Career outlook

What can I do with a degree in physics?

Physics provides a comprehensive and overarching view of the world around us, inside us and beyond us. As the most basic and fundamental science, it equips us with a comprehensive and unifying understanding of all things in our universe ranging from the largest galaxies to the smallest subatomic particles. It provides us with a framework that enables the development of the technologies we cherish. Additionally, it also stands to become a cornerstone in the solution of the big and difficult problems our planet is now facing, including climate change, accelerating extinction of species and decrease in biodiversity, as well as overpopulation, migrations and all the political issues they ensue.

Students earning a physics degree gain more than just a degree: they become equipped with a broad and comprehensive understanding of the universe as well as the technologies in use today. As such, graduates benefit from a vast array of career choices ranging from research careers based in academia, governmental institutions as well as corporations; education careers at colleges, universities, high schools and technical schools; development and use of advanced technologies for startups as well as large corporations; scientific journalisms and much more.

Whether in academia, governments or corporations, physics graduates may conduct research into new physical phenomena, further develop or invent new scientific theories or work towards the creation and improvement of technologies. Graduates may also endeavor to become educators or reporters and contribute to the public dissemination of knowledge or partake in the regulation of human activities based on a sound and comprehensive understanding of physics knowledge and the impact of human activities, particularly technologies, on our local and global environments.

Transferable skills

A physics or astronomy degree offers skills in:

Science, mathematics and computing
Deductive and inductive reasoning
Critical thinking and information processing
Complex problem solving
Data analysis and interpretation competences
Operation of complex technologies, including software
Organizational and planning skills
Laboratory and research competence to analyze data and solve complex problems

Some careers in physics

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Career paths

Educator at colleges, universities, and high schools
Fundamental research at universities, startup and large corporations, national laboratories, as well as government and military agencies
Applied research and developments of technologies
Development and analysis of data models for banks, insurance companies and financial institutions
(Big) Data analysis and modeling for corporations
Artificial intelligence research and applications
Regulations of technologies, products and their impact on the environment and societies
News organizations
Law Maker (national or state governments)
Non-profit organizations promoting the safeguard of the environment and safe use and development of technologies,
Patent offices

Career field resources

Graduate study

A bachelor's in physics or astronomy provides a solid foundation for graduate studies in:

Astronomy or astrophysics
Biophysics
Climate studies
Computer engineering
Condensed matter physics
Electronics and electrical engineering
Forensic sciences
Material sciences
Medicine and other health professions
Medical physics
Meteorology
Nuclear physics
Nuclear engineering
Particle physics
Patent law
And much more

Notable people with a physics major

James Cameron (filmmaker, director, producer, screenwriter for The Terminator, Titanic, Avatar)
Marie Curie (research of radioactivity, first woman to receive Nobel Prize)
Albert Einstein (developed the general theory of relativity and E=mc²)
Brian May (co-founder, lead guitarist, and singer of rock group, Queen; astrophysicist)
Elon Musk (founder/CEO of SpaceX, co-founder, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.)
Vera Rubin (studied galaxy rotation rates, provided evidence for the existence of dark matter)
Carl Sagan (astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, science communicator)
Neil deGrasse Tyson (astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and science communicator)
Angela Merkel (chancellor of Germany)
Richard Phillips Feynman (physicist who played an important role on the Presidential Rogers Commission that investigated the Challenger disaster)
Stephen Hawking (significantly developed the theory of black holes)
Steven Chu (Energy Secretary under President Obama)
Bill Foster (U.S. House of Representatives)

Physics majors pull in high starting-salaries

Physics graduates receive some of the top starting salaries after graduating from college. A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers of starting salaries offered by campus recruiters shows that students graduating with a bachelor's in physics can make up to $64,000 per year when starting right out of school. More commonly, the survey found that physics graduates can expect a starting salary between $46,000 and $58,000 per year.

This generally exceeds the starting salaries of graduates in most other scientific fields. The mean starting salary for a physicist is higher than that of graduates who majored in chemistry, psychology, or biology. Graduates with physics degrees also tend to outpace other fields outside of the sciences, including those graduating with degrees in marketing, accounting, and even finance. Source: American Institute of Physics (AIP)

Physics majors get readily admitted to medical and law schools

Admission to medical schools

Students with a bachelor's in physics typically perform very well on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and stand an above-than-average chance of being admitted into medical schools.

The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) has three sections of standardized multiple-choice questions (total of 219 items) with an additional writing sample comprised of two essays. Scores of 9.5 to 11 in each section are considered competitive by most medical schools. Source: Association of American Medical Colleges, data warehouse

Average MCAT scores by selected majors (2009)

Discipline (major)	Physical sciences	Biological sciences	Verbal reasoning	Number of applicants
Biomedical engineering	10.9	10.7	9.6	1,005
Physics	11.1	10.3	9.6	207
Electrical engineering	10.9	10.5	9.4	195
Economics	10.4	10.5	9.7	566
Neuroscience	9.9	10.6	9.5	1,066
Mathematics	10.3	10.1	9.6	374
All majors	9.2	9.8	9.0	41,487

Note: Admission results vary from year to year but the above statistics are considered representative of the various fields applying for admission at medical schools across the nation.

Admission to law schools

Physics bachelors receive higher scores on the LSAT than other undergraduate majors and are highly regarded by law schools.

Discipline (major)	Mean score	Number of applicants
Physics	161.5	180
Mathematics	159.7	336
Economics	157.4	3,047
Electrical Engineering	156.3	546
Mechanical Engineering	156.0	427
Chemistry	155.7	355
All majors	152.6	81,530

Note: Admission results vary from year to year but the above statistics are considered representative of the various fields applying for admission at law schools across the nation.