Other Physical Science

Types of Degrees Other Physical Science Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many other physical science graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	192
Master’s Degree	153
Doctor’s Degree	34
Associate Degree	22
Graduate Certificate	3

What Other Physical Science Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to other physical science and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Other Physical Science Majors

Other Physical Science majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Other Physical Science Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to other physical science:

• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

Abilities for Other Physical Science Majors

Other Physical Science majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Other Physical Science Major?

People with a other physical science degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Natural Sciences Managers	9.9%	$123,860
Professors	9.4%	$65,660
Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists	6.8%	$107,230

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Other Physical Science?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 274 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in other physical science in 2021, making it rank #241 in popularity. This major tends to be male dominated. About 61% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of other physical science majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	14
Black or African American	13
Hispanic or Latino	15
White	120
International Students	4
Other Races/Ethnicities	26

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Other Physical Science. About 2.1% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Other Physical Science

Some careers associated with other physical science require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for other physical science careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	31.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	7.5%
Master’s Degree	27.1%
Doctoral Degree	25.9%
Post-Doctoral Training	7.0%

Online Other Physical Science Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	5	2
Bachelor’s Degree	2	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	11	2
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	12	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Other Physical Science

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to other physical science.

Major	Number of Grads
Chemistry	19,976
Physics	13,306
Geological & Earth Sciences	7,691
General Physical Sciences	2,747
Astronomy & Astrophysics	1,573
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	1,288
Materials Sciences	679
Physics and Astronomy	45

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By NASA under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.