics [1] |
| 1970 | 11,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics [2] |
| 1975 | n/a | $16,200 (estimate) | Est., AAUP [4] |
| 1990 | 19,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics [2] |
| 2000 | n/a | $54,000 (estimate) | Est., AAUP [5] |
| 2003 | 17,100 | $55,420 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [3] |
| 2004 | 18,720 | $56,660 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [3] |
| 2005 | 19,520 | $58,060 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [3] |
| 2006 | 19,560 | $61,220 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [3] |
| 2007 | 19,800 | $63,870 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [3] |
| 2008 | 19,950 | $67,240 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [3] |
| 2009 | 20,370 | $68,760 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [3] |
| 2010 | 21,150 | $70,520 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [3] |
| 2011 | 20,830 | $70,960 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [3] |
| 2012 | 20,430 | $71,140 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 20,820 | $72,670 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | 21,470 | $73,080 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [3] |
| 2015 | 21,460 | $75,060 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 21,250 | $76,750 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 21,090 | $77,190 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 21,370 | $79,550 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 21,380 | $79,550 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [3] |
| 2020 | 21,530 | $80,400 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 20,260 | $79,410 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 20,650 | $80,720 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 20,210 | $85,810 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 20,390 | $86,220 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 19,980 | $93,250 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (88)

### Employment series

1. [NCES Digest of Education Statistics, Table 301.20 -- Historical summary of faculty in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, 1869-70 through 2017-18](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_301.20.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
2. [NCES Digest of Education Statistics, Table 315.10 -- Number of faculty in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, fall 1970 through fall 2016](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_315.10.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. [AAUP -- Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession (Faculty Compensation Survey, established 1958; 1974-75 nominal average salary reference)](https://www.aaup.org/issues-higher-education/faculty-employment/faculty-compensation-survey), American Association of University Professors
5. [AAUP, "The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2000-01" (faculty salary survey; derived nominal estimate for chemistry/postsecondary faculty)](https://www.aaup.org/reports-publications/2000-01salarysurvey), American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
7. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

8. [ResearchGate -- "The Rise of Academic Laboratory Science: Chemistry and the German Model in the Nineteenth Century" (history of Liebig lab model and US adoption)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354726312_The_Rise_of_Academic_Laboratory_Science_Chemistry_and_the_%27German_Model%27_in_the_Nineteenth_CenturyChemistry_and_the_%27German_Model%27_in_the_Nineteenth_Century), ResearchGate / History of Universities
9. [Justus von Liebig biography -- Linda Hall Library (Giessen laboratory 1825, Lawrence Scientific School 1847)](https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/justus-von-liebig/), Linda Hall Library of Science
10. [Science History Institute -- Beckman DU spectrophotometer (1941) and its role in transforming analytical chemistry education](https://www.sciencehistory.org/education/scientific-biographies/justus-von-liebig-and-friedrich-wohler/), Science History Institute
11. [Wikipedia -- Beckman Coulter (history of Model DU spectrophotometer, 1941)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beckman_Coulter), Wikipedia
12. [NPR -- "Sputnik Left Legacy for U.S. Science Education" (NSF and NDEA impact on chemistry and science curriculum, 1957-1977)](https://www.npr.org/2007/09/30/14829195/sputnik-left-legacy-for-u-s-science-education), NPR
13. [US Senate Historical Office -- "Sputnik Spurs Passage of the National Defense Education Act" (NDEA 1958, $1 billion federal science education funding)](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Sputnik_Spurs_Passage_of_National_Defense_Education_Act.htm), US Senate
14. [Wikipedia -- Gaussian (software) (history from 1970; academic distribution in the 1980s-1990s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaussian_%28software%29), Wikipedia
15. [J. Chem. Ed. -- "AI in Chemistry Research: Implications for Teaching and Learning" (2024): historical evolution of computational tools in chemistry education](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c01033), American Chemical Society / Journal of Chemical Education
16. [Labster -- Virtual chemistry lab simulations for higher education: 300+ experiments covering general chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, spectroscopy (2025)](https://www.labster.com/explore/chemistry-virtual-labs), Labster
17. [Wikipedia -- Canvas (LMS) (founding 2011; history of course management systems in higher education)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canvas_%28LMS%29), Wikipedia
18. [IBM Research -- IBM RXN for Chemistry: cloud-based AI retrosynthesis with free academic access; collaboration with Thieme improved accuracy 9x (2025)](https://research.ibm.com/projects/ai-for-scientific-discovery), IBM Research
19. [J. Chem. Ed. -- "The Dawn of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Chemistry Education" (2025): faculty adoption patterns, course material scaffolding, and accuracy review requirements](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c00836), American Chemical Society / Journal of Chemical Education
20. [Google DeepMind -- AlphaFold wins 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (protein structure prediction; curriculum integration acceleration)](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03214-7?error=cookies_not_supported&code=9df1c405-7625-40b4-b2b1-469250e49366), Nature / Google DeepMind
21. [FSU News -- Statistical detection of ChatGPT cheating on chemistry multiple-choice exams via Rasch modeling (Aug 2024)](https://news.fsu.edu/news/science-technology/2024/08/14/new-fsu-research-shows-statistical-analysis-can-detect-when-chatgpt-is-used-to-cheat-on-multiple-choice-chemistry-exams/), Florida State University

