Recent STEM Doctoral Recipients Find High-Paying Jobs in Local High-Tech and Professional Service Industries, Study Reports

Recent doctoral recipients who enter the private sector are more likely to go to firms with high payrolls per worker and other business characteristics associated with high productivity, according to a new report – Wrapping it up in a person: Examining employment and earnings outcomes for Ph.D. recipients. Published in a recent edition of Science, the authors found that 38 percent of federally and non-federally funded doctoral recipients enter the private sector within one year of graduation – approximately 57 percent remained in industry and four percent enter the public sector.  

Nearly 20 percent doctoral recipients that enter the private sector find employment at firms located in the state that they received their degree. These firms typically are defined as high tech and engaged in R&D-focused industries or provide professional services. Firms that employ doctoral recipients pay a median salary almost $30,000 higher than that paid by research/development organizations and nearly $60,000 more than the average payroll per worker in the private sector. Recent engineering and computer Ph.Ds. also are more likely to take positions at young firms than their peers from other fields.

The authors also found that California remains a prime location for many recent doctoral candidates. Of those that left their university's state, almost 20 percent went to work for firms located in California. The authors contend that the state’s high concentration of well-paying R&D and high tech firms makes it an appealing destination for recent doctoral recipients.

The authors also reported a dramatic difference in overall earnings by field. Engineering, Math, and Computer Science doctoral recipients earned on average $65,000 per year –more than double  that of individuals who obtained a doctoral degree in the arts or humanities (approximately $25,000 per year). In general, those that received STEM-related degrees earned more on average than other doctoral recipients with one exception – the field of biology (average salary of $36,000 per year). The authors concluded that wages are driven down due to almost 33 percent of biology Ph.Ds. taking postdoctoral positions, which typically pay well below market value.

The study includes over 3,000 doctoral recipients from eight of the Big 10 Universities (Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue, Penn State, and Wisconsin) from 2009 to 2011. Read the report…