MAJORS · 12 OF 19 BY ROI
Is a physical sciences degree worth it?
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$404,220. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$404,220
across 688 bachelor’s programs · 26,514 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$391K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$202K ⟷ +$574K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
6.8%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
33
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$254K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$111K
The biggest fields inside Physical Sciences
- Chemistry. 13,142 grads +$364K
- Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. 7,523 grads +$341K
- Physics. 3,924 grads +$610K
- Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology. 785 grads +$387K
- Science Technologies/Technicians, Other. 660 grads +$576K
Mean lifetime ROI per field, cohort-weighted. A category average hides this spread — and the per-school spread inside each field is wider still.
Subfield deep-dives inside Physical Sciences
- Is a chemistry degree worth it? 13,142 grads +$391K
- Is a geology & earth sciences degree worth it? 7,523 grads +$307K
- Is a physics degree worth it? 3,924 grads +$545K
Median lifetime ROI per subfield, cohort-weighted. Each page carries the full statistics — spread, break-even age, the share who never break even.
How much of this work is AI already reaching for?
We read what the AI labs measured about their own machines. Microsoft and Anthropic scored how much of real occupations their AI is already used for — then warned it is not a measure of jobs being replaced. Here is where that lands Physical Sciences, judged on where its graduates actually work — not where the degree theoretically leads.
Where Physical Sciences graduates actually work — and how much of each job today’s AI is reaching for (0–1 applicability):
- 8% Managers, All Other 0.19
- 7% Physical Scientists, All Other 0.22
- 5% Software Developers 0.41
- 3% Registered Nurses 0.17
- 3% Chief Executives 0.21
And what people in this field actually bring to AI — the job tasks most taken to Claude, from Anthropic’s usage data:
- Analyze organic or inorganic compounds to determine chemical or physical properties, composition, structure, relationships, or reactions, using chromatography, spectroscopy, or spectrophotometry techniques.
- Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan layout, including type of computers and peripheral equipment modifications.
- Modify existing software to correct errors, to adapt it to new hardware, or to upgrade interfaces and improve performance.
- Interpret and analyze policies, public issues, legislation, or the operations of governments, businesses, and organizations.
Exposure isn’t replacement. The score is how much of the task AI touches — not whether the job survives, which turns on judgment, licensure, physical presence, and trust. Sources: Microsoft Research “Working with AI” (CC BY 4.0), the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY), and U.S. Census ACS field-of-degree. Applicability scores are le-teen-derived, not original Microsoft figures; the task list is Anthropic’s observed Claude usage.
Questions
- Is a physical sciences degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 688 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Physical Sciences is +$404,220 and the median is +$390,901. 6.8% of graduates in this field never break even on the degree. The honest answer depends heavily on the specific program and school: the middle half of graduates land between +$202,053 and +$574,308.
- How long until a physical sciences degree pays off?
- Among Physical Sciences programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 33 (FREOPP 2021). 6.8% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a physical sciences major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Physical Sciences graduates span +$202,053 to +$574,308 — a +$372K spread within one major. The same field can be a strong trade at one school and a losing one at another, which is why the per-school number matters more than the field average.
- Will AI replace physical sciences jobs?
- Careful with that word. Two AI labs — Microsoft and Anthropic — measured how much of real occupations their own AI is *already being used for*, then explicitly warned it is NOT a measure of jobs being eliminated. On that measure, Physical Sciences lands in the lower-exposure tier: the largest place these grads actually work is managers, all other (8% of them), where AI applicability sits at 0.19 on a 0–1 scale. Exposure means how much of the *task* AI touches — not whether the job survives, which also depends on judgment, licensure, physical presence, and trust. Near the bottom of AI's reach — this is work of bodies, care, and physical presence a model can't stand in for.
↓ Download the data (CSV) · All 19 categories with full statistics. Free to cite with attribution. · Methodology
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Physical Sciences: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/physical-sciences