Physical scientists: salary in the UK
About £40,743 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, -7.7% on last year
£4,337 a month About £3,395 a month after tax 11 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £40,167 in 2021 to £52,044 in 2026 (+30%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | x | x | £40,167 | x | x |
| 2022 | x | x | £43,239 | x | x |
| 2023 | x | £39,932 | £48,115 | x | x |
| 2024 | x | £41,810 | £54,988 | x | x |
| 2025 | x | £42,060 | £56,385 | x | x |
| 2026 | x | £35,607 | £52,044 | x | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £52,044 a year and half earn more. That is 27% more than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
Ranked by median, it is number 58 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £3,395 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £3,263 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | x | x |
| 20th | £34,102 | £2,842 |
| 25th (P25) | £35,607 | £2,967 |
| 30th | £38,429 | £3,202 |
| 40th | £47,265 | £3,939 |
| Median (50th) | £52,044 | £4,337 |
| 60th | £57,466 | £4,789 |
| 70th | x | x |
| 75th (P75) | x | x |
| 80th | x | x |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £56,946 | £68,088 | x |
| Women | x | x | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £40,743 | £3,395 |
| Scotland | £39,152 | £3,263 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £52,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 58 job titles to SOC 2114 Physical scientists. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Aerodynamicist
- Astronomer
- Astrophysicist
- Ballistician
- Biophysicist
- Crystallographer
- Director of research
- Engineer
- Engineering geologist
- Forecaster
- Gas examiner
- Gemmologist
- Geochemist
- Geohydrologist
- Geological adviser
- Geological consultant
- Geological mapper
- Geologist
- Geomorphologist
- Geophysical consultant
- Geophysical data processor
- Geophysical data reducer
- Geophysical engineer
- Geophysicist
- Geoscientist
- Geotechnologist
- Hydrogeologist
- Hydrologist
- Hydrometrist
- Meteorological assistant
- Meteorological officer
- Meteorologist
- Mineralogist
- Mud logger
- Oceanographer
- Palaeontologist
- Palynologist
- Petrologist
- Petrophysicist
- Physicist
- Radiation protection adviser
- Radiation protection practitioner
- Research assistant
- Research associate
- Research officer
- Research scientist
- Research worker
- Researcher
- Rheologist
- Scientific officer
- Scientist
- Seismic interpreter
- Seismic navigator
- Seismologist
- Spectroscopist
- Stratigrapher
- Superintendent
- Thermodynamicist
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Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.