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Source: http://www.doksinet @AIPStatistics www.aiporg/statistics One Physics Ellipse • College Park, MD 20740 • 301.2093070 • stats@aiporg March 2016 Physics Doctorates Initial Employment Data from the degree recipient follow-up surveys for the classes of 2013 and 2014 Jack Pold and Patrick Mulvey REPORTS ON PHYSICS DOCTORATES Physics Doctorates: One Year After Degree (January 2016) Physics Doctorates: Initial Employment (March 2016) Recent Physics Doctorates: Skills Used and Satisfaction with Employment (forthcoming) Positions accepted by PhD degree recipients following receipt of their degrees fall into three categories: postdoctoral fellowships, potentially permanent positions and other temporary positions. Almost half of PhD recipients from the classes of 2013 and 2014 combined were in postdoctoral fellowships after receiving their degrees (Figure 1). This is down from about two-thirds a decade ago (for more information, see focus on Physics Doctorates, One Year After

Degree). Not all PhDs remained in the US after receiving their degrees. Among the new physics PhDs for whom we had post-degree information, 8% of US citizens and 23% of non-US citizens left the US and are not included in this analysis. Figure 1 Employment Type for Physics PhDs One Year After Degree, Classes of 2013 & 2014 Combined Almost half of new physics PhDs accepted postdoctoral fellowships. Postdoc 47% Potentially Permanent Position 38% 10% Unemployed 4% Other Temporary Position THE 2013 AND 2014 FOLLOW-UP SURVEYS OF PHYSICS DOCTORATES Physics doctorate recipients were contacted in the winter following the academic year in which they received their degrees. Note: Data only include US-educated physics PhDs who remained in the US after earning their degrees. Figure is based on the responses of 1,450 individuals http://www.aiporg/statistics AIP Member Societies: Acoustical Society of America • American Association of Physicists in Medicine • American Association of

Physics Teachers • American Astronomical Society • American Crystallographic Association • American Meteorological Society • American Physical Society • AVS Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces and Processing • The Optical Society • The Society of Rheology Source: http://www.doksinet Page 2 focus on Physics Doctorates: Initial Employment Figure 2 Starting Salaries for Physics PhDs, Classes of 2013 & 2014 Combined Potentially Permanent Positions Private Sector The median starting salary for physics PhDs employed in potentially permanent positions in the private sector was $99,000. University & 4-year College Postdocs Government Lab University & UARI Postdocs at government labs typically had higher starting salaries than postdocs in academia, with medians of $65,500 and $48,000 respectively. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 Typical Salaries in Thousands of Dollars Data only include US-educated PhDs who remained in the US

after earning their degrees. The ranges of salaries represent the middle 50%, i.e between the 25th and 75th percentiles Government Lab includes Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, e.g Los Alamos National Laboratory. UARI is University Affiliated Research Institute The data for PhDs holding potentially permanent positions in academia include salaries based on 9-10 and 11-12 month commitments. Data are based on respondents holding potentially permanent positions in the private sector (158) and in universities and 4-year colleges (36) and on postdocs in government labs (65) and in universities and UARIs (291). http://www.aiporg/statistics Starting salaries for physics PhD recipients varied based on both the type of employment they accepted and their employment sectors. Postdocs working in government labs had higher median starting salaries ($66,000) than their counterparts holding postdocs at universities and UARIs ($48,000) (Figure 2). Physics PhD recipients holding

potentially permanent positions at government labs historically have the highest starting salary range, but the number of respondents in this sector was too low to reliably report a salary range. March 2016 AIP Statistical Research Center Source: http://www.doksinet focus on Physics Doctorates: Initial Employment Page 3 The type of employment accepted by physics PhD recipients was related to the employment sector in which they worked. The majority of new PhDs holding postdocs or other temporary positions were employed in academic settings. Common job titles for PhDs holding other temporary positions in academia included “visiting professor” and “guest lecturer”. In contrast, the majority of PhDs holding potentially permanent positions were not in academia, but in the private sector (Table 1). Five percent of PhDs in potentially permanent jobs were in positions they held for six or more months prior to receiving their degrees. The “Other” sector is made up of jobs at

a variety of places, primarily at nonprofit organizations and medical facilities. Table 1 Type of Employment of Physics PhDs by Employment Sector One Year After Degree, Classes of 2013 & 2014 Combined Initial Employment Type Sector of Employment Postdoc % Potentially Permanent % Other Temporary % Overall % Academic* 75 20 71 52 Private 1 70 18 31 Government 21 8 3 14 Other 3 2 8 3 100% 100% 100% 100% The majority of new PhDs in potentially permanent positions were employed in the private sector. Note: Data only include US-educated physics PhDs who remained in the US after earning their degrees. Data are based on the responses of 655 postdocs, 523 individuals working in potentially permanent positions and 126 individuals working in “other temporary positions.” *The academic sector includes two- and four-year colleges, universities, and university affiliated research institutes. http://www.aiporg/statistics AIP Statistical Research Center March

