2012 Survey Results · Any questions about the survey and results can be directed to Deborah Liverman, [email protected] ... Oxford University, Swissquant Group, UK Fellowship, RA

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CAREER INFORMATION FROM THE

DOCTORAL EXIT SURVEY

2012 Survey Results

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Doctoral Exit Survey Career Information Report

Table of Contents

Page

Welcome 3

Plans After Graduation 4

How Graduates Found Jobs 5

Top Industries for PhDs 6

Top Employers for PhDs 7

Information about Location after Graduation 7-8

Employers by Department 9-11

Information about Postdocs by Department 11-12

Average Salary and Bonus 12

Average Salary by Course 13

Average Salary by Industry 14-16

Questions about Additional Experiences (Internship, Leadership 17

and Public Service Experience)

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Welcome to the CAREER INFORMATION FROM THE 2012 DOCTORATAL EXIT SURVEY. We have taken

career related information from the Earned Doctorate Survey and published this in a brief report for the MIT

community and partners. In 2009, we began using the Earned Doctorate Survey to collect destination

information for all PhDs. Employer and salary information about PhDs, prior to 2009, can be found in the

Graduating Student Survey, http://gecd.mit.edu/resources/data . A special thanks to Rieko Ouchi who worked

on this report. Any questions about the survey and results can be directed to Deborah Liverman,

[email protected]

ABOUT THE DOCTORAL EXIT SURVEY

The Doctoral Exit Survey is administered by Institutional Research, Office of the Provost at MIT. The

full Doctoral Exit Survey report for 2012 can be viewed at

http://web.mit.edu/ir/surveys/DocExit_2012_Overall.pdf All information about the Doctoral Exit Survey,

including purpose, method, and format can be directed to Institutional Research, http://mit.edu/ir/

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2012 MIT POST GRADUATION STATISTICS*

*Based upon 76% response rate to the 2012 Doctoral Exit Survey

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT IS THE STATUS OF YOUR POSTGRADUTE PLANS?*

POSTGRADUATE PLANS %

Work 67.6%

Graduate/Professional School 2.2%

Negotiating with one or more

specific organizations

8.5%

Still Searching for Employment 10.0%

Other 7.1%

Do not plan to work or study 0.5%

Returning to or continuing in

predoctoral employment

4.1%

*Other includes taking time off, traveling, and not planning to work or study.

FOR THOSE WHO SELECTED “WORK”, IS THIS A POSTDOC POSITION?

Post-Doc Position %

Yes 46.6 %

No 46.3%

Other 7.1%

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How 2012 PhDs Found their Jobs?

Networking 42.8%

Directly applied to employer 37.4%

Through Department (faculty, academic administrator) 30.9%

Personal Contacts (friends, family) 17.3%

On-campus recruiting (CareerBridge) 16.9%

External advertised job listing (on-line, print) 16.2%

Career Fair 12.6%

Other 12.6%

Professional Conference 11.2%

Previously employed by employer (internship, company-sponsored education) 8.2%

Internship led to job offer 5.8%

MIT Sponsored Job Listings, Employer Database, INET 4.3%

Contacts acquired through MIT Career Services 1.1%

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2012 Top Industries for PhDs

Education 33.0%

Other 13.5%

Health/Medicine 10.0%

Computer Software 9.0%

Chemicals & Materials 7.5%

Government 6.5%

Aerospace & Defense 5.0%

Consulting 3.5%

Energy and Utilities 2.5%

Financial Services 2.5%

Computer Hardware 1.5%

Pharmaceuticals 1.5%

Industrial and Consumer Manufacturing 1.0%

Military 1.0%

Architecture & Urban Planning 0.5%

Automotive & Transportation 0.5%

Business Services 0.5%

Law 0.5%

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WHICH EMPLOYERS HIRED THE MOST MIT GRADUATES?

PhD Level Employers # Hires

MIT 34

Stanford University 10

Harvard University 8

Google 6

Harvard Medical 6

Princeton University 5

California Institute of Technology 4

Mass General Hospital 4

Saint Gobain 4

University of California at Berkeley 4

Boston Consulting Group 3

Dow Chemical 3

McKinsey 3

University of Illinois at Urbana-

Champaign 3

University of Pennsylvania 3

ETH Zurich 2

Intel 2

Microsoft 2

MIT Lincoln Lab 2

New York University 2

Northwestern 2

UC Berkeley 2

University of Toronto 2

Yale 2

FOR THOSE WHO INTEND TO LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES, IN WHAT STATE DO YOU INTEND TO LIVE AFTER

GRADUATION? N=351

Massachusetts 51.3%

California 16.8%

New York 7.1%

Illinois 4.0%

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New Jersey 2.3%

Texas 2.0%

District of Columbia 1.7%

Ohio 1.4%

Pennsylvania 1.4%

Washington 1.1%

FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT PLAN TO LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES, WHAT COUNTRY DO YOU INTEND TO LIVE

AFTER GRADUATION? N=56

South Korea 13.2%

Singapore 8.9%

Canada 5.4%

United Kingdom 5.4%

Australia 3.6%

Brazil 3.6%

Chile 3.6%

India 3.6%

Japan 3.6%

Argentina 1.8%

China 1.8%

Hong Kong SAR 1.8%

Israel 1.8%

Kenya 1.8%

Mexico 1.8%

Sri Lanka 1.8%

Thailand 1.8%

Rwanda 1.8%

Union Islands 1.8%

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2012 PHD Employers by Department

* Results are based on student report and not representative of all employers who hire MIT students by department.

