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Occupation

Physicists

Conduct research into physical phenomena, develop theories on the basis of observation and experiments, and devise methods to apply physical laws and theories.

96 AI exposure
22 Human advantage
59 Market demand
63 AI leverage

Is Physicists a safe career from AI?

Physicists scores 96 out of 100 for AI exposure, which is high. A large share of this work is the kind current AI systems are measurably good at. That is not a prediction the job disappears, and the research does not support one. It means more of this role is likely to change than most.

Its human advantage score is 22, which is low. Most of this role can be done through a screen, and that is the half of the labor market AI has reached first. Market demand scores 59 out of 100, combining how many of these jobs exist with where that number is heading. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment growing 7.2% over ten years.

What Physicists pay

The median wage is $166,290 a year. The lower quarter earns under $117,450 and the upper quarter over $210,260. About 21,340 people do this work in the United States.

Where Physicists can go next

Occupations that share most of what this job already requires, ranked by how much carries over.

Astronomers 94% of the skills carry over $132k median
Biochemists and Biophysicists 92% of the skills carry over $104k median
Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers 86% of the skills carry over $168k median
Architectural and Engineering Managers 80% of the skills carry over $168k median

Thinking about moving out of Physicists?

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Where this comes from

Work content and transitions from O*NET, the US Department of Labor's occupational database. Wages and employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. AI exposure from published research measuring which occupations current AI capabilities overlap with. None of it is a forecast, and none of these numbers are ours: they are public data, put next to each other.

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