Written by Jamie Birt
Updated March 3, 2025
If you are a student considering majoring in physics, there are several career opportunities that a degree in physics can make available to you. Physics is a rigorous course of study, making it a field of the hard sciences that is not a strong suit for everyone. If you are interested in and excel at physics, this can thus be a broad field of career opportunity.
In this article, we discuss several different jobs for physics majors with salary information and common job duties.
Jobs for Physics Majors
Here is a list of several different career opportunities available to physics majors:
1. Technical writer
National average salary: $74,296 per year
Primary duties:
Create instruction manuals, how-to guides, diagrams, journal articles and other documents that communicate complex and technical information in an easy to understand manner to inform consumers how a product works.
2.Science teacher
National average salary: $54,810 per year
Primary duties:
Provide instruction to students that help them understand and explore science concepts. Science teachers may be responsible for creating lesson plans, providing instruction, presenting demonstrations, planning experiments and grading assignments that measure the progress of a student’s learning.
3. Forensic scientist
National average salary: $63,220 per year
Primary duties:
Perform forensic research and review and analyze evidence from crime scenes that was gathered by crime scene investigators. Forensic scientists typically workwithin forensic laboratories.
4. Professor
National average salary: $61,014 per year
Primary duties:
Provide academic instruction to students at the undergraduate or postgraduate level. In addition to providing instruction to students, professors may also participate in research and publish scholarly articles and books. Professors work ineducational institutions such as colleges, universities and trade schools.
5. Data analyst
National average salary: $74,377 per year
Primary duties:
Review and analyze data collected by businesses and organizations and use the information to help their company make better-informed business decisions. Data analysts may analyze several types of data including market research, logistics, sales figures and more.
6.Research analyst
National average salary: $66,256 per year
Primary duties:
Perform research and analyze, interpret and present the informationgathered from their research to their company to help them make better-informed decisions.Research analysts may research and analyze data related to business operations, markettrends and changes, finance and accounting, economics and customer satisfaction.
7.Web developer
National average salary: $77,791 per year
Primary duties:
Manage how a website looks and performs by using coding language to create the layout, design and functionality of the website. Front-end web developers are responsible for the look of a website, while back-end developers are responsible for the internal content and administrative components of the
web application.
8.Design engineer
National average salary: $84,648 per year
Primary duties:
Research and develop ideas for the creation of new products and the development of existing products to improve their efficiency and performance.
9.Systems analyst
National average salary: $79,891 per year
Primary duties:
Solve business problems using information technology by analyzing existing business processes, identifying areas that need improvement, developing systems and processes to create change and implement and train others to use these new processes and systems.
10. Research engineer
National average salary: $92,463 per year
Primary duties:
Work in laboratory or office environments conducting experiments and analyzing processes to find the best material, product or method to use for an application. Research engineers may also be responsible for writing summaries of test results, preparing manuals and guidelines and presenting information to project managers.
11. Meteorologist
National average salary: $55,519 per year
Primary duties:
Observe, understand, forecast and explain the earth’s weather and climateand how atmospheric conditions affect earth and life on our planet.
12. Research scientist
National average salary: $95,565 per year
Primary duties:
Work in laboratory environments to perform controlled investigations,experiments and trials and gather and analyze information from those investigations,experiments and trials.
13. Scientist
National average salary: $89,737 per year
Primary duties:
Work in laboratory environments and perform research and experiments to understand how things work and discover new concepts. Scientists observe, measure and communicate the results of their research and experiments to others.
14. Application developer
National average salary:$86,803 per year
Primary duties:
Work with a team to plan, create, test and program applications for computers, tablets, mobile phones and other types of electronic devices.
15. Product development engineer
National average salary: $89,110 per year
Primary duties:
Oversee the design, development and testing of new products to meet the needs of their company and the company’s customers.
16. Process engineer
National average salary: $88,975 per year
Primary duties:
Design, develop and modify chemical, physical and biological industrial processes for the creation of products such as oil, gas and food and drinks. Process engineers are also commonly referred to as chemical engineers.
17. Radiation safety officer
National average salary: $102,530 per year
Primary duties:
Oversee the radiological safety related to the handling, use and storage of radioactive materials by identifying radiation problems, recommending and approving corrective actions and ensuring continuous compliance with safety regulations.
18. Materials engineer
National average salary: $92,439 per year
Primary duties:
Use materials such as plastic, metal and ceramic to develop, process and test new materials to create a range of products such as biomedical devices, computer parts and golf clubs.
19. Nuclear engineer
National average salary: $93,838 per year
Primary duties:
Design and develop nuclear equipment, oversee operations and maintenance of nuclear power plants, ensure safety regulations are followed and develop new uses for nuclear material and nuclear energy.
20.R&D engineer
National average salary: $79,724 per year
Primary duties:
Research and test new product concepts, develop new products and makeimprovements to existing products. Research and development engineers usually work in office environments.
21. Sales engineer
National average salary: $89,628 per year
Primary duties:
Sells complex technical or scientific products and services to businesses. Sales engineers need a comprehensive understanding of how their products function and the scientific processes that make their products work to effectively pitch their products to new customers.
22.Aeronautical engineer
National average salary: $103,595 per year
Primary duties:
Study the aerodynamic performance of aircraft and propulsion systems anduse the information from their research to design new aircraft products and propulsion systems. Aeronautical engineers assess project proposals to determine whether they are both financially and technically feasible and can achieve their goals through safe operations.
23. Electronics engineer
National average salary: $107,257 per year
Primary duties:
Inspect, evaluate, design and develop electronic equipment. Electronics engineers may design electronic components, software, systems and products, analyze a customer’s needs and develop an electrical system plan, evaluate existing systems and make recommendations for design modifications or equipment repair and inspect electronic equipment to ensure they meet safety standards and regulations.
24.Optical engineer
National average salary:$112,552 per year
Primary duties:
Design, calibrate and fine-tune optical systems for cameras, telescopes and lens systems, and develop circuitry and components for devices that use optical technology.
25.System engineer
National average salary: $104,733 per year
Primary duties:
Install, configure, test, maintain, monitor and manage operating systems, application software, system management tools and infrastructure to ensure optimal performance, security and backup.
26.Software engineer
National average salary: $108,896 per year
Primary duties:
Use the principles of computer science and mathematical analysis to designand develop computer software such as operating systems, business applications, network controls and computer games.
27. Instrumentation engineer
National average salary: $105,394 per year
Primary duties:
Design, develop, install, test, maintain and manage equipment used to monitor and control engineering systems, machinery and processes to ensure they operate safely, efficiently and effectively.
28. Data scientist
National average salary: $119,380 per year
Primary duties:
Work closely with a business’ stakeholders to understand their needs and goals and analyze data to understand how the data can be used to help them achieve their goals. Data scientists create algorithms and predictive models to extract the data a business needs and then analyze the data and share their insights to help the company achieve their goals.
29. Patent agent
National average salary: $134,322 per year
Primary duties:
Provide advice and assist inventors with patent applications. A patent agent must be licensed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and may provide inventors with their opinions about patentability and help inventors in preparing and filing the documentation needed to apply for a patent.
30. Quantitative analyst
National average salary: $147,576 per year
Primary duties:
Use quantitative methods of analysis to help businesses make financial and operational decisions. Quantitative analysts also create the algorithms used within the software used to determine when an investment hits a level of profitability. They often work for insurance companies, investment banks, asset managers,
private equity firms and hedge funds and help them manage risk, value securities, identify profitable investment opportunities and develop pricing models and risk evaluation strategies.
Published on Indeed.com
