Physics pays

Recent physics bachelor’s degree recipients in the US who went to work in the private sector in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field took home a median salary of $51 000, among the highest starting salary of any major. Employment sectors, salaries (see chart), and issues such as skills used and job satisfaction are the topics of a new report by the Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics.

From the combined classes of 2011 and 2012, 57% of new physics bachelors enrolled in graduate school, 39% were in the workforce, and 4% were unemployed. Of those who were employed, 61% were in the private sector, with 70% in STEM fields. Another 13% took jobs in universities or colleges, 8% taught in high schools, 6% joined the military, 5% went to work in government or at a national lab, and 7% found other employment.

Physics Bachelor’s Initial Employment can be downloaded at http://www.aip.org/statistics/employment .