Physics professor salary in academia and industry

In summary, the salaries for physicists are much greater than expected. Full professors in southfield, MI make an average of $191,506. Radiation physicists make an average of $147,529.
  • #1
leright
1,318
19
So I was looking through salary.com statistics and various news articles such as this one http://content.salary.monster.com/articles/salary/highestpay/ and found that physicist salaries far surpass my expectations, since many people claim that physicists, and scientist in general, do not make much money. However, these stats claim otherwise. Look at the stats for a full professor of physics in southfield, MI on salary.com. Requires a PhD and 8-10 years experience.

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/...1&yearsofexp=&geo=Detroit,+MI&narrowcode=ED01

That base salary is incredible. The 75th percentile salary for a full professor is $191,506. This has to be wrong...that's amazing. With benefits added in that's well into the 230,000 range. These salaries must also factor in grant money earned by physicists, since they are usually able to keep a percentage of their grant funding. Still, that figure seems wrong.

Look at the average physicist salary in general (not necessarily for physicists in academia...).

Here's the radiation physicist salary...

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/...2&yearsofexp=&geo=Detroit,+MI&narrowcode=HC03

it says it may require an advanced degree and 5 years experience in the field.

Here's a level V physicist salary...

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/...2&yearsofexp=&geo=Detroit,+MI&narrowcode=RD05

it says it requires a graduate degree and 8-10 years experience in the field.


So are these numbers bogus, or they realistic? You get similarly shocking results if you enter, say, Ann Arbor's zip code (UM ann arbor).
 
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  • #2
I made a mistake in the title...I mean "physicist salary in academia and industry"
 
  • #3
lol, did you overlook the most important part...8-10 YEARS experience. Thats AFTER 4-6 years of work getting a PhD.

It depends on your position. The dean of engineering here gets upwards of 230k a year. The associate professors only get like 90-100k.
 
  • #4
:smile: got to wonder where they pulled those stats from!

Maybe if you included what professors can pull in from grants and add that to their salary you might get a figure of $190k +. That's just absurd, you don't earn that on salary alone. I know that professors at my university are only on about $110k and they've been teaching for 25+ years and hold Chairs for various research centres.

Edit: Or maybe professors in the US just get paid more than the rest of the world?
 
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  • #5
cyrusabdollahi said:
lol, did you overlook the most important part...8-10 YEARS experience. Thats AFTER 4-6 years of work getting a PhD.

It depends on your position. The dean of engineering here gets upwards of 230k a year. The associate professors only get like 90-100k.

still...that seems really high even for a full professor.

look at the radiation physicist salary. It said it MAY require an advanced degree (not necessarily a PhD) and 5 years of experience in the rad physics field. so, 5 years of experience and 2 years of masters schooling is only 7 years. The average base salary is $147,529.

And do professors really make that much money through grants??
 
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  • #6
And I chuckled when I read that news article...the sentence "What Do All Those Filthy-Rich Physicists Actually Do?" makes me laugh...

keep in mind those figures only count physicists working as professors or as industry physicists doing SCIENCE. They don't count financial analysts that are physicists by training or other higher paid positions. In the article the author claims the average salary would be higher if they were able to count the physicists in the finance field.
 
  • #7
Then again, I've heard there are many DOE physicists making ~200K/yr salaries, but they are also obligated to teach a university as part of their job description
 
  • #8
cyrusabdollahi said:
lol, did you overlook the most important part...8-10 YEARS experience. Thats AFTER 4-6 years of work getting a PhD.
4-6 years? The average time to graduate is currently about 6.5 years.

http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/reports/winter2003d.pdf

http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/reports/winter2004b.pdf
 
  • #9
A lot of professors do contracting work for industry. This can pay very well (over $100 hour). This probably inflates the figures a lot.
 
  • #10
Gokul43201 said:
4-6 years? The average time to graduate is currently about 6.5 years.

http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/reports/winter2003d.pdf

http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/reports/winter2004b.pdf

Outch! Even worse!
 
  • #11
cyrusabdollahi said:
lol, did you overlook the most important part...8-10 YEARS experience. Thats AFTER 4-6 years of work getting a PhD.
Another few years, then :cool:

I may have to change my mind about ever wanting to work in the US :-p
 
  • #12
:bugeye:

In France, the salary of a university professor is 2500 Euro/month starting, and 5000 Euro/month end of career before taxes and social contributions. There are pure salaries, and can be augmented with various extra stuff.

http://www.cidj.com/Viewdoc.aspx?docid=456&catid=1

That's miles below the quoted figures here...
 
  • #13
For comparison, in the UK, and starting lecturer (and experienced PostDoc) gets around 30000GBP. Then about 40k to 50k for a senior lecturer.

I don't know how much a HoD gets, but it must be knocking on the 6 figure door.

Blimey - 30k is already 59k USD
 

FAQ: Physics professor salary in academia and industry

What is the average salary for a physics professor in academia and industry?

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for a physics professor in academia is $97,320 per year, while the average salary for a physics professor in industry is $127,280 per year.

How does the salary for a physics professor in academia compare to other fields?

The salary for a physics professor in academia is generally higher than many other fields, such as biology or chemistry. However, it may be lower than some other STEM fields, such as engineering or computer science.

What factors can influence a physics professor's salary in academia and industry?

Some factors that can influence a physics professor's salary may include their level of education and experience, the location and prestige of the institution they work for, and their specific field of expertise within physics.

Is there a significant difference in salary between a physics professor in academia and industry?

Yes, there is typically a significant difference in salary between a physics professor in academia and industry. This is due to different funding sources and priorities in each sector.

Are there opportunities for a physics professor to earn additional income in academia and industry?

Yes, there may be opportunities for a physics professor to earn additional income through consulting, research grants, or teaching additional courses. They may also have the opportunity to earn tenure or receive bonuses based on their performance.

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