feature David Α. Η. Roethel, Manager, Professional and Government Relations, American Chemical Society
4% Higher Salaries To '64 Graduates Salaries go up but signs of increased unemployment appear
124
C&EN
NOV. 9, 196 4
Continuing a trend observed annually over the past five years, starting salaries for the 1964 class of graduates entering the chemical profession were 4.2% higher than a year ago (C&EN, Oct. 28, 1963, page 132). Salaries for chemistry graduates moved up 3.9% over 1963, and those for chemical engineers rose 4.6%. Leading the procession in the 1964 American Chemical Society starting salary survey were inexperienced masters in chemical engineering who reported an 8.3% increase over their 1963 salary of $665 a month for a new median of $720. Close behind were inexperienced Ph.D. graduates in chemistry with a median monthly salary of $910, a 7.1% increase over the 1963 figure of $850. Also doing well were doctors in chemical en gineering who reported the highest starting salary of all'the inexperienced graduates this year, $950 a month, ιιχ> 5.6% over 1963. Keeping pace with the over-all rise in starting salaries were masters in chemistry and bachelors in chemical engineering. Both groups reported increases approximating 4.2% over last year's figures. For chemistry masters, the 1964 median starting salary was $625 a month, and inex perienced B.S. graduates in chemical engineering reported nearly as much, $615. Low on the4 totem pole were B.S. graduates in chemistry who inched Forward their 1963 starting salary of $541 by less than 2% to record a new median in 1964 of $550. But while salaries were up across die board for 1964 graduates, signs of an uncertain employment market began to appear. Last year, only 0.2% of those reporting to the /VCS survey indicated they had been unable to find positions after leaving school. This year, the proportion rose to 1.5%. Chemistry graduates seemed most affected with 2.4% of M.S. and 1.4%. of B.S. graduates in this category. Even M.S. chemical engineers ap parently encountered difficulty, with 1.8% unemployed, though bachelors did much better, 0.4%. While all these rates are low in comparison with the national unemployment figures, they still may warrant some concern over the future demand for new chemical scientists. And if the need for recent graduates slackens, then the situation among more experienced people could become critical as well.
Ability and Experience
Pay
lor's degree, the spread between the upper and lower group was only $70 a month, and for masters it was $95. Also, the top 10% of engineers re ceived median starting salaries only slightly higher than those for the middle group; e.g., $645 versus $615 for bachelors, and $755 a month versus $720 for masters. Thus, while chemical engineers still seem to be in demand, little variation in salary is allowed for differences in ability. As for graduates with 26 or more weeks of previous work experience, the general trend was toward fairly uniform salary increases over 1963 figures. In terms of proportionate in creases, experienced Ph.D.'s in chem istry led the way with a 6.9% jump over their 1963 median starting salary of S875 to $935 in 1964. This group reported experience averaging about two years prior to graduation. Masters in chemistry increased their salary of last year 6.7% to $700 a month this year, and experienced bachelors in chemistry reported a 1964 monthly median of $575. Chemical engineers with some prior work experience also did well. Bache lors with a median of a year and a half of experience reported a starting salary this year of $630 and masters were up slightly to $735 a month. Ex perienced engineering Ph.D.'s re ported the top median starting salary of all for the 1964 class, $985.'
Among those recent graduates with presumably more ability or with a year or more of prior work experience, any uncertainties in employment were not evident for salaries were higher. In chemistry, for example, inexperi enced graduates in the upper 10% of the salary bracket led the lower 10% by a considerable margin in starting salaries. For bachelors in chemistry, this difference lay between $390 in the lower decile and S660 in the upper 10%-, a range of $270 a month. And the starting salary for the top group of B.S. chemists was more than S100 a month higher than for those at the median level. Some what the same pattern was also true of chemists with a master's degree. Ph. D.'s in chemistry also recorded a wide range in starting salaries between the lower and upper HV/t — $300—with those in the upper bracket reporting a median monthly starting salary of $1000, again about $100 a month higher than the median. Whether these chemistry graduates in the upper brackets were paid more because of ability or because they naturally gravitated toward better paying jobs is something which sta tistics don't reveal. Many recent graduates, for example, accepted teaching positions which classically don't recompense the beginner as well, even though ability may be high. Such wide ranges in starting salary were, as usual, not so evident among recent graduates in chemical engi neering. For those with the bache
Who Pays the Most? To no ones surprise, last spring's graduating chemists and chemical en-
Starting Salaries of Inexperienced* Chemists and Chemical Engineers Median Monthly Starting Salaries Chemist graduates
Bachelors Men Women Masters Doctors
% Increase
1963 $541 550 473 600 850
$550 560 480 625 910
1.7% 1.8 1.5 4.2 7.1
$590 590 598 665 900
$615 610 620 720 950
4.2% 3.4 3.7 8.3 5.6
1964
Chemical engineer graduates
Bachelors 4-year curriculum 5-year curriculum Masters Doctors :
With less than 26 weeks of prior work experience.
