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 go on to work as Software Developers (10% of them, per Census ACS). These earnings and debt figures come from the U.S. Dept. of Education.
Median 5-yr pay
$80,500
Median debt
$21,148
Years to pay off
2.7
at 10% of pay
AI task exposure
34%
GPT-4-era overlap
10-yr job growth
-1.5%
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.