How projectiles fly, strike, and leave evidence is its own science, and you teach it, blending physics, forensics, and firearms for students headed into law enforcement or research. Where physics meets the crime scene.
Your work splits between lectures, labs, and research, teaching the physics of motion, the behavior of bullets, and forensic analysis, often with hands-on test firing and measurement. A lot of the craft is making rigorous physics concrete, and research and teaching compete for the same hours, on the academic calendar's rhythm.
What's harder than expected is the niche, regulated nature of the field: funding, facilities, and the legal sensitivity around firearms shape the work. Tenure and publishing pressure are real, students arrive with uneven math, and balancing technical rigor against accessibility takes skill.
It tends to fit someone rigorous, precise, and fascinated by motion and evidence. If you want fast, applied work or a lucrative path, academia's pace and pressures can frustrate. But if you love the subject and shaping the forensic scientists and officers who'll use it, the work tends to stay meaningful across a career.
Remember “your permanent record”?
This time it works for you.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Turn your career record
into a springboard for growth.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
How projectiles fly, strike, and leave evidence is its own science, and you teach it, blending physics, forensics, and firearms for students headed into law enforcement or research. Where physics meets the crime scene.
Median pay for a Ballistics Professor is about $97K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $55K to $170K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Instructing, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Science, and Learning Strategies.
Most people in this role hold a professional degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 2.5% through 2034, with roughly 13,590 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Environmental Engineering Professor, Engineering Professor, and Civil Engineering Professor.
Remember “your permanent record”?
This time it works for you.