NOV.
9, 196 4 C & E N
125
Starting Salaries of Experienced* Chemists and Chemical Engineers Median Monthly Starting Salaries Chemist graduates
1963
1964
656 875
$575 700 935
Masters Doctors
% Increase 4.5% 6.7 .6.9
Experience Medians 52 weeks 156 100
Chemical engineer graduates Bachelors Masters Doctors
$600 703 945
* With 26 or more weeks of prior
$630 735 985
5.0% 4.6 4.2
78 weeks 100 100
employment.
WËÊÊÊÊÊÊÊËÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊËÊÊÊÊÊm gineers reported that the highest salaries again were paid by industry. Also, the greatest number of graduates went to work for this category of employers. Over-all, some 64% of chemists accepted industrial positions and 94% of chemical engineers did so. But this pattern, varies. Among chemical engineers, for example, virtually all graduates with the B.S. or M.S. degree gravitate into industrial employment. This is not so true, though, of Ph.D. chemical engineers, only 67% of whom accepted such jobs after graduation. In chemistry, the pattern is even more varied. There, about 70% of B.S. graduates accepted industrial jobs, whereas only 5 1 % of those with a master's degree did so. Among doctors, the proportion was intermediate at about 60%.
As to starting salaries in industry, these were somewhat higher than for the general medians previously reported. Salaries for inexperienced chemistry graduates in industry looked like this: bachelors, $563; masters, $660; doctors, $930. Corresponding differences for chemical engineers going into industry were not generally observed. This is probably because virtually all these graduates accept industrial employment and their salaries tend to set the pattern for the field. The over-all median for inexperienced B.S. and M.S. chemical engineers and for those going into industry, for example, were identical, $615 and $720 a month, respectively. But chemical engineers with a Ph.D. fared much better, $985 a month vs. $950 generally.
Upper 10% of Chemists Lead Lower 10% by as Much as $300 Monthly Starting Salaries of Inexperienced Chemists Bachelors Masters Doctors ... $390 $475 $700 475 545 820 550 625 910 585 675 950 660 1000 715
Lower 1 0 % Lower 2 5 % Median Upper 2 5 % Upper 1 0 %
But Gap for Chemical Engineers Is Less than $100 Monthly Starting Salaries of Inexperienced Chemical Engineers igmeers Bachelors Masters Doctors
Lower 1 0 % Lower 2 5 % Median Upper 2 5 % Upper 1 0 % * Insufficient
126
$575 600 615 625 645
data.
C&EN
NOV.
9, 196 4
$660 700 720 740 755
$950
In industry, though, starting salaries can vary from one group of employers to another. Thus, while the over-all industrial median for inexperienced B.S. chemist graduates was $563, the biological and pharmaceutical field paid a median salary of only $540 a month to start. In large part, this may be due to the usual disproportionate migration of women graduates to this class of employer. For 1964, the ACS survey showed that 52% of women graduates entered this field. In comparison, the over-all distribution of B.S. chemistry graduates was 7 1 % male and 29% female. At the upper end of the chemists' salary spectrum in industry were such groups as the electronics, petroleum, photographic, rubber, and textiles industries. All paid considerably more than the general median for industry, ranging as high as $1000 a month for inexperienced chemistry Ph.D.'s going into electronics work. Chemical engineers continued to follow the pattern of previous years, namely, one of little variation from the standard industrial beginning salary of $615. Among the various groups, this ranged only as low as $600 a month for inexperienced bachelors in the pharmaceutical, paints, and paper industries, and as high as $625 a month for those going into petroleum. Four other major categories of employers that attract graduates in chemistry and chemical engineering are: academic institutions, private research institutions (including hospitals), government (federal, state, and local), and government contractors. The over-all proportions of graduates going to work for all categories were as follows for the 1964 class: Employer Industry Schools Research institutions Government Government contractors
Chemists
Chemical Engineers
63.8% 16.8
93.7%
9.1 4.6
2.9 1.6
5.7
0.9
1.6
Academic institutions, in general, continue to pay the lowest salaries, as reflected in the accompanying tables. This year, though, the previous ACS practice of normalizing academic salaries to a 12-month year was suspended, primarily because it was felt that graduates going into teach-
in g got summer jobs, did consulting, or otherwise supplemented their normal teaching stipends. Hence, their salaries as reported to the Society can be regarded as representative of their income throughout the year. Thus, the over-all salary gains for inexperienced graduates in teaching are somewhat disproportionately larger. For example, at the three principal degree levels in chemistry the new teaching salaries and their increases over last year are: bachelors, $428 a month ( + 6 . 2 % ) ; masters, $543 a
month ( + 1 1 . 7 % ) ; and doctors, $750 a month ( + 2 0 . 8 % ) . What's Your Field? For chemistry graduates, choice of field can be an important factor in planning a career, not only with regard to interest but also insofar as salaries are concerned. Respondents to the 1964 ACS starting salary survey were asked for the first time to indicate their field to determine the significance of this parameter.
