Physicist Job Trends

Physicist
UK

The median Physicist salary in the UK is £68,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 3 October 2025.

The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
3 Oct 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 653 757 752
Rank change year-on-year +104 -5 -
Permanent jobs requiring a Physicist 13 12 1
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.026% 0.016% 0.002%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.029% 0.017% 0.002%
Number of salaries quoted 1 9 0
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £68,000 £38,500 -
Median % change year-on-year +76.62% - -
UK excluding London median annual salary £68,000 £38,500 -
% change year-on-year +76.62% - -

All Permanent IT Job Vacancies
UK

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of permanent jobs in our overall sample.

Permanent vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title 44,490 71,005 55,480
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 89.76% 95.30% 95.51%
Number of salaries quoted 25,627 41,157 42,977
10th Percentile £28,250 £31,000 £32,444
25th Percentile £36,250 £40,547 £43,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £55,000 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year - -8.33% -
75th Percentile £73,750 £75,000 £80,000
90th Percentile £95,000 £93,750 £97,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £47,500 £50,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year -5.00% -4.76% -

Physicist
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Physicist' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

Physicist job vacancy trend in the UK

Physicist
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for Physicist job vacancies in the UK.

Salary distribution trend for Physicist job vacancies in the UK

Physicist
Top 6 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Physicist within the UK over the 6 months to 3 October 2025. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
Work from Home +72 12 - - 1
England +100 5 £68,000 +76.62%
UK excluding London +90 5 £68,000 +76.62%
North of England - 5 £68,000 -
Yorkshire - 4 - -
North West - 1 £68,000 -

Physicist Skill Set
Top 27 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 3 October 2025, Physicist job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent job ads featuring Physicist in the job title.

1 13 (100.00%) PhD
1 13 (100.00%) Mathematics
1 13 (100.00%) Physics
1 13 (100.00%) Degree
2 12 (92.31%) PayPal
2 12 (92.31%) Chatbot
2 12 (92.31%) Master's Degree
2 12 (92.31%) Conversational UI
2 12 (92.31%) Artificial Intelligence
3 1 (7.69%) Technical Leadership
3 1 (7.69%) YouTube
3 1 (7.69%) Social Skills
3 1 (7.69%) Problem-Solving
3 1 (7.69%) Mathematical Modelling
3 1 (7.69%) Electronics
3 1 (7.69%) Manufacturing
3 1 (7.69%) Data Analysis
3 1 (7.69%) MATLAB
3 1 (7.69%) C++
3 1 (7.69%) Microsoft Office
3 1 (7.69%) Python
3 1 (7.69%) Driving Licence
3 1 (7.69%) Robotics
3 1 (7.69%) SC Cleared
3 1 (7.69%) Security Cleared
3 1 (7.69%) Mentoring
3 1 (7.69%) Algorithms

Physicist Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Applications
1 12 (92.31%) Chatbot
2 1 (7.69%) Microsoft Office
General
1 1 (7.69%) Electronics
1 1 (7.69%) Manufacturing
1 1 (7.69%) Social Skills
Miscellaneous
1 1 (7.69%) Algorithms
1 1 (7.69%) Driving Licence
1 1 (7.69%) Robotics
Processes & Methodologies
1 13 (100.00%) Mathematics
1 13 (100.00%) Physics
2 12 (92.31%) Artificial Intelligence
2 12 (92.31%) Conversational UI
3 1 (7.69%) Data Analysis
3 1 (7.69%) Mathematical Modelling
3 1 (7.69%) Mentoring
3 1 (7.69%) Problem-Solving
3 1 (7.69%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 1 (7.69%) C++
1 1 (7.69%) MATLAB
1 1 (7.69%) Python
Qualifications
1 13 (100.00%) Degree
1 13 (100.00%) PhD
2 12 (92.31%) Master's Degree
3 1 (7.69%) SC Cleared
3 1 (7.69%) Security Cleared
Vendors
1 12 (92.31%) PayPal
2 1 (7.69%) YouTube