PHYSICISTS ARE 46 YEARS OLD AND MAKE $65,000 A YEAR. These are median values for a PhD physicist in the U.S. in 1996. Those who work at federal labs made the most (median $78,500), even more than in industry (median $77,000); those at 4-year colleges made the least, with a median of $49,200. Geographically, median salaries ranged from $70,000 (Pacific states) to $56,200 (East South Central). New PhD's earn $31,000 at universties and $39,600 at federal labs. Salaries for female physicists who have earned the PhD in the past 10 years are comparable to salaries for male physicists with similar experience ("Society Membership Survey: Salaries 1996," a report issued in April by the AIP Education and Employment Statistics Division; contact Ray Chu )