As expected, nearly all (84%) B.S. chemistry graduates reported completion of a general curriculum in chemistry. And these received a median starting salary identical to that of the field as a whole, $550. Just how proficient the balance of the B.S. class was in the fields shown in the accompanying table is unknown. Probably the indicated choices of analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, and others were more a matter of plans than of accomplishment. For masters and doctors graduates,
Salaries of inexperienced Graduates by Employer Salary
Bachelors % in Field
Salary
Masters % in Field
Salary
Doctors % in Field
Chemists Industry Schools Research institutions Government Government contractors
$563 428 400 471
$660 543 * 564
70.4% 7.8 7.8 10.5
51.4% 30.2 4.1 11.0
$930 750 * 832
59.9% 24.0 3.2 5.7
565
3.4
*
3.4
900
7.1
$615 * * 480
95.1% 0.7 0.4 2.9
$720 * * *
92.4% 1.5 1,5 1.5
$985 * * *
66.8% 17.9 * 5.1
*
1.0
*
3.0
*
Chemical engineers Schools Research institutions Government Government contractors
10.2
* Not calculable.
Choice of Industry Can Affect Starting Salaries Inexperie need Chemists Salary I n d u s t r i a l over-all Biological and pharmaceutical Chemicals Construction Electronics Foods Metals Missiles a n d rocketry P a i n t s and coatings Paper Petroleum Photographic Plastics Rubber Textiles Other
$563
Bachelors % in Field
Salary
Doctors % in Field
70.4%
$ 930
59.9%
Inexperienced Chemical Engineers Bachelors % in Field Salary 95.1%
$615
540 575 * 573 517 555
15.1 23.1 2.3 3.3 3.9 3.3
918 925 * 1000 * *
7.4 35.0 1.2 6.7 1.2 —
600 620 600 * 625 606
1.6 33.2 3.3 1.0 1.9 2.2
* 575 * 587 597 575 595 588 521
2.0 9.1 2.6 3.9 3.3 6.5 6.2 3.3 11.9
* * * 950 936 925 * * 963
2.5 3.7 0.6 11.6 8.0 6.7 4.3 3.7 7.4
610 600 600 625 615 615 610 620 615
1.8 2.7 5.0 17.2 1.6 7.9 6.1 4.6 10.0
* Not calculable. mmB^ÊÊKÊSÊÊmmÊÊÊÊ
^
^
^
NOV. 9, 196 4 C & E N
^ 127
^IS^S^^ For Chemists, Choice of Field Is a Factor Monthly Starting Salaries, Inexperienced Graduates
Bachelors % in Field Salary
Field
$550
General Analytical Inorganic Organic Physical Other
Masters % in Field Salary
83.6%
$625
3.4 0.7 7.9 1.6 2.9
606 625 610 650 600
563 * 575 * 508
8.7% 14.8 12.1 32.2 20.8 11.4
Salary *
Doctors % in Field
$930 890 917 919 791
o.i% 10.3 12.5 41.5 27.1 7.5
* Not calculable
Ô P È ^ * i * ?sèÀ;^ ;- xtS^fe^AS
g^^^^Éfe^i
be California, where the starting salary was only $510 a month, as contrasted with the national median of $550. At the upper end of the salary spectrum for these graduates was Ohio with a starting stipend of $585. Massa chusetts and Missouri also seemed to pay well at about $575 a month. Doctors in chemistry experienced an even wider variation, which may be due in part to the greater proportions of these graduates accepting positions as teachers in various states. Ph.D. salaries ranged from lows of $800 a month in Tennessee and $850 in Cali fornia to a high of $940 in New Jersey and Texas.
