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Physicist

OFO Code: 211101

Last checked 7 October 2026

PATHLENS

1. Occupation identity

OFO code
211101
Occupation
Physicist
Classification
OFO 2021
Major group
PROFESSIONALS
Unit group
2111 · Physicists and Astronomers

Official description
Physicists and astronomers conduct research and improve or develop concepts, theories and operational methods concerning matter, space, time, energy, forces and fields and the interrelationship between these physical phenomena. They apply scientific knowledge relating to physics and astronomy in industrial, medical, military or other fields.

More official OFO detail

Specialisations: Nuclear Physicist, Medical Physicist, Biophysicist, Astrophysicist, Astronomer, Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists, Crystallographer

  • Evaluating results of investigations and experiments and expressing conclusions, mainly using mathematical techniques and models
  • Observing, analysing and interpreting celestial phenomena and developing methods, numerical models and techniques to extend knowledge of fields such as navigation, satellite communication, space exploration, celestial bodies and cosmic radiation
  • Ensuring the safe and effective delivery of radiation (ionising and non-ionising) to patients to achieve a diagnostic or therapeutic result as prescribed by a medical practitioner
  • Ensuring the accurate measurement and characterization of physical quantities used in medical applications
  • Developing, implementing and maintaining standards and protocols for the measurement of physical phenomena and for the use of nuclear technology in industrial and medical applications
  • Testing, commissioning and evaluating equipment used in applications such as imaging, medical treatment and dosimetry
  • Advising and consulting with medical practitioners and other health care professionals in optimizing the balance between the beneficial and deleterious effects of radiation
  • Applying principles, techniques and processes to develop or improve industrial, medical, military and other practical applications of the principles and techniques of physics or astronomy
  • Conducting research and improving or developing concepts, theories, instrumentation, software and operational methods related to physics and astronomy
  • Preparing scientific papers and reports

2. Demand status

Demand evidence unavailable

No approved governed OIHD graph relationship is available on this deployment for this OFO code.

PathLens does not fall back to legacy specimen demand flags when governed evidence is unavailable.

A national demand signal is not a promise of a vacancy in your town.

3. Salary evidence

No approved governed salary observation or sourced snapshot salary record is available for this OFO code yet.

Open remuneration history & calculator →

4. Quick EE check

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5. Qualification

Qualification evidence pending.

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6. Study funding

Check all funding options, eligibility & obligations →

A funding match will only be shown once a recognised qualification or study route has been identified.

7. Industry, sector and provincial context

National occupation classification. Industry and provincial context are shown only where a separate official source supports the link.

No source-backed modern OFO↔SIC 7 industry link has been ingested for this occupation yet. PathLens does not infer one from the job title.

Browse the official South African industry classification →

8. Next steps — official links

9. Decision tools

10. Sources for this page

  • DHET Organising Framework for Occupations (OFO 2021) · Ingested · identity spine active
    Canonical OFO identity data has been ingested and validated. 1511 occupation records are recorded in the ingest artifact.
  • DHET Occupations in High Demand · Validated pipeline · graph publication not confirmed
    The governed OIHD pipeline is active, but a successful populated graph run is not currently confirmed on this deployment.
  • Critical Skills List · Monitored · occupation linkage pending
    Official migration sources are monitored, but PathLens does not infer visa eligibility or occupation-level eligibility from monitoring alone.
  • QCTO qualifications and occupational certificates · Candidate staging ready · not published
    Qualification staging and human review are implemented; no qualification↔OFO relationship is published without an explicit source identifier or governed human review.
  • Stats SA Quarterly Labour Force Survey · Acquisition active · no approved evidence on this deployment
    Official QLFS artifact discovery is active. Dataset-specific schema, weighting, reliability and review gates remain separate; a discovered artifact or executable estimator does not itself create a public claim.
  • SETA Sector Skills Plans / hard-to-fill vacancy tables · Partial · explicit source links only
    PathLens preserves explicit source-backed SETA/activity links where present and does not infer modern SIC relationships from occupation titles.