# Physics Teachers, Postsecondary

US SOC code 25-1054. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/25-1054

Also called: Physics professor, Physics postsec teacher, Physics faculty, Physics lecturer, Astrophysics professor.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **13,090** US postsecondary physics teachers, with median pay of **$100,310** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **14,030**, in May 2023. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_301.20.asp) of **50** from 1876, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for postsecondary physics teachers: Gradescope, learning analytics, and AI-assisted grading, 2015 to 2022.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 2.4% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-1054&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **37.2%** 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.

## Physics Teachers, Postsecondary employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1727
- Latest US employment: 13,090 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $100,310 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [7]
- Outlook: +2.4% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [23]

### All 31 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1876 | 50 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES [1] |
| 1900 | 500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES [1] |
| 1940 | 2,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES [1] |
| 1960 | n/a | $8,000 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [5] |
| 1962 | 6,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Physics Today [2] |
| 1971 | 9,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Physics Today [2] |
| 1980 | n/a | $22,000 (estimate) | Est., AAUP [6] |
| 2000 | 11,000 (estimate) | $65,000 (estimate) | Est., AIP (employment) [3]; Est., AAUP (pay) [6] |
| 2003 | 11,870 | $62,880 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [4] |
| 2004 | 12,590 | $64,510 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [4] |
| 2005 | 13,310 | $65,880 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [4] |
| 2006 | 12,340 | $68,170 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [4] |
| 2007 | 12,530 | $70,090 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [4] |
| 2008 | 12,350 | $74,390 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [4] |
| 2009 | 12,870 | $75,060 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [4] |
| 2010 | 13,500 | $77,610 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [4] |
| 2011 | 13,630 | $77,540 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [4] |
| 2012 | 13,840 | $78,540 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [4] |
| 2013 | 14,010 | $80,590 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [4] |
| 2014 | 14,160 | $80,720 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [4] |
| 2015 | 14,310 | $82,840 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [4] |
| 2016 | 14,160 | $84,570 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [4] |
| 2017 | 13,710 | $87,340 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [4] |
| 2018 | 13,730 | $90,800 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [4] |
| 2019 | 13,780 | $89,590 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [4] |
| 2020 | 13,670 | $90,400 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [4] |
| 2021 | 12,460 | $93,070 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [4] |
| 2022 | 12,860 | $86,550 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [4] |
| 2023 | 14,030 | $98,020 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [4] |
| 2024 | 13,590 | $97,360 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [4] |
| 2025 | 13,090 | $100,310 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (91)

### Employment series

1. [NCES -- Historical summary of faculty, enrollment, degrees conferred, and finances: 1869-70 through 2020-21 (Table 301.20)](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_301.20.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
2. [Physics Today -- "Physics Today ads track employment boom and bust" (AIP history of physics job market, 1958-1975)](https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/physics-today-ads-track-employment-boom-and-bust), Physics Today / AIP
3. [AIP -- The State of the Academic Workforce in Physics and Astronomy Departments, 2000-2022 (AIP Academic Workforce Survey, launched 2000)](https://www.aip.org/statistics/the-state-of-the-academic-workforce-in-physics-and-astronomy-departments-2000-2022), American Institute of Physics
4. 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

5. [University of Missouri Libraries -- "Prices and Wages by Decade: 1960-1969" (AAUP faculty salary data; BLS-sourced academic wage benchmarks for 1960s)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1960-1969), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS / AAUP historical sources
6. [AAUP -- "Uncertain Times: The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2000-01" (historical reference: eight years of below-inflation faculty salary increases ending 1980-81)](https://www.aaup.org/reports-publications/2000-01salarysurvey), American Association of University Professors
7. 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)
8. [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