Some Students Get Summer Jobs or Fellowships Median Monthly Stipends Chemists Bachelors Masters
Summer jobs G r a d u a t e fellowships
$475 238
$500 240
Doctors
$550*
Fellowships
Chemical Engineers Bachelors Masters
$550 237
$625 250
* Not calculable. ** Postgraduate fellows.
S^^*#?î*i*\v\>^ choice of field presumably represents a completed course of training. In fact, it is unusual that nearly 9% of masters graduates and even a handful of Ph.D. graduates were willing to report only a general major in chem istry. Among the various fields, no obvious salary pattern was discernible. Thus, while some 2 1 % of inexperienced master graduates reported a relatively high median starting salary of $650 a month in physical chemistry, this was not the best-paying field for Ph.D. degrees. That honor went to the analytical field, where 10% of doctors reported a median monthly starting salary of $930. Otherwise, there seemed to be general variation among the fields of specialty for recent graduates. Location a Factor? Geography also can be important in selecting a position. In this re gard, the Middle Atlantic states—New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania— often are thought of as being the heart bed of chemical employment and thus tend to set salaries for the rest of the country. At least, this observation seemed to be true in 1964, when the starting salaries for this region were virtually identical with the over-all medians reported for both 128
C&EN
NOV.
9, 196 4
^^4};^^Ι^ί^^Τ^ t^o^
major classes of graduates as a whole. The median starting salaries in this three-state area were $550 for inex perienced B.S. chemists, $930 for Ph.D.'s, and $610 for B.S. chemical engineers. No other part of the country ex ceeded these figures by any significant margin, though the West South Central states in and around Texas did somewhat better with corresponding figures of $560 and $950 for B.S. and Ph.D. chemists, respectively, and $620 for inexperienced B.S. chemical en gineering graduates. Less well off financially were chemists who ac cepted jobs in the East South Central states from Kentucky extending south to the Gulf of Mexico. There, inex perienced B.S. chemists reported a median salary to start of only $500, and Ph.D.'s similarly reported a somewhat low $850 a month. Else where, insufficient numbers of grad uates reported starting salaries or else salaries approximated the na tional medians. Again for the 1964 survey, an effort was made to correlate starting salaries with geographic locale by state. As usual and as noted elsewhere in this report, chemical engineers' salaries varied little from one state to the other. For chemists, this was not so generally true. The low point for in experienced B.S. chemists seemed to
and Summer
Jobs
While designed primarily to elicit information on full-time salaries paid to recent graduates in chemistry and chemical engineering, the annual ACS starting salary surveys also receive a large number of responses from stu dents who accept summer positions or who report stipends as graduate teaching or research fellows. In this respect the 1964 class was no ex ception. A full third of B.S. chem istry graduates, for example, indicated they accepted positions as graduate assistants, for which the median stipend indicated was 8238 a month. Similarly, the 337c- of masters in the same category reported a comparable stipend of $240. Some 18% of Ph.D. graduates indicated they planned to go on for postdoctoral work resulting in a median stipend of $550 a month. Considerably fewer chemical engineer ing graduates reported acceptance of graduate positions, only 69c for bache lors and 2 4 7 for masters. The stipends for these two groups were $237 and $250 a month, respectively. In addition to graduate fellowships, many summer employees in chemistry or chemical engineering stated they intended to go on for graduate work. When added together, the over-all proportions in the two fields planning to return to school this fall looked like this:
Degree Bachelors Masters Doctors
Chemists
Chemical Engineers
57.8% 39.5 18.0
23.8% 29.4 1.4
As for summer workers' salaries, these varied from $475 for bachelors
Geography Can Be Important
Median Monthly Starting Salaries • B.S. Chemists A Ph.D. Chemists •B.S. Chemical Engineers
• $550-&3% Α$859-1ΪΒ 7 Τ « 1 8 - 5.9% including Alaska Hawaii
• $520- 7.1% A 2.5% a $610- 5.4% • $553-^5.5% A $862- 5.1% $619- m%-
$550^3JU9%|
G-27£8 ' $610-25.5%]
• $564-25.4% ^$87fc-15.?% 5-21.; |$615·
• - / - - 1.8% A #900- 3.9%, $610- 1.7%
£544- 9.6% r$9T3^-20.8% ι $615-14.5% • $560- 5.9% ^$950- 6.1% • $620-15.1%
| · $500 - 2.51 [ A $850 6.8? ι $610u 4.8°/J
HOW TO READ; Using New England as an example, 7 . 1 % of inexperienced B.S. chemists accepted positions in these states for a median starting salary of $520/month.
