provocative opinion Is a PhD in Chemistry Worth the Effort?-Revisited Mark L. Dietz Chemistry Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 In a recent article in this Journal ( I ) , C. E. Meloan demonstrated that there is considerable financial incentive for an individual with a BS degree in chemistry to pursue a Phl) degrec, with the cumulative lifetime salary dlfferential between the average RS and PhD chemist totaling more than $1.5 million. Given that the BS chemist is actually prepared for additional training i n a variety of other fields (e.g., medicine, patent law) in which a strong chemistry background could prove to be of value, however, the real question for those considering graduate study i n chemistry is not whether such study is "worth the effort", but whether i t is more worth the effort than the alternatives. To answer this question, we consider here three newly minted BS chemists. The first, following the scenario outlined by Meloan (1) (Table 11, opts for graduate studv i n chemistry The second b e e n s law school where, to mak; best use of his chemistry b&kground, he focuses on intellectual D r o ~ e r t vor environmental law. Finally, the third student' eniers"medica1 school and trains to be&me a primary care physician. Table 1summarizes the various assumptions made regarding the costs of law and medical schools, starting salaries, annual raises, and so forth. I t i s important to note that i n order to minimize the financial advantage of the physician, i t has been assumed that all of his tuition costs and living expenses (which have been taken a s equal to the
Table 2. Annual Salary (or Indebtedness) for PhD Chemists, Attorneys, and Physicians Age
Annual Salary 1 Indebtedness ($) Chemist
Anomey
retire
retire
Difference (vs. PhD)
Physician Anorney
Physician
Table 1. Assumptions Made in the Calculation of Annual Salaries for Three Career Paths
Age at stail of training program Length of training (vrs.) Annual stipend during training
Graduate Study/PhDa 21
Law School
5
3
21
Medical School 21 4 (+3yr. residency)
$10,000 $0 sob (+$25/month annual increase) $0 $15,356' ' $17,622' Annual tuition during training Annual Starting $45,000 $57,043' $97,828' salary 5 5 Annual salary 5 increase 1%) 'From Reference I. Stipend during residency is assumed to be equal to that received by the graduate student in chemistry. (See text.) The 1992 average, annual, out of state tuition at one of the top 25 US law schwls (2). he 1992 average, annual,out of state tuition at one of the top 20 "comprehensive" medical schools, whose chief mission is the training of primary care physicians (9. B ~ h1992 e average, annual starting salary for graduates of 10 intellectual propety or environmental law programs ciled in a recent reputationel survey
'?C a k ale0 ~ from ins weognled meatan salary fara I physmans (3by assum. mat me stanmg salary of a pnysclan s lne same lract on of lne me0 an pnyscan n sa ary as is the case tor c h e m m e ca 75r0, mg
65
retire
retire
retire
amount of the PhD student's stipend) are borrowed. Moreover, i t has been assumed that his salary during his residency is the same as the PhD student's stipend, a n estim a t e which, while undoubtedly low, will serve for our purposes here to maximize the physician's debt load a t the start of his actual practice. Similar assumptions (i.e., all Volume 72 Number 1 January 1995
41
tuition and living expenses are borrowed) have been made for the attorney. Table 2 shows the annual salary (or indebtedness) for each of the three individuals. As can he seen, in the early stages of his career, the chemist is in a substantially better financial position than is either the attorney or the physician. At aee 25. for examde, the enormous debts incurred because oTtuition and living expenses place the physician over $150,000 behind the chemist (Table 3). The attorney's financial situation, because of the shorter training period required, is not nearly a s dismal a s that of the physician. I n fact, it is nearly the same a s that of the chemist (with the chemist a mere $13,000 ahead). By age 30, the financial situation of the ~hvsicianuis a uis the chemist has improved somewhat. ko"netheless, he still lags more than $70.000 behind. Bevond this ace, however. the effect of the substantial salary"differentia1 between the chemist and the physician hrcomes apparent. By age 45, the physician has accumulated an advantage of over $1 million. By retirement, this advantage has grown to over S4.5 mtllion. The cumulative salary advantage for the attorney, while not nearly as large a s that of the physician, is still suhstantial, reaching $1 million by age 5.1 and over $2 million by retirement. It is important to note that, a s was the case in Meloan's treatment of BS and PhD salaries ( 1 1 , none of the salaries shown in Table 2 has been corrected for inflation. From 1960 to 1989, however, the Consumer Price Index rose by corresponding to an avcra factor of approximately 4 (41, age annual inflation rate of about 5%. Ifwe assume, for the sake of simolicitv. ". that this trend will continue. then to a first approximation, all of the annual salary increases shown are merelv cost of living adiustments and the constant dollar salines of the chzmist, attorney, and physician will remain a t roughly their starting level until retirement. Thus, expressed i n constant dollar terms, the lifetime financial advantage of the physician or the attorney looks considerably smaller. Nonetheless, this advantaee still amounts to approximatelv $450,000 and $1.8million i n today's dolls;; for the attorney and physician, respectively. (Expressed another way, the average chemist would need to work roughly a n extra 34 years to reach the same level of cumulative lifetime compensation as the physician.) While it comes a s no surprise that members of
.
42
Journal of Chemical Education
Table 3. Cumulative Salary Differences at Various Agesa Age
Difference (relaiive to a PhD chemist),5 Anomey
25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
Physician
-13,030 +85,820 +211,975 +372.991 +578.486 +840.753 +1,175,482 +1.602.696 +2,028.002
lifetime 'Not adjusted for inflation.
these professions are often more highly compensated than are chemists, the mamitude of'the lifetime difference.. . partitularly for bhysicia&, is truly stunning. These results indicate that while the pursuit of a PhD in chemistry may look like a financially attractive option when the only alternative is to cease one's formal education with the BS degree ( I ) ,its attractiveness is considerably diminished when it is viewed in the context of other options for further education. This suggests that attempts to "sell" graduate study to prospective students on the hasis of financial considerations will almost certainly fail, unless these students can he kept unaware of the other, far more lucrative career alternatives open to them. Is then, a PhD in chemistry worth the effort? For anyone for whom financial considerations play a dominant role in career decisions, the answer is that i t clearly is not. Only those who derive their satisfaction from rewards less tangible can answer differently. Literature Cited 1. Meloan. C. E. J. Chem Edue. 1993,70,469. 2. Morae, R. J. "AmerkaSBest Oradvate Schools.'
US. N e w & World Repon Mareh 22,
1993.51-79.
3. wadman, M. K "OttenBelittled by Their Male Cdesgues, WomenDoetarsA Pay Disparity,' Wall Stmot Journal 1889,B1. 4. Browne, H. T h e Economic T h e Bomb ; S t Martin's Press: Near York,1989.
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