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Professionals · code 2111

Physicists and astronomers

Physicists and astronomers conduct research and improve or develop concepts, theories and operational methods concerning matter, space, time, energy, forces and fields and the interrelationship between these physical phenomena. They apply scientific knowledge relating to physics and astronomy in industrial, medical, military or other fields. Tasks include - (a) conducting research and improving or developing concepts, theories, instrumentation, software and operational methods related to physics and astronomy; (b) conducting experiments, tests and analyses on the structure and properties of matter in fields such as mechanics, thermodynamics, electronics, communications, power generation and distribution, aerodynamics, optics and lasers, remote sensing, medicine, sonics, magnetism and nuclear physics; (c) evaluating results of investigations and experiments and expressing conclusions, mainly using mathematical techniques and models; (d) applying principles, techniques and processes to develop or improve industrial, medical, military and other practical applications of the principles and techniques of physics or astronomy; (e) ensuring the safe and effective delivery of radiation (ionizing and non-ionizing) to patients to achieve a diagnostic or therapeutic result as prescribed by a medical practitioner; (f) ensuring the accurate measurement and characterization of physical quantities used in medical applications; (g) testing, commissioning and evaluating equipment used in applications such as imaging, medical treatment and dosimetry; (h) advising and consulting with medical practitioners and other health care professionals in optimizing the balance between the beneficial and deleterious effects of radiation; (i) observing, analysing and interpreting celestial phenomena and developing methods, numerical models and techniques to extend knowledge of fields such as navigation, satellite communication, space exploration, celestial bodies and cosmic radiation; (j) developing, implementing and maintaining standards and protocols for the measurement of physical phenomena and for the use of nuclear technology in industrial and medical applications; (k) preparing scientific papers and reports. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Astronomer - Medical physicist - Nuclear physicist - Physicist Some related occupations classified elsewhere: - Radiation oncologist - 2212 - Radiologist - 2212 - Specialist physician (nuclear medicine) - 2212 - Radiographer - 3211 Note It should be noted that, while they are appropriately classified in this unit group with other physicists, medical physicists are considered to be an integral part of the health workforce alongside those occupations classified in Sub-major Group 22: Health Professionals and others classified in a number of other unit groups in Major Group 2: Professionals.

The mildest of the ILO’s four “exposed” groups. It ranks 310 of 427 for holding up against AI.

Also known as

  • astronomer
  • physicist
  • cosmologist

Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.

62
Holds up
against AI Exposed: Gradient 1

AI could take on 38 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 38 = 62

That's the whole sum, and you can check it against the ILO's study.

21.5
How hands-on
out of 100

From O*NET, averaged across 2 US jobs

10.5
How fiddly
and cramped

finger skill 17.9 · hand skill 4.5 · cramped spaces 9.1 · averaged

Kind of hands-on work · hands-on under 50 Less than half hands-on

Less than half of this job is hands-on. Robots still matter, but for a smaller part of the work, so we don't sort it any further.

estimated O*NET 31.0 BLS occupational crosswalk chain ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC (Aug 2012, rev. Jun 2015); 2010 to 2018 SOC (Nov 2017); O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy data 0.7-work-setting measures chosen by Frey & Osborne (2017) · the grouping is a sorting, not a measurement

What this number leaves out This job rates 21.5 out of 100 for how hands-on it is. The score above only looks at AI tools, not robots, but for work this far from the physical that matters less.

The tasks behind the score

The score is the average of these. A job is really a bundle of tasks, and an average can hide how uneven that bundle is.

The task AI could do most of scores 56, while the average is 38. A big gap means some of this job is wide open to AI and some of it barely at all. That's quite different from a job where everything sits somewhere in the middle, even when the averages match.

  1. 56

    Evaluating results of investigations and experiments and expressing conclusions, mainly using mathematical techniques and models

    Medium
  2. 54.3

    Observing, analysing and interpreting celestial phenomena and developing methods, numerical models and techniques to extend knowledge of fields such as navigation, satellite communication, space exploration, celestial bodies and cosmic radiation

    Medium
  3. 51.3

    Conducting research and improving or developing concepts, theories, instrumentation, software and operational methods related to physics and astronomy

    Medium
  4. 51

    Preparing scientific papers and reports.

    Medium
  5. 45.5

    Applying principles, techniques and processes to develop or improve industrial, medical, military and other practical applications of the principles and techniques of physics or astronomy

    Low
  6. 35.3

    Developing, implementing and maintaining standards and protocols for the measurement of physical phenomena and for the use of nuclear technology in industrial and medical applications

    Low
  7. 29

    Conducting experiments, tests and analyses on the structure and properties of matter in fields such as mechanics, thermodynamics, electronics, communications, power generation and distribution, aerodynamics, optics and lasers, remote sensing, medicine, sonics, magnetism, and nuclear physics

    Low
  8. 26.3

    Ensuring the accurate measurement and characterization of physical quantities used in medical applications

    Low
  9. 25.8

    Advising and consulting with medical practitioners and other health care professionals in optimizing the balance between the beneficial and deleterious effects of radiation

    Low
  10. 25

    Testing, commissioning and evaluating equipment used in applications such as imaging, medical treatment and dosimetry

    Low
  11. 18.5

    Ensuring the safe and effective delivery of radiation (ionising and non-ionising) to patients to achieve a diagnostic or therapeutic result as prescribed by a medical practitioner

    Very Low

11 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's

from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.7-work-setting

Helped, or replaced?

The score above can't tell a tool that makes you faster from one that does the task instead of you. Jobs and Skills Australia looked at those two things separately, and this is their result, matched to this job.

One Australian job matches this one closely, so this is about as reliable as it gets here.

AI helps you
75
AI does it for you
33

Helping wins by 42 points.

estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.7-work-setting matched to Australian jobs 2349

Compared with similar jobs

There are 92 jobs in the “Professionals” group, averaging 61.3. This one is above that.