Starting Salaries by State*
State Alabama California Connecticut Delaware Florida Illinois Indiana Louisiana Massachusetts Michigan Missouri N e w Jersey New York Ohio Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington W e s t Virginia
Inexperienced Chemical Engineers Bachelors % in State Salary
Inexperienced Chemists Doctors Bachelors Salary % in State % in State Salary * $510 550 * * 550 * * 573 546 575 531 550 585 550 * * 560 * 563 *
0.7% 7.9 2.5 1.6 1.1 7.9 2.1 0.7 2.3 4.1 2.3 8.6 13.9 11.1 9.2 0.5 1.1 5.2 2.0 2.3 0.5
* $850 * 925 * * * * * 875 * 940 925 925 * * 800 940 * * *
•
—
2.1 2.1 •
—
1.8 4.3 1.3 12.9 11.5 •5.4 3.2 0.4 3.6 3.9 1.8 1.1 2.5
1.4% 4.4 3.9 3.9 1.9 3.6 2.9 2.9 0.7 3.9 2.9 11.2 9.7 9.4 4.6 1.7 2.3 10.6 1.6 1.2 3.3
$615 618 615 615 610 615 606 610 * 615 615 610 610 615 603 604 625 620 625 *
1.4% 10.4 0.4 9.7
1
620
* Medians computed only for states with 10 or more graduates reporting.
^
^
^
^
^
NOV. 9, 1964 C&EN
129
Who Reported
SPECtâL
WAX X-12 for HOT-MELT ADHESIVES X-12 reduces viscosity....provides uniform deposition of thin films, aids in wetting film surfaces and controls
Chemists
Chemical Engineers
Bachelor degree graduates
Inexperienced Experienced G r a d u a t e assistants Summer Military and Peace Corps Unemployed
"open time".
443 111 495 371 35 20
738 174 71 241 50 5
1475
1279
147 110 151 35 6 11 460
66 77 52 15 7 4 221
280 242 118 21 661
39 93 2 5 139
2596
1639
Stable wax eliminates darkening under prolonged heating, and clear films result. X-12 acts as a coupling agent.... is compatible with most hot-melt adhesive ingredients-and compatible with ELVAX.
Master degree graduates
Inexperienced Experienced G r a d u a t e assistants Summer Military and Peace Corps Unemployed
230 lb., drums l.t.l., Cleveland.
Doctor degree graduates
WERNER G. SMITH INC.
1730 TRAIN AVENUE · Phone: 861-3676
CLEVELAND, OHIO 44113 Area Code: 216
WORDS ABOUT WORDS A Collection of Nomenclature Columns Written by Austin M. Patterson A sprightly collection of nearly 60 essays on chemical nomenclature by the world's outstanding authority on this subject, the late Austin M . Patterson. Originally published as a feature of CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS, this material is truly indispensable for all who are interested in chemical nomenclature and interesting enough to read j u s t for fun Hard Bound
86 pages $2.25 per copy
Order from: Special Issue Sales American Chemical Society 1155 Sixteenth Street, N.W. Washin gton 6, D. C.
130
C&EN
NOV.
9, 196 4
Inexperienced Experienced Postdoctorals Other
Total Reporting
in chemistry to $625 for masters in chemical engineering. All were from $65 to $125 a month less than the figures reported for full-time employees. The Survey Almost without interruption since 1952, the American Chemical Society has conducted an annual survey to determine starting salaries paid to recent graduates in chemistry or chemical engineering. The surveys were initiated by and remain a continuing responsibility of the Council Standing Committee on Professional Relations and Status, which feels that those in the profession benefit from having current information about economic trends. Data for this year's survey were accumulated by mailing 8278 anonymous questionnaires over the summer months to graduates certified as having completed the minimum requirements for training in chemistry or chemical engineering. Questionnaires were sent to graduates from 289 of 318 ACS-approved departments of chemistry and
to those from 92 of 100 departments of chemical engineering. By the Sept. 15 deadline, 4548 questionnaires had been returned, 54.9%. Of these, all but 313 were usable for the purposes of the survey. The 1964 class, like virtually all those preceding it, reported increases in the median starting salaries it received. In the light of extensive experience with these ACS surveys, it seems reasonably safe to assume that comparable salaries in 1965 will be still higher. Yet, as noted earlier, there are some preliminary indications of an uncertain market for recent graduates. Whether the profession is embarking upon an era when ability and graduate training will be even more important is uncertain. But it is a trend that will bear watching.
Single free reprints of this starting salary report are available from the ACS Office of Professional and Government Relations
