An official website of Washington State government
Physicists
Conduct research into physical phenomena, develop theories on the basis of observation and experiments, and devise methods to apply physical laws and theories.
What a physicist does
Become a physicist
If you enjoy doing these activities, you might make a good physicist
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Reading work related information.
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Discover what you could earn in Washington
- Average hourly rate is $95 per hour with an average salary of $117,800 per year.
- Half of workers earn between $53 and $113 per hour.
- Half of workers earn an annual salary between $84,000 and $201,000 per year.
- 73% of individuals in this occupation have been employed in every quarter of the past year.
Part-time
- The average hourly rate for part-time workers is $104 per hour with an average salary of $120,700 per year.
Physicist job outlook
- There are 477 workers in this occupation in Washington.
- There are 108 openings per year in this occupation in Washington.
Multiple Jobs
- 1% of individuals in this occupation worked for more than one employer.
- 6% of individuals in this occupation held a position in another.