Salaries of doctoral engineers top that of science Ph.Ds

The typical holder of a Ph.D in engineering was paid $70,000 in 1995--more than the median salary for doctorates in major science categories. So finds a report by the National Research Council. The study profiles demographic and employment trends of doctorate-level engineers and scientists in the U.S. The median salary for all science and engineering Ph.Ds was $60,200. The top non-engineering categories were chemistry and physics/astronomy, both at $68,000. Doctorate holders working in the private for-profit sector had the highest median annual salary at $75,000. The figure for those working in educational institutions was $52,000. Engineers did well, too, in patent applications, a measure of productivity. A fourth of the engineering Ph.Ds had applied for patents; 72% got them. The application mark was surpassed only by the 31% submitted by chemistry Ph.Ds. You can find out more about the "1995 Survey of Doctorate Recipients" by e-mailing Peter Henderson at [email protected].