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Job outlook for physics teachers in the United States
Physics teacher job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected physics teacher job growth rate is 5% from 2018-2028.
About 48,700 new jobs for physics teachers are projected over the next decade.
Physics teacher salaries have increased 8% for physics teachers in the last 5 years.
There are over 24,253 physics teachers currently employed in the United States.
There are 68,098 active physics teacher job openings in the US.
The average physics teacher salary is $54,119.
Are physics teacher jobs in demand?
Physics teacher job and salary trends over time
Physics teacher jobs over time
Physics teacher job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24,253 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 23,558 | 0.01% |
| 2019 | 24,624 | 0.01% |
| 2018 | 24,997 | 0.01% |
| 2017 | 24,419 | 0.01% |
Average physics teacher salary over time
Physics teacher salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $54,119 | $26.02 | +2.0% |
| 2025 | $53,077 | $25.52 | +2.2% |
| 2024 | $51,924 | $24.96 | +1.9% |
| 2023 | $50,934 | $24.49 | +2.0% |
| 2022 | $49,952 | $24.02 | +1.5% |
Physics teacher jobs by state
Most common states for physics teachers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 169 | 24% |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 302 | 22% |
| 3 | Vermont | 623,657 | 134 | 21% |
| 4 | Nevada | 2,998,039 | 600 | 20% |
| 5 | Delaware | 961,939 | 188 | 20% |
| 6 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 199 | 19% |
| 7 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 110 | 19% |
| 8 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,061 | 18% |
| 9 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 910 | 16% |
| 10 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 583 | 16% |
| 11 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,927 | 15% |
| 12 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 1,024 | 15% |
| 13 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 812 | 15% |
| 14 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 317 | 15% |
| 15 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 288 | 15% |
| 16 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,303 | 14% |
| 17 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 883 | 13% |
| 18 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 138 | 13% |
| 19 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 363 | 12% |
| 20 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 199 | 12% |
Most common cities for physics teachers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malden | 1 | 2% | $81,756 |
| 2 | Palo Alto | 1 | 1% | $56,065 |
| 3 | Pasadena | 1 | 1% | $52,878 |
| 4 | San Mateo | 1 | 1% | $56,187 |
| 5 | Boston | 3 | 0% | $81,881 |
| 6 | Glendale | 1 | 0% | $52,924 |
| 7 | San Jose | 1 | 0% | $55,843 |
Physics Teacher job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of physics teacher experts
University of Central Arkansas
Berry College
Chatham University
Seattle Pacific University
California State University - Fresno
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Oakland University
Point Loma Nazarene University
Indiana University Kokomo
Colby-Sawyer College
University of Colorado Denver
University of Mary Washington
Horacio Ferriz Ph.D.
Professor of Applied Geology and HydrogeologyWhat general advice would you give to a Physics Teacher?
Horacio Ferriz Ph.D.: We have a critical lack of good teachers in the STEM disciplines, so pursuing this path will practically guarantee you a teaching position anywhere you care to live. We also need good journalism in the STEM disciplines, because there is so much misinformation out there.
What Physics Teacher skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Horacio Ferriz Ph.D.: Hopefully you have it real clear in your mind that you want to pursue a career in Science Education, at the Elementary or Middle School level. If you have your sights on becoming a High School teacher you would be much better off pursuing a traditional major in Geology, Physics, Chemistry, or Biology. Physical Science would also be a good platform to pursue a career as a Science Journalist.
What will help Physics Teachers increase their earning potential?
Horacio Ferriz Ph.D.: Take some of your basic requirements for a Teaching Credential in your junior and senior years at college (Adolescent Psychology, Foundations of Secondary Education), and make sure to log some hours helping a local STEM teacher in the classroom.
Dr. Nina Roofe Ph.D.
Associate Professor & ChairUniversity of Central Arkansas
Department of Nutrition & Family Sciences
What soft skills should all Physics Teachers possess?
