Every occupation the official NCES/BLS crosswalk connects to physics programs, with BLS pay, the education each job usually needs, what the work involves, and where to go next.
Physics · CIP 40.08 series · 10 codes · 4 careers · Check one exact major, e.g. 40.0801 Physics, General, in the major to career finder
The official NCES/BLS crosswalk maps physics programs to 4 occupations that such programs typically prepare people for, including Natural Sciences Manager, Physicist and High School Teacher. BLS median pay across them runs from $72,040 (High School Teacher) to $172,250 (Physicist) in May 2025. The crosswalk describes preparation, not what graduates actually go on to do.
Data Program → related occupations: these are jobs physics programs typically prepare people for (NCES/BLS crosswalk). Not a guaranteed outcome, and not a record of what graduates do.
Data Filter by the education the job usually needs or its preparation level; sort by pay or by number employed.
| Occupation | Most common education | Job Zone | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High School Teacher | $72,040 | 1,065,210 | Bachelor's Degree | 4 |
| Natural Sciences Manager | $167,220 | 108,690 | Bachelor's Degree | 5 |
| Physicist | $172,250 | 20,430 | Doctoral Degree | 5 |
| Physics Teachers, PostsecondaryPostsecondary teaching | $100,310 | 13,090 | Doctoral Degree | 5 |
No occupations match these filters.
Data The education column shows a typical entry level only where O*NET data supports one answer. Check the typical education for Natural Sciences Manager, one of the physics jobs above.
Data BLS national median annual wage, May 2025. These are pay levels of the occupations, not earnings of graduates.
Data The largest related occupations by employment (postsecondary teaching shown in the explorer).
Hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff.
Design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing.
Science · Reading Comprehension · Active Listening
Mapped from CIP 40.0801, 40.0802Analyze data from research conducted to detect and measure physical phenomena.
Report experimental results by writing papers for scientific journals or by presenting information at scientific conferences.
Science · Critical Thinking · Reading Comprehension
Mapped from CIP 40.0801, 40.0802Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
Instructing · Reading Comprehension · Active Listening
Mapped from CIP 40.0801Data Related occupations grouped by government career field, with their pay range.
Data Other programs whose crosswalk occupations overlap with these.
Data A national median for federal-aid graduates of this field: a separate measure from the BLS job pay above.
See earnings by degree level, college spread and federal debt.
The NCES/BLS crosswalk relates instructional programs (CIP 2020) to occupations (SOC 2018) when programs in the CIP category typically prepare individuals directly for jobs in the occupation. This page uses the CIP program series below and shows every non-residual occupation mapped to them that has BLS wages and O*NET data; each occupation lists the CIP codes that map to it.
Searches this page answers include “what can you do with a physics degree”, “jobs for physics majors”, “physics degree jobs” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
