Latest Employment Data for Physicists and Related Scientists
These reports highlight the qualitative changes in the initial employment of recent degree recipients. They document the salaries earned by
experienced physicists across employment sectors and degree levels, the size of the physics academic workforce as well as the availability of
faculty openings and profiles of new hires.
How to cite and extract our data
focus on Recent Physics Doctorates: Skills Used & Satisfaction with Employment (March 2013)
This report begins with a discussion about the types of skills and knowledge that physics PhDs from the classes of 2009 and 2010 used
regularly in the jobs they held one year after earning their doctorates. It concludes with an examination of qualitative measures such
as job satisfaction, feelings of underemployment, and the helpfulness of career planning advice. Of particular interest are the comparisons
of new physics PhDs who accepted postdocs to those who accepted potentially permanent positions.
focus on Physics Bachelor's Initial Employment (September 2012)
This publication examines data primarily gathered from AIP's follow-up survey of physics bachelor's from the classes of 2009 and 2010.
The surveys were conducted in the winter following the academic year in which they received their degree and asked about the types of
employment they held. This publication includes data on starting salaries, employment sectors, fields of employment, and skills used by
physics bachelor's entering the workforce.
Who Is Hiring Physics Bachelor's (August 2012)
A state by state listing of many of the companies that hired new physics bachelor's from the classes of 2009, 2010, and 2011.
focus on Physics Doctorates Initial Employment (July 2012)
Typical starting salaries of new physics PhDs vary across sectors, with those in potentially permanent positions in the private sector earning the
highest median salary. Potentially permanent positions are concentrated in the private sector, while over 70% of all postdocs are filled in academic
institutions. This focus on presents these and related findings on the initial outcomes of physics PhDs from the classes of 2009 and 2010.
focus on Physics Doctorates One Year Later (July 2012)
The proportion of new physics PhDs accepting a postdoc climbed back above 60% in the aftermath of the recent recession. This focus on presents this
and related findings from AIP's follow-up survey of physics PhDs who earned their degrees in the classes of 2009 and 2010.
focus on Physics Bachelor's One Year Later (June 2012)
The data to follow are based on a survey of physics bachelor's who earned their degrees in classes of 2009 and 2010. In the winter following
the academic year in which they received their degree, the new degree recipients were asked about the educational or career paths they were
pursuing.
focus on Astronomy Degree Recipients: Initial Employment (December 2011)
This report details the initial employment outcomes of astronomy bachelor’s, master’s and PhDs from the
classes of 2007, 2008 and 2009 combined. The surveys were conducted in the winter following the academic
year in which the students received their degrees and asked about the types of employment they held. This
publication includes data on initial status, starting salaries, employment sectors and fields of employment.
focus on Physics & Astronomy Master’s Initial Employment (April 2011)
This report presents the characteristics and initial outcomes of exiting master’s degree recipients in physics
and astronomy. The report covers the degree classes of 2006, 2007 and 2008. The status of exiting physics
master’s varied greatly by the citizenship of the degree recipient. The majority of US citizens entered or
remained in the workforce after receiving their degrees, where the majority of non-US citizens continued with
graduate study in physics or another field. Of the physics master’s in the workforce, about half were employed
in the private sector, with a vast majority working in a STEM field.
focus on Physics Doctorates One Year Later (November 2010)
The proportion of new PhDs accepting postdocs has been declining in recent years, with just over half of the class of 2008 accepting one.
This focus on presents the findings from AIP's follow-up survey of physics PhDs who earned their degrees in the classes of 2007 and 2008.
There were 1,460 physics PhDs in the class of 2007 and 1,499 in 2008. We received data on 54% of them.
focus on Faculty Turnover in Physics and Astronomy (June 2010)
This issue examines essential components of the faculty job cycle, including the latest data on
retirement, recruitment, and hiring in physics degree-granting departments. There is a special emphasis on tenured and tenure-track positions
and a separate analysis of departments that award only astronomy degrees. Data on the types of people who are hired as faculty members show
that graduate students are very unlikely to be offered tenure-track positions, as both bachelor's-granting and PhD-granting physics departments
continue to hire faculty members who have completed a postdoc or have some other type of post-graduate experience.