Dr. Nina Roofe Ph.D.: Collegiality is the most important soft skill an educator can possess. This is seen in how educators interact with each other and conduct themselves in their schools. Participating in peer teaching consultations objectively and willingly sharing ideas to support new educators shows your dedication to the teaching profession and commitment to mentoring new professionals. Demonstrating flexibility with scheduling and room assignments, sharing materials and space, assisting colleagues, and team teaching when appropriate are examples of collegiality in action. Attending meetings and participating positively and professionally communicates respect for others and the value you place on your peers and supervisor. Leadership skills are essential for navigating parent-teacher conferences and earning the respect of parents. Demonstrating leadership also demonstrates to administration your FCS skills in conflict resolution and financial management. Good communication skills are critical for effective teaching. This relates to our ability to deliver the lesson's content and provide feedback to our students. Teamwork and collaborative problem solving are essential to a functional campus. With collaboration and respectful dialogue, a school can be innovative in resolving challenges. Social and emotional intelligence ensures safety for students and colleagues, promotes a positive learning environment, and provides the foundation for a growth mindset. Finally, cultural awareness is a critical soft skill all educators must achieve. We are required to understand our students to relate to them and effectively educate them across cultures and demographics.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Physics Teacher job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Frances Roe: One of the biggest current trends in education is that the pandemic has prompted many teachers to retire or to leave the teaching profession. This exodus from the profession means that there will be more jobs available for our graduates. Locally, administrators from different districts have asked me if the Teacher Education Department knows of any recent graduates who do not have teaching jobs. They are ready to hire our recent graduates right now! The certification area did not matter. They need certified teachers now!
A trend is one that continues from pre-pandemic days. That trend is the need for math and science teachers for middle and high schools. Foreign language and special education teachers are also remain in demand.
Christie Lewis
Assistant Professor of Education, Field CoordinatorChatham University
Education Department
What type of skills will young Physics Teachers need?
Christie Lewis: Young graduates entering the teaching force need to have many skills. Graduates should be culturally competent educators, know how to build a community of learners, know how to build relationships with families and students, know how to manage a classroom, be able to adapt, problem-solve, and think creatively. In addition, graduates need to be able to plan well to meet the needs of all learners, know how to use and analyze various student data and have the skillset to challenge students to learn so that all students can be successful in the classroom. Graduates also need to know how to use technology tools, and many graduates should have had the opportunity to learn this during student teaching. Finally, new teachers need to understand social and emotional development and how the pandemic, protests, and other current events in our world and how things happening in the student's own lives can impact learning and behavior.
Christopher Hanson
Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Music Education and Orchestral ActivitiesSeattle Pacific University
Music Department
What general advice would you give to a Physics Teacher?
Christopher Hanson: Keep asking questions and look for opportunities to engage in teaching and learning wherever you can. Connect with peers and future colleagues. Do not just wait. Now is the time to create and sustain dialog on educational change. Although there are endless numbers of variables to how, when, what, and with whom we learn, our genuine curiosity and sincere desire to engage others in the educative process is our greatest hope to see education in a better place than it was before the pandemic.
We must heed the call of innovation and encourage a transition from our current state of triage and survival. You, as a recent graduate, are the future of what education will be. Ask yourself, what will the world look like that you will help create? Is this a world that you and others can learn in? What more can you do to secure the possibilities and promise of education for all? These are the questions that will fuel change and secure growth through the inevitable vicissitudes of education.
Cheryl McDonald
Faculty & Coordinator, Education Specialist and Dual Credential programsCalifornia State University - Fresno
Literacy, Early, Bilingual and Special Education Department
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Physics Teacher job market given the pandemic?
Cheryl McDonald: One of biggest trends in the job market, pandemic or not, is in education. There is real shortage of qualified educators, service providers and educational leaders, despite the incentives, stipends, or bonus monies that districts and universities use to attract candidates to the field. There is a shortage of qualified credentialed teachers in many teaching disciplines across most of the United States. The most severe shortages are in special education, mathematics, science, bilingual/dual immersion, and early childhood education. There is also a need for qualified school administrators, school psychologists, school social workers, school nurses, and school counselors.
All of these areas require specialized knowledge and specialized certification, in addition to a passion and dedication for the discipline. In California, for example, earning a teaching credential requires a Bachelor's degree, fingerprint clearance from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, completion of the U.S. Constitution, basics skills, subject matter and literacy instruction requirements, typically through costly and rigorous tests, current certification in CPR for infants, children and adults, and completion of a teacher preparation program in the area of the credential. In special education, a candidate would need to complete a teacher preparation program in a specialty area: mild/moderate disabilities, moderate/severe disabilities, physical, visual, or health impairments, deaf and hard of hearing, or speech and language development.
Each day spent with students is unique and exciting. Teachers, service providers and leaders not only need to be qualified, they also need to be compassionate, collaborative, adaptable, flexible, and effective, especially when the unexpected arises. Virtual/online teaching skills are a plus. Teachers and educational leaders also need to be prepared to work with culturally- and linguistically-diverse student and family populations, with students who are gifted and talented, and students experiencing risk factors such as homelessness, poverty, drug or alcohol dependency, frequent absences or bullying.
Aaron Hoy Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of SociologyMinnesota State University, Mankato
Sociology Department
What type of skills will young Physics Teachers need?
