Physical Sciences

Contains Stem Majors

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Median In-State​
Public Tuition
$7,761
growing 0.583%
Median Out-of-State​
Private Tuition
$43,067
growing 1.98%
Average Wage
$125,510
growing 7.15%
People in Workforce
1.18M
growing 2.09%
Average Employee Age
44.6
declining 0.491%

About

In 2022, the locations with the highest concentration of Physical Sciences degree recipients are New York, NY, San Diego, CA, and Los Angeles, CA. N/A The most common degree awarded to students studying Physical Sciences is a bachelors degree.

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Physical Sciences and the types of students that study this field. undefined awards the most degrees in Physical Sciences in the US.

Tuition costs for Physical Sciences majors are, on average, $7,761 for in-state public colleges, and $43,067 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Physical Sciences programs are N/A institutions (N/A total). N/A

Institutions

N/A
Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Physical Sciences

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Physical Sciences programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

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Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$7,761
Median In-State Public
$43,067
Median Out of State Private

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Physical Sciences.

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Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Physical Sciences

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Physical Sciences by year.

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Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Physical Sciences graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Physical Sciences majors is $125,510 and the most common occupations are Postsecondary teachers, Physicians, and Other Physical Scientists.

The industry that employs the most Physical Sciences majors is Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Offices of physicians.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

$125,510
Average Wage in Workforce
± $2,865
7.15%
1 Year Growth
± 3.02%

The average salary for Physical Sciences majors is $125,510 and the most common occupations are Postsecondary teachers, Physicians, and Other Physical Scientists.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Physical Sciences majors.

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Highest Paying Locations

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Physical Sciences majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Physical Sciences majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Most Common

The most common occupations Physical Sciences majors, by number of employees, are Postsecondary teachers, Physicians, and Other Physical Scientists.

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Most Specialized

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Physical Sciences majors working as Geoscientists and hydrologists, except geographers, Astronomers & physicists, and Atmospheric & space scientists.

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Highest Paid

The highest paid occupations by median income for Physical Sciences majors are N/A.

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Occupations by Share

1.18M
2022 Workforce
± 26,545
2.09%
1 Year Growth
± 3.14%

The number of Physical Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.09%, from 1.15M in 2021 to 1.18M in 2022.

The largest single share of Physical Sciences graduates go on to work as Postsecondary teachers (7.75%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Physical Sciences by share of the total number of graduates.

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Industries by Share

1.18M
2022 Workforce
± 26,545
2.09%
1 Year Growth
± 3.14%

The number of Physical Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.09%, from 1.15M in 2021 to 1.18M in 2022.

The industry which employs the most Physical Sciences graduates by share is Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, followed by General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Physical Sciences.

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Specialty Locations

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Physical Sciences majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Physical Sciences majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Physical Sciences in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Physical Sciences is 44.6.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Male employees are more likely to hold Physical Sciences degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Physical Sciences (25,703 students).

Workforce Age

44.6
Average Age in 2022
± 0.316 Years
0.491%
1 Year Change
± 1.01%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Physical Sciences. The most common ages of employees with this major are 32 and 30 years old, which represent 2.66% and 2.65% of the population, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Physical Sciences are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Research Doctorate.

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Workforce Degrees

The most common degree types held by the working population in Physical Sciences are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Doctorate degree.

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Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Male (56.6%)
Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the N/A institutions that graduate the most students in Physical Sciences.

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Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity
  1. White
    25,703 degrees awarded
  2. Non-resident Alien
    6,881 degrees awarded
  3. Hispanic or Latino
    6,371 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Physical Sciences for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

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Race & Ethnicity by Sex

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Physical Sciences.

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Physical Sciences field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Physical Sciences majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Physical Sciences majors need more than the average amount of Programming, Science, Technology Design, Mathematics, Operations Analysis, Quality Control Analysis, Systems Analysis, Troubleshooting, Systems Evaluation, Operation Monitoring, Management of Financial Resources, Management of Material Resources, Complex Problem Solving, Operation and Control, Writing, Learning Strategies, Time Management, Reading Comprehension, Judgment and Decision Making, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Active Learning, Persuasion, Active Listening, Instructing, Management of Personnel Resources, Negotiation, Monitoring, Coordination, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Equipment Selection, Installation, Repairing, and Equipment Maintenance.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Physical Sciences majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Programming is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Writing, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Mathematics, Active Learning, Systems Analysis, Time Management, Systems Evaluation, Science, Monitoring, Learning Strategies, Instructing, Social Perceptiveness, Coordination, Persuasion, Service Orientation, Management of Personnel Resources, Negotiation, Operations Analysis, Quality Control Analysis, Operation Monitoring, Management of Financial Resources, Management of Material Resources, Programming, Operation and Control, Technology Design, Troubleshooting, Equipment Selection, Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, and Installation are the three most important skills for people in the field.

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Bar Chart

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