Is a Physics degree worth it?
Across 55 schools, graduates of Physics earn a median $80,500 five years out on $21,148 of debt — most often working as Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education. Every figure is a real, published federal number.
Median 5-yr pay
$80,500
Median debt
$21,148
Years to pay off
2.7
at 10% of pay
AI task exposure
36%
GPT-4-era overlap
10-yr job growth
-1.1%
BLS 2024–2034
Net price
$19,644/yr
Debt-test failures
0%
of programs
'Real' premium
+$10,863
vs avg, adjusted
See where this degree leads, who's hiring, and whether the pay covers the rent.
Explore Physics in full →Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, O*NET, AI-exposure measures (Eloundou/AIOE), Zillow. Earnings reflect federally-aided graduates; see the full story for methodology and limitations.