Aaron Hoy Ph.D.: It is good news for our society and for sociology majors that employers have already put an increased emphasis on hiring and retaining employees who have a solid understanding of issues of diversity and inclusion. This emphasis will likely continue for the foreseeable future, which is a good opportunity for sociology majors who are comfortable working in diverse environments and really understand and appreciate human diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, gender identity or expression, and sexuality, among others. In fact, right now, diversity-related skills are those that recent sociology graduates say they are most likely to use and benefit from in the workplace, according to a 2015 report from the American Sociological Association.
I would also encourage sociology majors to prioritize rigorous methodological training to the extent that they can within their specific program. There are already many, many jobs available for college graduates with research skills, including in the private sector, and these are likely to grow in the coming years. However, sociology majors sometimes overlook these jobs or opt not to apply for them. As an advisor myself, I suspect that this is often because students do not feel confident in their research skills or because they assume that, say, a psychology or an economics major would be a better fit. But these are good-paying jobs with above-average levels of employee satisfaction, and sociology majors should not take themselves out of the running for them.
Although it may be scary or uncomfortable for some students, taking an extra research design or statistics class might be a good idea. And of course, writing up research results and presenting them in clear, logical ways is a key part of the research process, so as always, students should make a very concerted effort to improve their written and verbal communication skills as best they can. That may mean taking an extra composition or public speaking class if necessary.
What experience really stands out on Physics Teacher resumes?
Aaron Hoy Ph.D.: Increasingly, I hear employers say that they look to see if recent college graduates, sociology majors included, have relevant "real-world" experience, especially internships. For this reason, many sociology programs (including my own) have recently moved to make internships a required component of the major. Sociology majors who are not required to complete an internship may consider doing one anyway. But given the specific industries that sociology majors typically work in, volunteering should not be discounted altogether.
For instance, the American Sociological Association's data has consistently shown that "Social Services/Counselor" is the job category sociology majors are most likely to work in immediately following graduation. And the specific places they work often include various non-profit organizations like shelters for victims of domestic violence or homeless youth, all of which rely on volunteers. Sociology majors who do volunteer work in college not only benefit their communities; they also show at least some potential employers that they understand why they do the work they do and what it looks like on the ground.
Dr. Cynthia Carver
Associate Professor & ChairOakland University
Department of Organizational Leadership
What Physics Teacher skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Cynthia Carver: Hone your teaching skills! Schools will continue to need substitute teachers and para-professionals. Child care facilitates and after-school programs will still need teachers. And it's likely that many families will be seeking tutors as their children catch up. To gain experience and build your resume, seek opportunities that mirror the work you do as a classroom teacher.
What general advice would you give to a Physics Teacher?
Dr. Cynthia Carver: Be prepared to work hard - your first year of teaching will be demanding - but know that you are doing important work. We are the profession that makes all others possible. And don't forget to ask for help.
What experience really stands out on Physics Teacher resumes?
Dr. Jennifer Lineback Ph.D.: Practical experience working with real learners/students! Whether that experience be through formal academic programs (i.e., through volunteering in a classroom or being hired as an academic tutor or aid), or informal programming (i.e., working with children during after school care, Sunday School, or summer camps), the more experience graduates have with children, the better!
Niki Weller Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology, ChairIndiana University Kokomo
Department of Sociology
What type of skills will young Physics Teachers need?
Niki Weller Ph.D.: Students need to demonstrate that they are versatile communicators, with strong written and oral communication skills. Students should take full advantage of any public speaking opportunities, such as conference presentations, to demonstrate evidence of this skill. Employers want to hire people who are personable, involved, and have potential leadership qualities. Students should be engaged in campus extracurricular activities, including student clubs, experiential learning events, or community engagements. Research skills, like data collection and analysis, are extremely important and can be applied in a variety of professions. Students should hone these skills through social science research.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Physics Teachers in the next 3-5 years?
R. Todd Coy Ph.D.: Even before the onset of COVID-19, the increasing importance of technology in areas like education and business communications was apparent. I believe Covid only served to speed up the oncoming changes. Using online formats to deliver professional services like mental health or education will continue to become even more mainstream. Therefore, staying current with the various applications and features found online will allow you to be more effective and marketable.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Physics Teachers?
Joshua French Ph.D.: Absolutely, and in different ways. The pandemic has changed the playing field in terms of winners and losers.
Companies that experienced increased demand for their services (e.g., Zoom, Amazon, Target) during the pandemic can increase the size of their data teams. Companies that rely on crowds of people (e.g., travel, some types of marketing) may be seeing cutbacks or furloughs. It seems likely that the winners will further consolidate their gains to move into new markets. I expect that this will change the kinds of companies hiring data teams for quite a while.
