# 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.

- **SOC code:** 25-1054.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-25-1054-00
- **Also known as:** Instructor, Physics Instructor, Physics Professor, Professor, Adjunct Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Physical Science Professor
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as quantum mechanics, particle physics, and optics.
- Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
- Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
- Supervise students' laboratory work.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Review articles to determine their suitability for publication.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_
- Physics _(knowledge)_
- Education and Training _(knowledge)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Instructing _(transferable_skill)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Science _(essential_skill)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Writing _(essential_skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Physics _(Specialized Skill)_
- Instructing _(Specialized Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Learning Strategies _(Specialized Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Autodesk AutoCAD _(hot technology)_
- C _(hot technology)_
- C++ _(hot technology)_
- Google Docs _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Windows _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Perl _(hot technology)_
- The MathWorks MATLAB _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 75th percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 77th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 57th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 89th percentile (High) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 2.5% growth (About average); 1.3k annual openings; 17.1k → 17.5k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $97,360; 13,590 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 30% automation, 66% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 4.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** task iteration.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues. _(23.7% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media. _(13.9% of measured AI use; learning)_
- Provide professional consulting services to government or industry. _(12.8% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others. _(10.6% of measured AI use; directive)_
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as quantum mechanics, particle physics, and optics. _(7.7% of measured AI use; learning)_
- Prepare course materials such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. _(3.8% of measured AI use; directive)_
- Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments. _(2.9% of measured AI use; directive)_
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions. _(2.6% of measured AI use; learning)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
- Help me conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
- Help me provide professional consulting services to government or industry.
- Help me compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Help me prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as quantum mechanics, particle physics, and optics.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-25-1054-00_