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Physics

Knowledge · O*NET work requirement

Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

In the O*NET occupational database, Physics is an area of knowledge that work requires. O*NET rates how important it is (1–5) and what level of it a job needs (0–7) for every U.S. occupation. It is rated as important (3 or higher) in 113 of 894 occupations.

Breadth here means how widely O*NET rates this area of knowledge as important across occupations — not that it is rare, high-paying, or currently in employer demand.

Occupations that rely most on Physics

Ranked by O*NET importance to the occupation (1–5). Bars are sized against the 1–5 scale; the level column is what depth of the area of knowledge the job needs (0–7).

Occupation Importance Score Level
Astronomers 5.0 6.6
Physicists 4.9 6.8
Nanosystems Engineers 4.6 5.9
Photonics Engineers 4.6 5.8
Nuclear Engineers 4.5 5.3
Physics Teachers, Postsecondary 4.5 5.7
Atmospheric and Space Scientists 4.4 5.3
Materials Scientists 4.4 5.6
Automotive Engineers 4.3 5.6
Agricultural Engineers 4.3 5.8
Wind Energy Engineers 4.2 5.1
Materials Engineers 4.2 5.5
Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary 4.2 5.4
Medical Dosimetrists 4.2 4.5
Hydrologists 4.1 5.0
Nuclear Power Reactor Operators 4.1 4.8
Biochemists and Biophysicists 4.0 5.6
Aerospace Engineers 4.0 4.8
Nuclear Technicians 4.0 4.6
Nurse Anesthetists 4.0 4.6
Chemical Engineers 4.0 5.1
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists 4.0 4.1
Microsystems Engineers 4.0 5.4
Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers 4.0 5.0
Robotics Engineers 3.9 5.1
Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers 3.9 5.0
Nuclear Medicine Technologists 3.9 3.9
Mechanical Drafters 3.9 4.7
Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary 3.9 4.8
Water Resource Specialists 3.9 4.9
Non-Destructive Testing Specialists 3.8 4.4
Hydroelectric Plant Technicians 3.8 4.3
Radiation Therapists 3.8 3.9
Environmental Engineers 3.8 5.0
Geothermal Technicians 3.7 4.4
Civil Engineers 3.7 4.3
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers 3.7 3.8
Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians 3.7 4.5
Transportation Engineers 3.7 4.5
Automotive Engineering Technicians 3.7 4.4

Showing the top 40 of 113 occupations where this is important.

How AI is used by roles that need Physics

This area of knowledge is not itself "being automated" — but we can look at the roles for which O*NET rates it important and ask how those people actually use AI. This rolls the Anthropic Economic Index per-role signal up across those roles (importance-weighted). 61.9% of the 113 roles where this is important carry observed AI-usage data (70 roles).

Across those roles, 47.0% of AI conversations are people working with AI and 29.3% hand a task to AI , with an average autonomy of 3.74 / 5.

Collaboration pattern Share What it means
directive 26.9% AI does it; you give the instruction
task iteration 22.3% you and AI go back and forth
learning 21.7% you ask AI to explain or teach
validation 3.0% you do it; AI checks your work
feedback loop 2.5% AI does it, then adjusts from your feedback

Roles behind this signal

The roles where this area of knowledge is most important and that also have the most AEI data. "Works with AI" is the role's share of conversations that augment rather than automate.

Occupation Importance Works with AI Autonomy
Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary 3.9 66.3% 4.0/5
Physics Teachers, Postsecondary 4.5 65.9% 4.0/5
Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary 4.2 67.0% 4.0/5
Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary 3.4 66.0% 4.0/5
Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary 3.1 66.3% 4.0/5
Computer Hardware Engineers 3.4 52.2% 4.0/5
Vocational Education Teachers, Postsecondary 3.0 64.4% 4.0/5
Mathematicians 3.0 44.6% 4.0/5
Chemists 3.1 61.8% 4.0/5
Photonics Engineers 4.6 63.5% 4.0/5
Robotics Engineers 3.9 42.0% 4.0/5
Astronomers 5.0 59.3% 4.0/5

Source: Anthropic Economic Index (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2) over a sample of Claude.ai Free and Pro conversations — not all AI tools and not the whole workforce. Shares are of observed conversations, weighted by how important this area of knowledge is to each role; some conversations are left unclassified by Anthropic's taxonomy, so shares need not sum to 100.

Industries that concentrate this

Where Physics matters most across the economy. Employment reach is the share of an industry's workers in occupations that significantly rely on Physics (O*NET importance ≥ 3 of 5). Concentration compares that reach to the national average industry, so a value above 1× means the requirement is more pervasive here than across the economy as a whole.

Nationally, about 3.7% of workers are in occupations that significantly rely on Physics (measured across 61 industries).

Sectors with the most such workers

Sector Workers Employment reach
Construction 1,124,390 13.8%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 1,039,460 9.7%
Manufacturing 1,011,360 7.9%
Health Care and Social Assistance 798,280 3.5%
Educational Services 281,730 2.1%
Transportation and Warehousing 275,180 3.7%
Wholesale Trade 167,930 2.8%
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 142,900 1.6%
Utilities 115,500 19.9%
Management of Companies and Enterprises 103,690 3.7%
Retail Trade 63,220 0.4%
Other Services (except Public Administration) 45,100 1.0%

Industries where it is most concentrated

Industry Level Concentration Employment reach
Wind Electric Power Generation National industry 16.08× 59.5%
Nuclear Electric Power Generation National industry 12.38× 45.8%
Engineering Services National industry 12.3× 45.5%
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation National industry 9.7× 35.9%
Testing Laboratories and Services National industry 6.86× 25.4%
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors National industry 6.68× 24.7%
Farm and Garden Machinery and Equipment Merchant Wholesalers National industry 22.2%
Utilities Sector 5.38× 19.9%
Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists National industry 5.08× 18.8%
Offices of Optometrists National industry 4.57× 16.9%
Drywall and Insulation Contractors National industry 3.89× 14.4%
Construction Sector 3.73× 13.8%

Reach is a measure of how widespread a requirement is across an industry's workforce, not how intensively any individual uses it. Sector worker counts come from BLS OEWS employment; the significance threshold and tool use come from O*NET. Industries shown by concentration are filtered to a real worker base so a tiny specialty cannot top the list on rounding.

Capabilities required by many of the same occupations — a measure of which skills, knowledge and abilities tend to travel together, not a judgment of similarity.

Capability Type Shared occupations
Engineering and Technology Knowledge 95
Science Basic skill 64
Design Knowledge 72
Mathematics Basic skill 78
Chemistry Knowledge 49
Mathematical Reasoning Ability 78
Number Facility Ability 69
Mechanical Knowledge 75
Operations Analysis Cross-functional skill 38
Quality Control Analysis Cross-functional skill 62
Systems Analysis Cross-functional skill 86
Systems Evaluation Cross-functional skill 76

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Physics." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Census NAICS 2022; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/knowledge/physics

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Physics. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/knowledge/physics

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-physics,
  title  = {Physics},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Census NAICS 2022; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/knowledge/physics}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.