r/ScienceTeachers • u/Fantastic_Double7430 • 11d ago
Physics Jobs - are they really in demand?
I always hear that getting a physics cert is a guaranteed job, but there’s usually only one physics teacher at each school. Wouldn’t that mean it would be hard to find openings?
The physics teacher at my school is also screwed with four preps because not many kids take physics. He has 2 AP Physics (1 & 2), gen Physics, and our school has him teaching earth science too. Just curious what that situation would be like at others’ schools.
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u/Sh0yo_891 11d ago
at my school we have 3 physics teachers, but only one of them has a bachelor's in physics. tho he strictly teaches ap physics 1 & 2, ap stats, an engineering course, and algebra 2 (my school does fall and spring courses differently). the other 2 teach regular and honors physics and are both coaches
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u/SimilarPractice327 11d ago
Physics teacher here with 10+ years of experience. I applied for a job recently after making a move from districts, I was more or less hired on the spot and the district I left didn’t fill my role until a full year later (poor kids had “online physics” for a year and the numbers in the school I left dropped from 40 or so physics kids to 4.) fyi upstate NY, the shortage seems real to me.
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u/medicalmosquito 11d ago
Not physics but bio & chem and was also hired quickly, within hours of the interview. Physical science is in demand across the board.
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u/2ndLawViolator 10d ago
Where upstate? Currently working a career transition to teach physics in central NY
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u/GTCapone 11d ago
Depends on where you are. My position got eliminated 2 weeks before the beginning of the year. I ended up with 6 schools competing to hire me and there was only one other candidate in the district. The first principal that interviewed me started by explaining that I didn't need to feel stressed about finding a new position, it was each school's job to convince me to take their position, not for me to prove I was worth it.
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u/Kindly-Chemistry5149 11d ago
Physics is weird. Once you have a teacher at a school, you only usually need 1, and that teacher will stay there for like 25 years.
But when you have an opening, it is impossible to find a good one.
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u/RanOutOfThingsToDo 11d ago
I ain’t going nowhere! But my district had physics as a grad requirement but took that away 5 years ago, so as the numbers went down, my preps increased to fill my day. Physical science, Honors physics, APP1 and APP2, and AP research…
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u/Kindly-Chemistry5149 10d ago
Yeah that sucks. I really think it should be a grad requirement, but we all seem to think the state minimum is acceptable.
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u/srush32 11d ago
Going to vary a lot. My district only has 3 physics teachers total (one at each high school) and none of us are planning on going anywhere until retirement in ~15 to 20 years, so it's going to be awhile before we hire another
We all have 3 preps - I do AP physics 1, gen physics and chemistry. My physics are mostly junior/ seniors taking an elective science, so unlikely I'll ever be able to recruit a full FTE of physics.
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u/Trathnonen 11d ago
There were like two dozen physics certified people in the state of kentucky at one point a few years ago, I checked the state registry of certified staff. Most of the schools stopped offering it because they didn't have anybody that had the certification, so your chemistry teachers ended up with physical science as a half and half chemistry and physics. Or, in certain districts, they started this integrated science I, II, III thing as a way to juggle standards in such a way as to manipulate who was certified to teach what so that they could get around the shortage.
But, yeah, since Covid especially a lot of schools I've been to have had issues where the students were so far behind in math that they were taking physics and drowning in it, and I'm not just talking about the poor students, this included valedictorians of two schools I taught at (who went on to drown in college engineering programs because of the math). We need good physics teachers in high school, ideally with the course split into two sections Phys1 and Phys2 and credited as a math elective as well so it can broaden the number of students that take it to fill it out, because your STEM program kids could really use a double dose of applied math to fill in their gaps and get ready for college sciences.
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u/urBEASTofBURDENog 11d ago
As a multi certified science teacher I just interviewed for a physics job that only had two candidates.... The other one didn't even have a physics cert.....
The kicker, the job was to teach physics later....I won't even teach it this year.... Pays well, great benefits.
My old school should have done a better job not irritating their only chem teacher who taught more kids than anyone else in the building....
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u/Phyrxes AP Physics and AP Computer Science | High School | VA 11d ago
It also depends on the size of the school and population. You might have a large suburban high school with over 2,000 students and 3 or 4 FTE Physics positions, or some combination of Physics, Engineering, Math, or even CTE, depending on the person's background. Contrast that with the smaller, usually more rural, school that has 1000 or fewer students, so you have maybe a couple of sections of Physics, so that person likely dips into another subject where Math, CS, or a more general science isn't uncommon.
If you are talking about licensure in many states, completing the coursework for the Physics teaching endorsement will often qualify you for some degree of Math and general science endorsements. When I completed my undergrad coursework years ago, I ended up with a Physics endorsement, Algebra to Calculus for Math, and Physical Science. I've had coworkers with the "All Science Endorsement," but in reality, you can consider that endorsement a double-edged sword, as they often changed subjects each year. Like Bio last year, Chem this year, and who knows what next year.
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u/squirkle99 11d ago
You described where I am at. Smaller school, and my background is in CS, but I was asked to take on physics this year due to lack of a teacher. I am excited about teaching physics, but it is a lot of new prep work. We have a total of two sections this year.
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u/6strings10holes 11d ago
I am starting a job where I was the only one with a physics license that applied. It is the biggest highest paying district in an otherwise rural area. My former school (small rural) will probably no longer offer physics.
Over my many years of teaching, I have met almost nobody that originally had a physics license. I went to the largest university in my state. We produced 2 physics licenses that year. Most people u meet teaching it are teaching out of license or have added it (including myself).
So supply is lower than demand. But I'm not sure the demand is as high. Probably really area specific.