2016 Source: http://www.doksinet focus on Physics Doctorates: Initial Employment Page 4 Figure 3 Employment Field of Physics PhDs One Year After Degree, Classes of 2013 & 2014 Combined Percent % Engineering 20 Computer software 14 Business or Finance 11 Other sciences 8 Education 2 Medical services 2 Other 5 100 13 80 18 38 62 60 The majority of potentially permanent positions accepted by physics PhDs were in fields other than physics. 40 69 48 18 20 14 0 Postdoctoral Position Other Temporary Position 20 Potentially Permanent Position Employment in other fields Employment in physics - different subfield from dissertation Employment in physics - same subfield from dissertation Note: Employment in physics means an individual’s primary or secondary employment field was in physics or astronomy. Data only include US-educated PhDs who remained in the US after earning their degrees. Data are based on the responses of 419 postdocs, 297 individuals working in potentially

permanent positions and 87 individuals working in “other temporary positions”. http://www.aiporg/statistics The type of initial employment that physics PhDs accepted had an impact on whether or not they would be working in the field of physics. Thirtyeight percent of physics PhDs who accepted potentially permanent positions were working in the field of physics, with the remainder employed in fields outside of physics. The most common fields for physics PhDs with potentially permanent employment outside of the field of physics were engineering, computer software, and business or finance (Figure 3). The vast majority of physics PhDs who accepted postdoctoral fellowships were working in the field of physics, with most continuing in the field of their dissertations. Eighty-six percent of physics PhDs employed in other temporary positions were employed either in physics but outside of the field of their dissertations, or in different fields entirely. About half of this group were

employed in the field of education (Figure 3). March 2016 AIP Statistical Research Center Source: http://www.doksinet Page 5 focus on Physics Doctorates: Initial Employment Figure 4 Desired Future Employment Sector of Physics PhDs, Classes of 2013 & 2014 Combined Type of Initial Employment Postdoc Overall, 46% of new physics PhDs hoped to be employed in academia in 10 years. 20 61 Other Temporary 30 49 Potentially Permanent 16 12 65 25 3 9 8 2 40 Overall 46 0 20 38 40 60 Percent 13 80 3 100 Desired Future Employment Sector Academic Private Sector Government Other “Desired future employment sector” is based on the responses of PhDs when asked which employment sector they would like to be working in ten years in the future. Data are limited to physics PhDs who remained in the US following receipt of their degrees. Data are based on the responses of 403 postdocs, 288 potentially permanently employed PhDs, and 84 PhDs employed in “other temporary

positions”. *The academic sector includes two- and four-year colleges, universities, and university affiliated research institutes. http://www.aiporg/statistics Almost half (46%) of physics PhD recipients from the classes of 2013 and 2014 combined were hoping to be working in academia in ten years. As seen in Table 1, the majority of postdocs were already employed in academia, and many were hoping to use their positions as stepping stones to future employment in academia (Figure 4). Non-US citizens were more likely to want to work in academia than their US citizen counterparts. Almost two-thirds of PhD recipients who were in potentially permanent positions were hoping to work in the private sector in the future. AIP Statistical Research Center March 2016 Source: http://www.doksinet Page 6 focus on Physics Doctorates: Initial Employment Survey Methodology Each fall the Statistical Research Center conducts its Survey of Enrollments and Degrees, which asks all degree-granting

physics and astronomy departments in the US to provide information concerning the number of students they have enrolled and the counts of recent degree recipients. In connection with this survey, we ask for the names and contact information for their recent degree recipients. The degree recipient information is used to conduct our follow-up survey in the winter following the academic year in which they received their degrees. The data in this focus on comes from that followup survey Recent degree recipients can be very difficult to reach because they tend to move after receiving their degrees. Additionally, many departments do not provide or don’t have accurate contact information for their alumni. To assist us in determining outcome information and to help obtain updated contact information, we contact the advisors of non-responding degree recipients when possible. The follow-up surveys for the classes of 2013 and 2014 were administered in a web-based format. Non-responding

doctorates were contacted up to four times with invitations to participate in the survey. The physics PhD classes of 2013 and 2014 consisted of 1,743 and 1,803 people respectively. We received postdegree information on about 48% of these degree recipients About 54% of these responses came from PhD recipients themselves, while the other 46% came from advisors. The information obtained from advisors is limited to subfield of dissertation, US citizenship, gender, employment status, sector of employment, and location (in or out of the US). PhDs who left the US after receiving their degrees were not included in the analysis. We thank the many physics and astronomy departments, degree recipients, and faculty advisors who made this publication possible. e-Updates You can sign up to receive an e-mail alert when we post a new report. Visit http://www.aiporg/statistics/e updates to register and indicate your area(s) of interest. We will send you an e-Update only when we post a new report that

includes data of interest to you. If you sign up for every possible notification, you should receive no more than 20 messages in a year. Follow us on Twitter March 2016 AIP Statistical Research Center