Physics Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses pertaining to the laws of matter and energy. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
13,090 people do this job in the US. $100,310 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 85%
- 13%
- 2%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 14%. Today's estimate: 20%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 24 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.Done yearly or less by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 22% | 3.5 work weeks4.2 work days to 2.4 work months | 0%Half by Jan 2030 | |
| Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 15% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 2%Half by Feb 2028 | |
| Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 10% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 2.1 work days | 10%Half by May 2027 | |
| Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as quantum mechanics, particle physics, and optics.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 7% | 2.5 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | 59%Half by now | |
| Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 7% | 2.5 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | 59%Half by now | |
| Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1 work day | 43%Half by Oct 2026 | |
| Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | 17%Half by Apr 2027 | |
| Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 h50 min to 2.5 h | 97%Half by now | |
| Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 work weeks2.1 work days to 3.3 work weeks | 0%Half by Jan 2029 | |
| Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.1 h38 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | 46%Half by Oct 2026 |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary26% now, 65% by 2028
- Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary18% now, 62% by 2028
- Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary14% now, 55% by 2028
- Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary19% now, 59% by 2028
- Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary19% now, 55% by 2028
- Physicists3% now, 52% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).