Photo: Biswarup Ganguly (CC BY 3.0)
Job description
Beyond lecturing, the job includes writing and grading exams, supervising students' laboratory work, and keeping lab equipment maintained and safe to use. Physics professors also take on institutional duties like serving on academic committees, helping recruit and place students, and preparing course materials such as syllabi and assignments each term. Many split their time between teaching and original research, and a PhD in physics is the standard credential for the role.
Pros
- High upside earning potential, up to $178k
- Mix of lecturing, lab supervision, and committee work keeps duties varied
- Significant independent judgment in how courses and research are run day to day
Cons
- Above-average hours, expect more than a standard 40-hour work week
- A relatively small number of positions nationwide, so opportunities may be geographically limited
- Requires a PhD in physics, one of the longest and most competitive credentialing paths
A typical day
The 9am introductory mechanics lecture is performance teaching: 200 students, a demo cart on an air track, and clicker questions revealing that half the room still harbors Aristotle's intuitions — which is exactly the data the professor teaches against. Office hours follow, where the real teaching happens two students at a time. The research half of the appointment claims the afternoon: two hours in the lab with a graduate student whose data finally supports the paper's claim, a referee report written for a journal, and the grant renewal that funds both students' stipends pushed another section forward. A committee meeting on the new quantum-computing curriculum eats an hour, as committees do. The evening seminar hosts a visiting speaker, and the after-talk dinner conversation ranges from dark matter to department gossip — academia's oldest tradition. Teaching load, research pressure, and the quiet privilege of being paid to understand things: the professorship in full.
Tasks at the job
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Supervise students' laboratory work.
- Maintain and repair laboratory equipment.
- Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
- Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
Workplace & working conditions
Work happens indoors in a climate-controlled setting.
There's a regular, moderate amount of time pressure, and you're expected to exercise significant independent judgment day to day. The work is highly structured, following set procedures.
Education necessary or common
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the relevant field
Common college majors
Career path
Related fields
Courses to take
- AP Physics C — both halves, as the foundation of everything after
- AP Calculus BC — the professor's daily language
- AP Computer Science A — computational physics threads through teaching and research
- AP Statistics — data literacy for the lab
- AP English Language and Composition — lectures, papers, and grants are all writing
Clubs, activities & competitions
- Physics Olympiad and Science Olympiad — the subject as sport
- Peer tutoring in math or physics — teaching instinct starts here
- Science fair — the research arc in miniature
- Math team
First steps you can take now
- Tutor a classmate in physics and study what makes an explanation land — the teaching half of the career is learnable now
- Take the F=ma exam
- Email a physics professor asking about their path — most reply generously to genuine curiosity
- Understand the road: physics bachelor's, PhD, postdocs, then a competitive academic market — loved by those who'd choose it again anyway