9. [Harvard -- Jefferson Lab historic site (Jefferson Physical Laboratory opened 1884: first US university building designed for both physics research and instruction)](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/04/jefferson-lab-harvards-newest-historic-site/), Harvard Gazette
10. [MIT Physics -- "About the Department: History" (MIT physics established 1873 as Course VIII; demonstration-based teaching through late 19th century)](https://physics.mit.edu/about-physics/our-history/), MIT Department of Physics
11. [Wikipedia -- Henry Augustus Rowland (first professor of physics at Johns Hopkins 1876; European-model research laboratory established for US university physics)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Augustus_Rowland), Wikipedia
12. [US Senate -- "Sputnik Spurs Passage of the National Defense Education Act" (October 1957 Sputnik launch + NDEA 1958: federal funding for science graduate fellowships and university expansion)](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Sputnik_Spurs_Passage_of_National_Defense_Education_Act.htm), US Senate Historical Office
13. [Physics Today / AIP -- "Physics Today ads track employment boom and bust" (1962: 514 jobs for 449 PhDs; 1968: 253 jobs for 989 applicants; 1971: 53 jobs for 1,053 applicants)](https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/physics-today-ads-track-employment-boom-and-bust), Physics Today / AIP
14. [Encyclopaedia Britannica -- "HP-35: First Pocket Scientific Calculator" (launched 1972 at $395; rendered slide rule obsolete)](https://www.britannica.com/technology/HP-35), Encyclopaedia Britannica
15. [Wolfram Research -- "Mathematica: A System for Doing Mathematics by Computer" (1988 launch; first CAS widely adopted in university physics instruction)](https://www.wolfram.com/mathematica/), Wolfram Research
16. [PhET Interactive Simulations -- University of Colorado Boulder (launched 2002; 250M+ uses per year; covers mechanics, E+M, quantum, optics, thermodynamics)](https://phet.colorado.edu/), University of Colorado Boulder / PhET
17. [AIP News -- "AIP Survey Finds Increase in Physics Degrees" (2006 survey data on physics department technology adoption)](https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200611/aip-survey.cfm), AIP / APS
18. [Gradescope -- "AI-assisted grading and answer groups": AI grouping available for exam/quiz format; documented 30-50% grading time reduction on large physics problem sets](https://guides.gradescope.com/hc/en-us/articles/24838908062093-AI-assisted-grading-and-answer-groups), Gradescope / Turnitin
19. [Wolfram Research -- "Introducing Wolfram Notebook Assistant" (December 2024): CAS + AI chat for physics computation across all sub-disciplines; faculty semester license free](https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2024/12/useful-to-the-point-of-being-revolutionary-introducing-wolfram-notebook-assistant/), Wolfram Research
20. [arXiv:2511.11317 -- "How Physics Professors Use and Frame Generative AI Tools" (2025): ChatGPT used for problem-set generation, exam banks; dual framing as labor-saving device and threat to genuine learning](https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.11317), arXiv / physics education research
21. [Federal Reserve FEDS Notes -- "Educational Exposure to Generative AI" (February 2026): Math/CS highest language-model z-score (1.1) among all college major categories](https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/educational-exposure-to-generative-artificial-intelligence-20250226.html), Federal Reserve Board
22. [Harvard Gazette -- "Professor tailored AI tutor to physics course, engagement doubled" (September 2024: Kestin + Miller, custom GPT-API tutor for Physical Sciences 2, 2x learning gains)](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2024/09/professor-tailored-ai-tutor-to-physics-course-engagement-doubled/), Harvard Gazette

### Forecasts and exposure studies

23. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 25-1054 Physics teachers, postsecondary (2025: 16.4 thousand; 2035: 16.8 thousand; +2.4%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-1054&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
24. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 25-1054.00, human-rated β 0.372)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

25. [Wikipedia -- Henry Augustus Rowland (1848-1901): first professor of physics at Johns Hopkins, 1876)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Augustus_Rowland), Wikipedia
26. [US Senate -- "Sputnik Spurs Passage of the National Defense Education Act" (NDEA signed September 2, 1958)](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Sputnik_Spurs_Passage_of_National_Defense_Education_Act.htm), US Senate Historical Office
27. [AAUP -- "Uncertain Times: The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2000-01" (eight years of below-inflation salary increases; 2001 real wages barely above 1971)](https://www.aaup.org/reports-publications/2000-01salarysurvey), American Association of University Professors
28. [Physics Today / AIP -- "Physics Today ads track employment boom and bust" (by 2004, 67% of new physics PhDs accepted temporary postdoctoral appointments)](https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/physics-today-ads-track-employment-boom-and-bust), Physics Today / AIP
29. [AIP -- The State of the Academic Workforce in Physics and Astronomy, 2000-2024 (2024 survey: stable at ~10,160 FTE; PhD departments +4%, bachelor's -7%; hiring increased 2023-24)](https://www.aip.org/statistics/the-state-of-the-academic-workforce-in-physics-and-astronomy-2000-2024), American Institute of Physics