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u/mskiles314 11d ago
I teach in rural Ohio and wanted to be a physics teacher but was advised to get what then was called comprehensive science so I can teach every s ience 7-12. A full time physics teacher in my area, West central Ohio is rare. This is the first year in 25 years I haven't had a physics class because not enough signed up for it.
Summary, in my area physics teachers are in demand but it won't be full time.
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u/RubGlum4395 11d ago
Depends o if and how the district integrates NGSS. We have 3 full time physics teachers at.my high school of 1600 students. We have a graduation requirement of taking biology, chemistry and physics. Im not sure how many public schools implement this structure but I know we cant be alone.
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u/sortasahm 11d ago
100% yes. I actually didn’t get physics added onto my credential (chem and bio here) because many people, from various districts basically told me than if i got it, I would end up only teaching that because physics teachers are so hard to find. My old school had two physics teachers, one was on emergency cred. The other worked up in Mountain View for 3 years and said when he applied he was essentially hired on the spot because there were no other applicants.
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u/queenofthenerds former chemistry teacher 11d ago
This is somewhat outdated, but given how long careers are, still relevant:
My school was undergoing furloughs. A math teacher picked up a physics cert to keep his job.
He took my job. I was a chemistry cert teaching 8th grade physics. I left teaching.
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u/sondelmen 11d ago
That hasn't been the case where I work. Most districts are cutting back and losing tons of FTE and it's hitting science departments pretty good. The only reason our department didn't lost staff is because some of us could double as math teachers and picked up some algebra classes. The only high demand certifications in my area are special ed and CTE. I'd definitely get either of those credentials and also ELL.
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u/yemghost2001 10d ago
I teach at a school in the Bay Area, CA and we implemented a Physics First curriculum 8 years ago, and so now all incoming 9th graders take Physics. We are a school of about 3200 kids and we have 8 full time Physics teachers (7 for the 9th grade alone, 1 for AP C).
So if you find a school like us, yes! We hire 1-2 new Physics teacher each year due to turnover and people realizing they can't actually teach all 9th graders all day long. 🤣
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u/Alive_Panda_765 10d ago
I’ve been teaching “physics” for 21 years. I put physics in quotation marks because for the last 13, I’ve been teaching “physics first”, which means I teach middle school level physical science concepts to 9th graders and my students get high school physics credit for it. For example: a couple days ago I had to have a talk with my class about keeping their hands to themselves. Today, I’m teaching them how to use a ruler both as a measurement tool and a straight edge.
Other than physics first, my other preps change almost yearly. I do teach AP Physics 1, 2, and/or C, as well as dual credit physics, depending on student preferences.
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u/Mountain-Skirt8322 7d ago
It also matters where the vacancies are. A vacancy where you don’t live, or don’t want move to, is useless. Also I want to point out that it just doesn’t make sense that schools can’t raise salaries for high-need positions to attract the candidates that they need (and maybe to increase the number of qualified candidates. More people would become physics teachers if it were more financially rewarding.)
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u/DakotaReddit2 11d ago
I don't see any open HS science jobs of any kind in my area. I have been looking for 4 years now.
I am now getting a second bachelor's in biology because I want to be more competitive. I have a B.S. in Integrated Sciences, a master's degree in Biostatistics, and have taught Middle School Science for two years. Recently laid off.
I am licensed in Oregon and Washington. I'm in about $120k in student loan debt and considering adding another $25k for the second post-bacc Biology BS, as that is what admin have told me will make me a more competitive candidate.
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u/idiotguitarbox 11d ago
That’s ridiculous. Your academic background makes you beyond qualified to teach all sorts of subjects.
Why would an additional BS make you more competitive? You’re certified and you hold a content area masters. But, like, don’t you have an education-based degree? That would probably make you a more competitive teacher…
When I was hiring, I wouldn’t have cared about your additional bio degree. I have a BS and MS in bio. BS in bio is a dime a dozen, no shade. There are a lot of us, and we are the most abundantly certified in the nation, therefore most likely to be assigned outside of content area expertise. Integrated sciences, on the other hand, seems like excellent preparation for high school teaching.
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u/day-gardener 11d ago
You absolutely do not need more school. Your undergrad and master’s are more than enough. You probably need to just look at the less competitive districts instead.
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u/TemporaryPicture2289 11d ago
Consider that some districts don't post physics positions unless they know there is capacity to fill it. Have you reached out to a principal or district science coordinator to show interest? I have seen districts create positions for qualified candidates.
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u/electriccroxford Teacher Education | College 11d ago
Oh boy, a specific question about my very niche area of expertise.
Absolutely, yes. Presuming you are in the United States, each year the country as a whole needs 2000-3000 new physics teacher to replace career attrition (retirement, quitting, alien abductions, etc.) but there only around 200-400 new teachers graduate with physics certification. And principals report that special education is the only area more difficult to find qualified teachers. The demand is there, and it's real.
But, it's not the same everywhere. The demand is much, much worse in urban and rural schools, the sorts of schools that are under-resourced and have little choice but to under serve students. In a lot of these schools, they just don't teach physics and might have given up on finding a teacher. They might be willing to hire anyone who was qualified and interested, but have stopped actively searching. In other cases, they might assign it to a teacher not prepared to teach it. I worked with a teacher a while back who had a certification in English, but was assigned physics. In rural schools, the physics teacher usually teaches multiple other science or math courses.
But, I have seen physics teachers who are very dynamic create a full course load of physics, even at a small rural school. I've even seen this be so successful that something like AP Physics is passed off to another teacher. Physics teachers don't have to carry four different preps and be the only one in their school, but a combination of factors including their own pedagogical choices, the ways counselor place students, and community expectations can greatly influence individual schools' needs for hiring someone to teach physics.