This is the fourth in a series of findings from the Academic Workforce Survey of 2008.
focus on Physics Bachelor's One Year Later (May 2010)
The data to follow are based on a survey of physics bachelor's who earned their degrees in classes of 2006 and 2007. In the winter following the
academic year in which they received their degree, the new degree recipients were asked about the educational or career paths they were pursuing.
focus on MCAT, LSAT and Physics Bachelor's
(February 2010)
A physics bachelor's degree is an excellent background for a broad range of careers outside the field of physics. This focus on shows
that, as a group, physics bachelor's degree recipients achieve among the highest scores of any college major on the entrance exams for medical
school and law school.
focus on Astronomy Faculty
(December 2009)
This is the second in a series of 5 focus ons which present the findings of the Academic Workforce Survey of 2008. This issue examines
astronomy faculty:
faculty members employed in departments that award degrees only in Astronomy (and not physics) and faculty in Physics departments who specialized
in Astronomy or Astrophysics for their dissertation research. Women are better represented among astronomy faculty than physics faculty; however,
there are fewer minority faculty members in astronomy than physics.
focus on Number of Physics Faculty
(October 2009)
This is the first in a series of 5 focus ons which present the findings of the Academic Workforce Survey of 2008. The data from the 2008
biennial survey show that faculty numbers in physics departments continue to increase slowly. We also examine faculty employed in temporary and
non-tenure track positions. Finally, we look at the number of bachelor's degrees awarded by departments of various sizes.
Number of Physics and Astronomy Faculty
The 2006 data from the biennial Physics and Astronomy Academic Workforce Survey show positive trends for astronomy and physics faculty members
and departments. The highlights below show that in the last ten years, the number of FTE (full-time equivalent) physics faculty positions has
increased by 700 to a total of 9150. The percentage of FTE physics faculty members who are temporary or non-tenure track has leveled off and
is no longer increasing. These highlights also show the relationship between number of FTE faculty positions and number of bachelor's degrees
awarded for both undergraduate and PhD physics departments. For the first time, this survey collected data on the number of astronomers and
astrophysicists employed in academe. Most of the 1600 astronomers and astrophysicists who are faculty members work in physics departments
rather than in the stand-alone astronomy departments.
Highlights (HTML) |
Highlights
Trends in the Physics Academic Workforce
Since 1998, the academic job market for physicists has been influenced by the retirements of faculty members. These highlights show the
relationship between the retirement rates (1998-2006) and number of faculty members recruited by physics departments. The retirement
rate peaked in 2000, leading to an increase in the number of faculty members hired. Although the retirement rate has been decreasing
since 2000, the number of faculty members hired has remained the same.
Highlights (HTML) |
Highlights
2006 Salary Data
Overall trends and salaries for physicists and related scientists.
Highlights (HTML) |
Summary Report
 | Purchase detailed tables
Earth and Space Science PhDs, Class of 2003
Sponsored by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and American Geological Institute (AGI), this report documents initial employment
patterns, starting salaries, and demographic characteristics for recent PhD graduates in the geosciences.
Full report
2004 Physics & Astronomy Academic Workforce
This is the latest in a series of biennial reports on the number of faculty, turnover, retirements, and recruitments at physics
degree-granting departments. The number of faculty positions in physics has increased by about 10% since 1994. However, more
positions are being filled with part-time and temporary faculty than ten years ago. The number of minority faculty members
increased significantly at physics departments, and new female faculty were hired at rates consistent with degree production in the past.
This report also provides data on the relationship between the number of full-time equivalent faculty and the number of bachelor's degrees awarded.
For the first time, this report contains data on stand-alone astronomy departments.
Highlights (HTML) | Highlights
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Full report
Career Paths for Physicists with PhD's from the US
Every two years, the National Science Foundation resurveys a panel of Doctorate holders, selected to represent all working age recipients
of science, engineering and health PhD's from US universities. These data provide a unique snapshot of career developments at all
stages of physicists' working lives. The current brief report is a first look at what this dataset offers.
Full report
Physics Bachelor's with Master's Degrees
This report documents the employment patterns of those who earned physics bachelor's degrees in the early 1990s, earned master's degrees
in a variety of fields, and were working five to eight years later. Master's degree fields, reasons for attending graduate school, and
preparedness for graduate school are all discussed. Also documented are employment fields, salaries,knowledge and skills used on the job,
and evaluation of undergraduate physics education.
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Highlights
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Full report
The Early Careers of Physics Bachelor's
An examination of the employment patterns of people with no degrees other than physics bachelor's degrees, five to eight years after graduation.
The report includes common job activities and skills used on the job. It also describes these physics bachelor's evaluations of how well physics
education prepared them for careers.
Highlights
(HTML) | Highlights
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Full report
2004 Industrial Salary Summary
This article appeared in The Industrial Physicist. It summarizes the salary and employment data on physicists and related scientists working
in the private sector.
Article
2004 Society Profile
A collection of data tables that describes the characteristics of the membership of the 10 AIP Member Societies
Report
2002 Society Profile
A collection of data tables that describes the characteristics of the membership of the 10 AIP Member Societies
Report
State-level Salaries
Contact information for the 35 states that publish salary information on their technical work force.
State Contacts
Enrollments and Faculty in Physics
This talk was given at the Department Chairs conference convened by APS and AAPT on June 7-9, 2002. It provides a statistical overview of
the current and historic trends in physics enrollments from high school through to the PhD, and includes data on physics faculty in
universities and 4-year colleges, including their numbers and age, as well as characteristics of new faculty hired during 2000
Talk
Additional Websites of Interest
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