### Predecessors & successors

30. [Harvard Department of Physics -- "History of the Department" (Thomas Hollis Professorship of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy established 1727)](https://www.physics.harvard.edu/about/history), Harvard Department of Physics
31. [Physics Today / AIP -- employment boom history: Manhattan Project physicists returning to universities post-1945 formed the faculty base for Cold War expansion](https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/physics-today-ads-track-employment-boom-and-bust), Physics Today / AIP
32. [APS News -- "AIP report: Recent physics grads are no stranger to AI" (September 2025): AI and ML now basic tools; physics faculty pivots to industry R+D increasingly common](https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2025/09/aip-report-recent-grads-ai), APS News / AIP
33. [AIP -- Initial Employment of Physics PhDs, 1980 through 2020 (data science and private sector employers absorbing growing share of new physics PhDs)](https://www.aip.org/statistics/data-graphics/initial-employment-physics-phds-1980-through-2020), American Institute of Physics

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Physics Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1054.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-1054.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Federal Reserve FEDS Notes — Educational Exposure to Generative AI (Feb 2026): Math/CS highest language-model z-score (1.1); Engineering highest image-generation z-score](https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/educational-exposure-to-generative-artificial-intelligence-20250226.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Harvard Gazette — Professor tailored AI tutor to physics course, engagement doubled (Sep 2024): Kestin + Miller, GPT API custom tutor for Physical Sciences 2, 2× learning gains](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2024/09/professor-tailored-ai-tutor-to-physics-course-engagement-doubled/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [APS News — How ChatGPT Could Help Educators Teach Physics (Aug 2024)](https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2024/08/chatgpt-educators-teach-physics), accessed 2026-05-24
- [arXiv:2511.11317 — How Physics Professors Use and Frame Generative AI Tools (2025): ChatGPT used for problem-set generation, exam question banks; dual framing as labor-saving vs. threat to genuine learning](https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.11317), accessed 2026-05-24
- [arXiv:2411.13685 — Using AI LLMs for Grading in Physics (2025): GPT-4 achieves correlation 0.80 with human graders when given mark scheme; AI correctly states physics principles 95% of the time but misinterprets spatial relationships in 32%+ of responses](https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.13685), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OES May 2025 — Physics Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1054): 13,090 employed; median annual wage $111,460](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes251054.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Wolfram Research — Introducing Wolfram Notebook Assistant (Dec 2024): CAS + AI chat for symbolic physics computation across mechanics, E&M, quantum, thermodynamics, optics](https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2024/12/useful-to-the-point-of-being-revolutionary-introducing-wolfram-notebook-assistant/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [MathWorks — MATLAB Copilot launched in R2025a (May 2025): built-in AI chat, code generation, autocomplete, and error explanation inside MATLAB desktop](https://www.mathworks.com/solutions/physics.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Gradescope — AI-assisted grading and answer groups: exam/quiz AI grouping; documented 30-50% grading time reduction on large-cohort problem sets](https://guides.gradescope.com/hc/en-us/articles/24838908062093-AI-assisted-grading-and-answer-groups), accessed 2026-05-24
- [The Physics Teacher — Leveraging AI for Rapid Generation of Physics Simulations in Education: Building Your Own Virtual Lab (AIP Publishing, 2025)](https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/pte/article/63/6/424/3360667/Leveraging-AI-for-Rapid-Generation-of-Physics), accessed 2026-05-24
- [APS News — AIP report: Recent physics grads are no stranger to AI (Sep 2025)](https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2025/09/aip-report-recent-grads-ai), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Khan Academy Khanmigo — unlimited physics tutoring: Socratic guidance for mechanics, electromagnetism, optics, quantum; does not give answers, guides reasoning; $4/mo or $44/yr for learners](https://www.khanmigo.ai/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [ERIC EJ1487444 — Leveraging Khanmigo for Personalized Tutoring to Learn Scientific Concepts (2025): comparative study of Khanmigo vs. Google search in undergraduate physics](https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1487444), accessed 2026-05-24

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