← All 785 jobsFile 19-2012
Physicists
Heavily edited
AI already performs a large share of the work in this job. Even so, the BLS expects 7.2% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #135 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +7.2% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $172,250 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 23,200 in the US, with about 1,300 openings a year
The work, 8 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
AI helps with this: Develop scientific or mathematical theories or models20%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,980 conversations, and it got them there 66% of the time.
AI does this: Analyze scientific or applied data using mathematical principles18%
AI performed this in about 1 in 709 Copilot conversations and completed it 58% of the time.
Still yours: Analyze environmental or geospatial data15%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Present research or technical information13%
AI performed this in about 1 in 30 Copilot conversations and completed it 90% of the time.
Still yours: Prepare proposals or grant applications12%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Teach academic or vocational subjects10%
AI performed this in about 1 in 70 Copilot conversations and completed it 84% of the time.
AI helps with this: Assist scientists, scholars, or technical specialists with projects or research7%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 653 conversations, and it got them there 81% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
Still yours: Operate laboratory or field equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 107 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 1,300 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 27% of the workMedical Scientists19% AI does, against 41% here+12.6% by 2035 · $103,410 · Doctoral or professional degree
- Shares 26% of the workBiochemists and Biophysicists20% AI does, against 41% here+12.3% by 2035 · $127,410 · Doctoral or professional degree
- Shares 24% of the workGeoscientists27% AI does, against 41% here+5.1% by 2035 · $101,920 · Bachelor’s degree
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Planet front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.23, higher than 77% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 19-2012 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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