Physical Scientist

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Physical Scientist studies and conducts research in one of many specialized areas within the natural sciences including biology, chemistry and physics.

Job Outlook

There were 24 Physical Scientist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 1229 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Physical Scientist industry, which includes the Physical Scientist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:

Salary

Many new Physical Scientist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $121,029.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $121,029.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Physical Scientist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $98,181.

Education and Experience

Posted Physical Scientist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education Level	Percentage
Associate's Degree	0.73%
Bachelor's Degree	54.11%
Master's Degree	25.63%
Doctoral Degree	41.42%
Other	1.87%

Posted Physical Scientist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of Experience	Percentage
0 to 2 years	85.14%
3 to 5 years	7.6%
6 to 8 years	3.35%
9+ years	3.91%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Physical Scientist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

Mathematics (56.63%)
Research (52.89%)
Management (45.48%)
Planning (31%)
Communication (28.4%)
Writing (24.17%)
Operations (21.81%)
Leadership (18.8%)
Coordinating (15.22%)
Verbal Communication Skills (13.26%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

Electronics (61.82%)
Physical Science (70.49%)
Chemistry (26.44%)
Physics (37.74%)
Mechanics (62.26%)
Python (Programming Language) (9.81%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

Computer Science (14.8%)
Time Study (7.36%)
Hydrology (17.25%)
Geophysics (5.78%)
Performance Appraisal (10.95%)
Data Management (3.15%)
MATLAB (4.9%)
Biology (15.5%)
Geology (15.24%)
Workplace Safety (9.54%)
Manufacturing Engineering (6.3%)
Project Management (16.29%)
Research And Development (7.53%)
C++ (Programming Language) (3.94%)
Scientific Methods (8.76%)
Social Sciences (5.95%)
Mathematical Sciences (9.98%)
Laboratory Equipment (1.31%)
Data Analysis (12.26%)
Curriculum Development (9.72%)
Automation (2.36%)
Materials Science (3.5%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

Physical Science (78.54%)
Chemistry (29.46%)
Electronics (68.88%)
Python (Programming Language) (10.93%)
Physics (42.05%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Physical Scientist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

Supervisory Physical Scientist
Interdisciplinary Scientist
General Engineer/Physical Scientist
Technical Application Scientist
Scientist
Life Scientist
Natural Resources Scientist
Interdisciplinary Environmental Engineer/Physical Scientist/Natural Resources Specialist
Survivability Engineer

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Physical Scientist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

United States Department of Energy (105)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (90)
Geological Survey (66)
Outlier (59)
United States Government (52)
Environmental Protection Agency (51)
U.S Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center (45)
United States Navy (27)
Wayup (24)
U.S Environmental Protection Agency (23)

North Carolina

Environmental Protection Agency (6)
U.S Environmental Protection Agency (4)
Outlier (2)
United States Government (2)
University of North Carolina (1)
Oak Ridge Associated Universities (1)
North Carolina State University (1)
Renaissancere Risk Sciences Foundation (1)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1)
U.S Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center (1)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!

All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.

Science and Research