Of all doctorate recipients with definite postdoctoral employment plans, those with doctorates in the humanities and arts were the most likely to have secured jobs in academe. Median time from start of doctorate to finish was longer for recipients in the humanities and arts than for those in any other field, and humanities and arts recipients were the most likely to be non-Hispanic whites and to be seeking work or further study. Humanities and arts recipients with definite work plans expected to earn the lowest starting salaries both in academe and over all.
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| All doctorate recipients | 54,904 | 12,568 | 6,252 | 3,957 | 9,078 | 9,469 | 5,153 | 5,484 | 2,943 |
| Percentage | 100.0% | 22.9% | 11.4% | 7.2% | 16.5% | 17.2% | 9.4% | 10.0% | 5.4% |
| Median age at award | 31.6 | 30.9 | 29.5 | 30.3 | 32.5 | 30.0 | 38.6 | 34.1 | 34.7 |
| Time to doctorate |
| Median number of years from bachelor’s degree to doctorate | 8.8 | 8.2 | 6.9 | 7.9 | 9.5 | 7.3 | 15.0 | 11.0 | 11.2 |
| Median number of years from start of doctoral program | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 5.3 |
| Other degrees received |
| Percentage with bachelor’s degree in same field as doctorate | 54.0% | 49.7% | 66.9% | 60.2% | 48.4% | 75.9% | 24.9% | 53.5% | 35.6% |
| Percentage with a master’s degree in any field | 69.4% | 50.9% | 51.4% | 72.8% | 81.8% | 69.7% | 87.9% | 84.4% | 82.8% |
| Sex |
| Male | 53.9% | 44.9% | 68.6% | 75.8% | 41.3% | 76.9% | 30.1% | 48.1% | 50.1% |
| Female | 46.0% | 55.1% | 31.4% | 24.2% | 58.7% | 23.1% | 69.9% | 51.8% | 49.8% |
| Citizenship |
| U.S. citizen or permanent resident | 65.1% | 69.2% | 58.6% | 43.7% | 75.2% | 44.2% | 83.5% | 81.1% | 63.4% |
| Temporary visa holder | 30.0% | 26.8% | 37.0% | 51.9% | 19.3% | 51.2% | 10.9% | 13.0% | 30.2% |
| Unknown | 4.9% | 4.0% | 4.4% | 4.4% | 5.4% | 4.6% | 5.6% | 5.9% | 6.4% |
| Marital status |
| Never married | 31.6% | 33.1% | 40.7% | 37.4% | 27.7% | 38.3% | 17.7% | 25.9% | 23.5% |
| Married | 44.8% | 45.1% | 37.1% | 42.8% | 44.0% | 41.5% | 56.7% | 46.8% | 51.7% |
| Marriagelike relationship | 8.3% | 9.6% | 9.9% | 6.2% | 10.3% | 6.6% | 4.9% | 10.1% | 4.7% |
| Separated, divorced, widowed | 3.4% | 2.8% | 2.1% | 2.1% | 4.0% | 1.3% | 7.4% | 5.0% | 5.2% |
| Unknown | 11.9% | 9.4% | 10.3% | 11.5% | 14.0% | 12.3% | 13.3% | 12.2% | 15.0% |
| Race/ethnicity of the 35,719 U.S. citizens and permanent residents |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Asian | 8.6% | 10.5% | 8.2% | 12.5% | 6.3% | 15.4% | 4.9% | 4.0% | 10.1% |
| Black/African-American | 6.6% | 5.9% | 2.6% | 4.5% | 7.2% | 4.1% | 14.9% | 3.8% | 10.6% |
| Hispanic | 7.2% | 7.5% | 5.1% | 5.5% | 8.5% | 6.5% | 7.5% | 7.2% | 6.6% |
| White, non-Hispanic | 71.5% | 70.3% | 78.5% | 69.8% | 71.0% | 67.2% | 67.1% | 79.3% | 67.0% |
| 2 or more races | 2.9% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.8% | 3.2% | 2.9% | 2.3% | 2.5% | 2.3% |
| Other/unknown | 2.9% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 3.7% | 3.4% | 3.7% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 3.2% |
| Postdoctoral plans among the 48,356 people who reported definite plans |
| Definite postdoctoral study | 23.5% | 36.1% | 37.4% | 21.2% | 24.5% | 19.3% | 5.0% | 10.8% | 5.3% |
| Definite employment | 37.1% | 22.4% | 23.9% | 45.4% | 41.8% | 38.5% | 58.2% | 39.3% | 61.9% |
| Seeking employment or study | 34.3% | 34.3% | 35.2% | 29.0% | 29.4% | 37.9% | 32.0% | 44.8% | 27.4% |
| Other | 5.1% | 7.1% | 3.5% | 4.4% | 4.3% | 4.4% | 4.9% | 5.0% | 5.4% |
