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Salaries For PhD Physicists and Related Scientists during Spring 2004:
Summary Report
by Raymond Y. Chu
This is a summary of the latest salary data for physicists and related scientists. It is based on
a biennial survey of a sample of U.S.-resident members of the American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Member Societies conducted by the Statistical Research Center of AIP. For the past 24 years,
this report series has documented the salary, employment and demographic characteristics of
the U.S. members of the AIP’s ten Member Societies.
This year, the trends include:
- The median annual salary for respondents with PhDs rose to $90,000 in 2004 from $87,000
in 2002.
- The highest median salaries were reported by society members with PhDs employed in
hospitals or medical services, at $120,000. The median salary for those working in
4-year colleges with 9-10 month contracts has remained stagnant at $56,000.
- Ph.D.’s working in industry and who are society members reported a median salary of
$104,000 in 2004, up from $100,000 in the 2002 survey. The percentage growth in salaries
for industrial Ph.D.’s was slightly above the 3.3% inflation rate measured by the Consumer
Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) during the period between the two surveys.
Although the increase in median salary outpaced the inflation rate, the momentum of growth
dropped off.
- The highest typical salaries ($77,000 to $124,000) are found in the Pacific states.
The lowest are in the West North Central states ($55,000 to $100,000). Most society members
reside and work on the East and West coasts. These regions also tend to have the most
competitive salaries.
- Members with postdoctorate appointments at universities who earned their PhDs within the
past two years reported typical salaries of $35,000 to $42,000.
- The unemployment rate (1.7%) among society members with PhDs has risen slightly since 2000.
However, it continues to remain lower than the national employment rate for all PhDs (2.2%).
Typical salaries and median age for major employment sectors, PhDs 2004. (a)
| Academic Sector |
Typical Salaries |
Median Age |
| University 9-10 Month Salary |
$60,000 - 96,000 |
48 |
| University 11-12 Month Salary |
$59,000 - 110,000 |
48 |
| 4 Year College 9-10 Month Salary |
$49,000 - 68,000 |
46 |
|
| Non-Academic Sector |
Typical Salaries |
Median Age |
| Hospital, medical services |
$92,000 - 150,000 |
48 |
| FFR&DC (b) |
$96,000 - 130,000 |
49 |
| Industry, self-employed |
$85,000 - 127,000 |
47 |
| Government |
$86,000 - 125,000 |
51 |
| Nonprofit |
$67,000 - 108,000 |
47 |
| UARI (b) |
$60,000 - 100,000 |
46 |
(a) Employed U.S. resident members only. Postdoctorates not included.
(b)FFR&DC=
Federally-Funded Research and Development Center
UARI= University-Affiliated Research Institute or Obervatory.
Typical salaries for selected university ranks, PhDs 2004. (a)
| Academic rank |
Typical Salaries |
| Professor |
9-10 Month Salary |
$78,000 - 112,000 |
| 11-12 Month Salary |
$100,000 - 150,000 |
|
| Associate Professor |
9-10 Month Salary |
$58,000 - 78,000 |
| 11-12 Month Salary |
$71,000 - 100,000 |
|
| Assistant Professor |
9-10 Month Salary |
$48,000 - 62,000 |
| 11-12 Month Salary |
$50,000 - 70,000 |
|
| Research Faculty |
Postdocs within 2 years from PhD |
$35,000 - 42,000 |
| Postdocs 2-3 years from PhD |
$35,000 - 45,000 |
| Postdocs 3-4 years from PhD |
$36,000 - 45,000 |
| Other Research faculty |
$50,000 - 76,000 |
(a) Employed U.S. resident members only.
Methodology
The AIP Membership Sample Survey is the largest survey conducted by the
AIP's Statistical Research Center (SRC). More than 21,600 individuals,
approximately one-fourth of the U.S. members of the AIP's Member Societies
were selected on the basis of a stratified random sample and asked to report
their salary and employment data as of March 2004. Nearly
12,300 responded after three e-mail requests for an overall response rate of 57%.
The data represent responses from members of the American Physical Society,
Optical Society of America, Acoustical Society of America, The Society of
Rheology, American Association of Physics Teachers, American Crystallographic
Association, American Astronomical Society, American Association of Physicists
in Medicine, AVS The Science and Technology Society, and American Geophysical Union.
The SRC conducts research and provides survey services. Within the research
portion of its mission, The SRC collects, analyzes, and disseminates data on
education and employment in physics and related fields.
Detailed salary data from this survey are currently available for purchase on
the AIP Store on the web. The salary data are presented in twelve tables that each focus
on different aspects of PhD salaries and can be found on the
AIP iStore.
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