### Forecasts and exposure studies

22. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 25-1052 Chemistry teachers, postsecondary (2025: 24.9 thousand; 2035: 25.4 thousand; +2.3%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-1052&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
23. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 25-1052.00, human-rated β 0.402)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

24. [Linda Hall Library -- Justus von Liebig biography (US adoption of Giessen laboratory model via Lawrence Scientific School and Sheffield Scientific School, 1847)](https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/justus-von-liebig/), Linda Hall Library of Science
25. [National Archives -- Morrill Act (1862): mandate for agriculture and mechanic arts instruction requiring chemistry faculty at land-grant institutions](https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/morrill-act), National Archives
26. [ACS -- History of the American Chemical Society (founding April 6, 1876; 35 founding members; J. W. Draper Landmark)](https://www.acs.org/about/history.html), American Chemical Society
27. [NPR -- "Sputnik Left Legacy for U.S. Science Education" (NSF $500M on curricula and teacher development in the 20 years after Sputnik)](https://www.npr.org/2007/09/30/14829195/sputnik-left-legacy-for-u-s-science-education), NPR
28. [AAUP -- Faculty Compensation Survey (annual since 1958): 1972-73 through 1980-81 documented as period of consistent real-wage decline for US faculty](https://www.aaup.org/issues-higher-education/faculty-employment/faculty-compensation-survey), American Association of University Professors
29. [Nature -- AlphaFold wins 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: protein structure prediction and computational protein design recognized (October 2024)](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03214-7?error=cookies_not_supported&code=9df1c405-7625-40b4-b2b1-469250e49366), Nature / Google DeepMind

### Predecessors & successors

30. [ACS -- History of the American Chemical Society (founding 1876; graduate chemistry programs providing faculty pipeline)](https://www.acs.org/about/history.html), American Chemical Society

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1052.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-1052.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OES May 2025 — Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1052): median annual wage $120,790](https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes251052.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Postsecondary Teachers (2024–2034, +7% projected growth)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/postsecondary-teachers.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [J. Chem. Ed. — The Dawn of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Chemistry Education (2025)](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c00836), accessed 2026-05-24
- [J. Chem. Ed. — AI-Assisted Grading Increases Quality Feedback and Grading Efficiency in Undergraduate Chemistry Courses (2025)](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00664), accessed 2026-05-24
- [J. Chem. Ed. — Artificial Intelligence in Chemistry Research: Implications for Teaching and Learning (2024)](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c01033), accessed 2026-05-24
- [J. Chem. Ed. — Generative AI in Chemistry Education: Current Progress, Pedagogical Values, and the Challenge of Rapid Evolution (2025)](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c01105), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Florida State University News — Statistical detection of ChatGPT cheating on chemistry multiple-choice exams via Rasch modeling (Aug 2024)](https://news.fsu.edu/news/science-technology/2024/08/14/new-fsu-research-shows-statistical-analysis-can-detect-when-chatgpt-is-used-to-cheat-on-multiple-choice-chemistry-exams/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Google DeepMind — AlphaFold wins 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: protein structure prediction and computational protein design (Nature, Oct 2024)](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03214-7?error=cookies_not_supported&code=9df1c405-7625-40b4-b2b1-469250e49366), accessed 2026-05-24
- [PMC11210786 — Cracking AlphaFold2: Leveraging the power of AI in undergraduate biochemistry curriculums (2024)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11210786/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Elsevier — Reaxys AI Search: natural language discovery across 121M+ chemistry documents, launched 2025](https://www.elsevier.com/products/reaxys/ai-for-innovation-in-chemistry), accessed 2026-05-24
- [IBM Research — IBM RXN for Chemistry: cloud-based AI retrosynthesis platform with free academic access (rxn.res.ibm.com)](https://research.ibm.com/projects/ai-for-scientific-discovery), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Schrödinger — Teaching with Schrödinger program: free/low-cost Maestro educational license for molecular docking and drug discovery modules (2025)](https://www.schrodinger.com/teaching-with-schrodinger/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Labster — Virtual chemistry lab simulations for higher education: titration, organic synthesis, spectroscopy, and general chemistry experiments (2025)](https://www.labster.com/explore/chemistry-virtual-labs), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.