| • For the 11,359 people planning definite postdoctoral study, what type |
| Postdoc fellowship | 53.0% | 56.0% | 38.4% | 42.9% | 72.9% | 35.9% | 52.5% | 81.6% | 66.2% |
| Postdoc research associateship | 43.8% | 39.3% | 60.9% | 54.9% | 22.0% | 62.8% | 44.3% | 17.2% | 31.5% |
| Other | 3.2% | 4.7% | 0.7% | 2.2% | 5.1% | 1.3% | 3.2% | 1.2% | 2.3% |
| • For the 17,941 people planning definite employment, what type |
| Sector |
| Academe | 46.2% | 39.8% | 21.0% | 31.9% | 55.8% | 16.9% | 59.2% | 76.5% | 76.6% |
| Government | 7.6% | 10.8% | 9.1% | 3.6% | 13.0% | 8.1% | 4.0% | 2.3% | 5.4% |
| Industry/business | 33.1% | 35.8% | 64.3% | 59.5% | 17.6% | 69.9% | 4.8% | 5.3% | 10.7% |
| Nonprofit organization | 5.5% | 9.0% | 3.2% | 2.8% | 7.4% | 3.0% | 5.3% | 7.5% | 3.6% |
| Other/unknown | 7.5% | 4.5% | 2.4% | 2.1% | 6.2% | 2.1% | 26.7% | 8.3% | 3.7% |
| Primary employment activity |
| Research and development | 43.2% | 46.0% | 65.3% | 63.6% | 38.1% | 73.6% | 12.0% | 10.6% | 37.8% |
| Teaching | 32.5% | 24.7% | 16.6% | 24.8% | 35.3% | 8.9% | 43.1% | 71.6% | 46.0% |
| Management or administration | 11.2% | 11.1% | 3.2% | 3.0% | 8.9% | 4.3% | 33.7% | 9.7% | 9.3% |
| Professional services | 10.4% | 14.5% | 10.4% | 5.3% | 16.1% | 9.5% | 9.3% | 5.7% | 6.1% |
| Other | 2.7% | 3.6% | 4.5% | 3.3% | 1.6% | 3.8% | 1.9% | 2.5% | 0.9% |
| Median basic salary |
| Academe | $61,000 | $64,000 | $52,000 | $70,000 | $61,000 | $78,500 | $61,000 | $51,080 | $90,000 |
| Government | $80,000 | $74,000 | $79,000 | $93,000 | $80,000 | $95,000 | $75,000 | $67,000 | $85,000 |
| Industry/business | $100,000 | $90,000 | $100,000 | $125,000 | $95,000 | $100,000 | $80,000 | $69,000 | $110,000 |
| Nonprofit organization | $80,000 | $80,000 | $102,500 | $106,250 | $80,000 | $100,000 | $79,500 | $55,000 | $90,000 |
| Other/unknown | $70,000 | $57,000 | $54,000 | $56,000 | $63,500 | $48,000 | $77,000 | $55,000 | $71,500 |
| All definite employment | $75,000 | $75,000 | $85,000 | $105,000 | $68,000 | $100,000 | $65,500 | $52,000 | $95,000 |
Note: “Life sciences” includes agricultural sciences and natural resources, biological and biomedical sciences, and health sciences. “Psychology and social sciences” includes economics. The column labeled “Other” includes business management and administration, and other nonscience and nonengineering fields not shown elsewhere. People who identified themselves as Hispanic may be of any race. “Asians” do not include Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders; they are reported in the race/ethnicity category “Other/unknown.” A bachelor’s degree is counted as being in the same field as the doctorate if both degrees are in the same major-field categories. The median number of years to doctorate from start of doctoral program includes years studying for a master’s degree if they were spent at the same institution where the candidate earned a doctorate and in the same fine field of study, or were a prerequisite to the doctorate; otherwise, the number is based on doctoral- program entry. The employment sector “Industry/business” includes self-employment. The employment sector “Other/unknown” consists mainly of elementary and secondary schools. Percentages may not add up to 100 because of rounding or because a small share of unknowns was excluded. More data are available here. Questions or comments on the Almanac should be sent to the Almanac editor.
Source: Chronicle analysis of Survey of Earned Doctorates by National Science Foundation and five other federal agencies