A major change is where we work. While there will always be a need for corporate offices of some sort, employers and employees are experiencing the benefits of working remotely. Companies won't need to lease huge offices to house their employees, while also saving on supplies and utilities. I suspect that companies will be much more open to remote employees in the future. Employees also realize the tangible benefits of not having a commute and may not be as willing to move for a job. Combining those two factors, graduates will have much more freedom about "where" they can work. If I can conveniently work for companies across the country from the comfort of my home, then my job and career options are greatly expanded.
Current graduates will need to be very careful about salary and compensation moving forward. I have heard conflicting reports about whether job offers are comparable to what was available prior to the pandemic. While some opportunities are as strong as pre-pandemic, I suspect that with recent furloughs, there is more employee demand for new jobs than the supply of new jobs. What this means is that employers can reduce their salary offers because the pool of laborers willing to work for less is greater. A person who takes a lower-paying job will need to be more proactive in climbing the ladder and willing to change companies to improve salary and benefits. The fastest way to increase your salary is to move to a new job that is willing to pay more. This will be more important for recent graduates. Many articles have shown the challenges faced by millennials taking jobs right out of the Economic Crisis of 2008-2009. They entered the market with lower pay and have struggled to break out of the cycle of being underpaid. That could easily happen to current and recent graduates without effort.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Physics Teachers to find work opportunities?
Joshua French Ph.D.: With employers increasingly allowing their employees to work from him, particularly in knowledge-driven jobs such as statistics, the physical location of a job won't be as important in the future. However, you can expect that the majority of jobs will still be in larger cities with large tech and corporate presence. In the immediate future, states allowing companies more flexibility in operating normally will see a relative increase in the number of statistics jobs, as companies will be able to increase the amount of business performed in those areas.
How do you envision technology impacting Physics Teachers in the next 5 years?
Joshua French Ph.D.: Technology will implement statistics in a multitude of ways.
One of the major impacts of technology on statistics is going to be the ability to effectively measure new things, measure them at a higher resolution or with more accuracy, and to obtain more measurements much more inexpensively. Statistical models can be no better than the data that are used to build them. While many focus on the overall volume of data, such as tech companies being able to rapidly compile petabytes of data, I don't anticipate that having a huge impact on statisticians with the exception that our methods must scale dramatically better. What I'm more interested in is using technological improvements to get better measurements of things that were previously difficult to measure. Statisticians will be needed much more frequently in the future as investigators from medicine, physics, and sports are able to produce much higher quality data for which statistical models can be reasonably built.
The ability to work in both Python and R will continue to become more important. Statisticians have still favor R as a programming language, but the more general popularity of Python will require statisticians to become fluent in both languages. And while R continues to hold strong advantages over Python in terms of visualization, data manipulation, and cutting edge statistical models, the need to collaborate with others fluent in Python will require statisticians to expand their abilities in Python. It will be quite interesting to see whether the Julia language can also gain some real momentum in statistics and data science. On a technical level, the language has advantages over both R and Python. However, as a relative newcomer, it simply doesn't have the diversity of methods the other two systems offer, and since it still has a much smaller user base, its more difficult to collaborate with others.
The COVID pandemic is going to usher a wave of new technology attempting to make virtual collaboration easier. Right now, the height of collaboration for many mathematicians and statisticians is working in front of a whiteboard with a web camera pointed at them. While this will work for the short term, this has highlighted the need for more accessible options for collaboration. Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Slack will continue to incorporate new features making collaboration and consultation more interactive and seamless. Yet unavailable (or at least not widely known) technology will need to be adopted in mass to make these experiences close to as effective as in-person meetings. Having seen the promise of virtual collaboration and meetings during the pandemic, businesses will push to make these changes permanent to save incredible amounts of their budget that was previously spent on flights, hotels, per diem, etc. Statisticians are going to need to educate themselves in these areas to keep up with the rapidly changing world of online collaboration. We've been quite comfortable in our patterns for many years, but that is going to change rapidly.
Janine Davis Ph.D.
Associate ProfessorUniversity of Mary Washington
College of Education
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Physics Teachers?
Janine Davis Ph.D.: For our teacher education graduates, the impact of the pandemic will most likely work in their favor when it comes to finding jobs-the pandemic has led to many retirements, which will mean that we will need even more teachers to fill those empty positions. At the same time, the advent of increased virtual learning means that it will no longer be an option that teachers know and use technology, including teaching online and using learning management and data analysis systems-those skills will almost certainly be a non-negotiable for future teaching positions. Finally, I think that this event has highlighted the importance of working as part of a team of teachers and other school leaders.