Expected Median Salaries for Doctorate Recipients Are Highest in the Industry Sector
| Field | Employed in industry or business | Employed in academia | Postdoc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer and information sciences | 180,000 | 100,000 | 70,000 |
| Multidisciplinary/ interdisciplinary sciences | 150,000 | 91,500 | 65,000 |
| Mathematics and statistics | 150,000 | 68,000 | 70,000 |
| Social sciences | 129,000 | 75,000 | 65,000 |
| Engineering | 125,000 | 90,000 | 65,000 |
| Health sciences | 120,000 | 83,000 | 61,934 |
| Biological and biomedical sciences | 120,000 | 71,000 | 60,000 |
| Physical sciences | 120,000 | 65,140 | 65,000 |
| Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences | 110,000 | 70,000 | 65,000 |
| Agricultural sciences and natural resources | 100,000 | 78,000 | 60,000 |
| Psychology | 97,000 | 71,000 | 58,000 |
| Non-S&E fields | 95,625 | 72,000 | 60,000 |
S&E = science and engineering.
Definite commitment refers to a doctorate recipient who is either returning to predoctoral employment or has signed a contract (or otherwise made a definite commitment) for employment or postdoctoral study in the coming year and plans to stay in the United States. Industry includes all nonacademic sectors, including self-employment, private for-profit and private nonprofit, and government. The survey data collection for field of study changed in 2021 to a modified version of the 2020 Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). The CIP-based taxonomy is used to report single-year data from 2021 to the present. It may not match multiyear data, which uses a trend field taxonomy to facilitate comparisons with prior years. For more information, see the survey "Technical Notes" (https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/earned-doctorates/2024#technical-notes).
In 2024, doctorate recipients from U.S. institutions with definite commitments for employment or postdocs in the United States reported varied expected annual salaries. In every broad field, expected median salaries for doctorate recipients committing to non-postdoc employment in industry were higher than those committing to postdocs or to non-postdoc employment in the academic sector. In turn, expected median salaries were higher in non-postdoc employment in academia than in postdocs, except for the field of mathematics and statistics. In each category of employment, doctorate recipients in computer and information sciences had the highest expected median salaries. The range in expected median salaries across broad fields was the narrowest for postdoc positions, from $58,000 in psychology to $70,000 in computer and information sciences and in mathematics and statistics. The range was the widest in industry: expected median salary for computer and information sciences ($180,000) was nearly double the expected median salary in psychology ($97,000)—the lowest among science and engineering (S&E) fields—and non-S&E fields ($95,625).
NCSES has reviewed this product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved its release (NCSES-DRN25-069).
Suggested citation: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2026. Expected Median Salaries for Doctorate Recipients Are Highest in the Industry Sector. NSF 26-312. Alexandria, VA: U.S. National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf26312.
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