A physics professor teaches how matter and energy work, and (at research universities) also runs a research group. The path is long but clear: build a rock-solid core of physics and math, learn to do research and teach well, earn a PhD, then land a postdoc, lecturer or tenure-track job. Community colleges often hire with a master's, so that is a real shorter route. No license is legally required to teach at the college level in the US. Everything below uses free resources. Your job at each stage is to do problems, write code, and explain ideas out loud, because that is what the job is.
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Every stage from beginner to expert, with lessons, practice drills, projects, interview questions and free resources. Free with a Rolearch account.
Stage 1 of 3 · about 40 weeks
Master undergraduate physics and the math and coding tools behind it, and start explaining ideas clearly.
Classical mechanics and electromagnetism
Every course you will ever teach builds on Newton's laws, energy, and Maxwell's equations. If you can solve and explain these from scratch, you can teach intro physics, which is where most professors spend a large part of their time.
Mathematics for physics
Physics is written in math. Calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations are the language of quantum mechanics and waves, and your students will struggle most where the math is weak.
Modern physics and quantum basics
Quantum mechanics, relativity, and thermodynamics are the ideas that make physics feel strange, and they are the topics students ask the most questions about.
Scientific computing (Python, MATLAB or C++)
O*NET lists MATLAB, C, and C++ because modern physics is computational. You will simulate, fit data, and plot results daily in research, and you can bring simulations into your teaching.
Lab technique and error analysis
You will supervise student labs, so you must know how measurements go wrong and how to report uncertainty honestly.
Then 2 more stages (about 196 weeks in all) with lessons, drills, projects, 6 interview questions with strong answers and free resources.