Astronomers - Employment & Outlook

The table below provides information about the number of workers in this career in various regions. It also provides information about the expected growth rate and future job openings.

Employment

Major employers:

Research and development firms
Federal and state government agencies
Colleges and universities

Outlook

Demand for this career will grow at an average rate. Job growth will depend on the amount of money the government spends on physics-related research. However, this is a very small career so very few job openings are expected.

Competition for research jobs in colleges and universities is very strong. These jobs usually require several advanced degrees. More opportunities are available for high school science teachers.

Physicists (CIS 100157)

Location	Employment	&	Growth		>>>>	Annual openings
			This occupation	All occupations
Illinois	610 Very small	&	9.7%	8.2%	>>>>	47 Very few
Champaign Area	40 Very small	&	2.5%	5.2%	>>>>	3 Very few
Cook County	297 Very small	&	9.4%	9.2%	>>>>	23 Very few
DeKalb-Elgin-Aurora Area	31 Very small	&	12.9%	10.3%	>>>>	3 Very few
Du Page County	76 Very small	&	19.7%	8.8%	>>>>	8 Very few
Edwardsville Area	6 Very small	&	16.7%	12.4%	>>>>	0 None
Lake County	31 Very small	&	16.1%	11.7%	>>>>	3 Very few
Mt Vernon-Marion-Carbondale Area	15 Very small	&	-6.7%	4.4%	>>>>	1 Very few
Peoria-Bloomington Area	26 Very small	&	23.1%	4.5%	>>>>	2 Very few
Quincy-Macomb-Galesburg Area	5 Very small	&	0.0%	3.5%	>>>>	0 None
Rock Island-Moline Area	7 Very small	&	14.3%	5.6%	>>>>	0 None
Rockford Area	6 Very small	&	0.0%	6.6%	>>>>	0 None
Springfield Area	12 Very small	&	0.0%	4.6%	>>>>	1 Very few
St Louis-Belleville Area	11 Very small	&	-9.1%	0.9%	>>>>	0 None
Will County	8 Very small	&	25.0%	14.9%	>>>>	0 None
United States	21,100 Very small	&	4.7%	2.8%	>>>>	1,400 Very few