Course (Course Number) Employers

Civil & Environmental Engineering (1) City University of Hong Kong, Exponent, Geosyntec Consultants, MIT,

Oxford University, Swissquant Group, UK Fellowship, RA/ GMAO at NASA

Goddard

Mechanical Engineering (2) Argonne National Lab, BCG, CNRS, ConocoPhillips, Corning Inc., EA

Buildings, MGH, MIT, Oracle, Schlumberger, Stanford University, Yale

University

Materials Science and Engineering (3) A*STAR, Biogen Idec, Harvard University, MIT, Saint-Gobain, Stanford

University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Illinois at

Urbana-Champaign

Architecture (4) ETH Zurich, University of Toronto

Chemistry (5) Athenahealth, California Institute of Technology, Dow Chemical, ETH-

Zurich , Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Harvard University,

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, MIT, Nagoya University, Saint

Gobain, Samsung-Total, University of California at Berkeley, Yale

University

Electrical Engineering and Computer

Science (6)

A123, Bank of America, Bluefin Robotics, Booz Allen Hamilton, Boston

Dynamics Inc., Boston University, Children's Hospital, Deutsche Bank,

DNAnexus, Google, Harvard University Medical School, Hewlett-Packard

Laboratories, Hudson River Trading, IBM, IdestaQE LLC, Indian Institute of

Technology Bombay, Institute for Advanced Study, Intel, King Mongkut's

University of Technology Thonburi, Lawrence Berkeley National

Laboratory, M/A COM Technology Solutions, McKinsey & Co, MIT ,

NITRE, Nvidia, NYU Stern, Oracle, Princeton University, Quanta Research

Cambridge, Saint Gobain, Sony Computer Science Laboratory, Stanford

University, The MITRE Corporation, Tumblr, University of Illinois Urbana-

Champaign, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, WHOI

Biology (7) University of California, Albert Eistein College of Medicine, California

Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Harvard University (Medical

School), MediTech Media, Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky Popeo PC,

MIT, UT Southwestern, Stanford University, UCSF, UW Madison

Physics (8) Agilent, AMA Capital Mgmt LLC, California Institute of Technology, edX,

Globalfoundries, Harvard Medical School / Brigham and Women's

Hospital, Harvard University , Imperial College London, J.P. Morgan,

Caltech (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Los Alamos National Lab, MIT, Miller

Institute, Berkeley, NASA, Purdue University, Simons Center for Geometry

and Physics, University of Toronto

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Course (Course Number) Employers

Brain and Cognitive Sciences (9) Champalimaud Center for the Unknown, Harvard University Medical

School, Harvard University, UCSF, University of Trento

Chemical Engineering (10) Aerodyne Research, Inc., Boston Consulting Group , ClearView Healthcare

Partners, Deloitte Consulting, Dow Chemical Company, Faraday

Technology, Inc., MGH/HMS, MIT, Pepsico, Saint-Gobain, Stanford

University, The Dow Chemical Company, Ubiquitous Energy, Inc.,

University of Minnesota, US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research

and Development

Urban Studies and Planning (11) Harvard Business School, Pierce County Government, World Bank

Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary

Sciences (12)

Caltech, Case Western Reserve University, Government of Rwanda, MIT

(3), NOAA Sea Grant Fellowship, Northwestern University, UCSD, United

States Geological Survey, Dept. of Interior

Economics (14) Banco Central de la República Argentina, Harvard University, ITAM,

Microsoft Research, National Economic Council, Northwestern University,

Sloan School of Management, Stockholm School of Economics,

Universita' Bocconi (Italy)

Management (15)

NYU Stern School of Business, Temple University, University of Illinois,

Urbana-Champaign

Aeronautics and Astronautics (16) BAE, Boeing, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Embraer, Lockheed Martin,

Microsoft, MIT, U.S. Air Force

Political Science (17) Boston College, Harvard University Center for the Environment, MIT,

Princeton University

Mathematics (18) Clay Mathematics Institute, IMPA, Miller Institute, Northeastern

University, Princeton University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley,

Universite du Quebec a Montreal, University of Arizona, University of

Chicago, University of Minnesota

Biological Engineering (20) Cambrian Innovation, McKinsey, Merck, MIT, National Cancer Institute,

Stanford University

Nuclear Engineering (22) General Atomics, MIT, National Institute of Standards of Technology, Oak

Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), University of

Wisconsin

Linguistics and Philosophy (24) University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin

Computational and Systems Biology

[CSB]

New York University

Engineering Systems Division [ESD]

(including Operational Research)

Applied Physics Laboratory, MIT, Universidad de Chile, University of

Pennsylvania

Health Sciences and Technology [HST] Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Pathology Residency Training

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Course (Course Number) Employers

Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Scripps Research Institute

Media Arts and Sciences [MAS] Google, MIT, Wyss Institute /Harvard University

Science, Technology, and Society [STS] University of Pennsylvania

IS THIS A POST DOC POSTION? (%)

Numbers of respondents are in columns titled #

Course (Course Number) Yes No N#*

Civil & Environmental Engineering (1) 32.4% 67.6% 68

Mechanical Engineering (2) 32.0% 68.0% 231

Materials Science and Engineering (3) 40.8% 59.2% 130

Architecture (4) 23.3% 76.7% 30

Chemistry (5) 55.1% 44.9% 147

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

(6) 33.5% 66.5% 436

Biology (7) 75.3% 24.7% 150

Physics (8) 72.9% 27.1% 133

Brain and Cognitive Sciences (9) 73.9% 26.1% 46

Chemical Engineering (10) 30.7% 69.3% 137

Urban Studies and Planning (11) 15.0% 85.0% 40

Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

(12) 84.3% 15.7% 89

Economics (14) 15.4% 84.6% 65

Management (15) 0% 100% 39

Aeronautics and Astronautics (16) 21.3% 78.7% 75

Political Science (17) 36.4% 63.6% 33

Mathematics (18) 70.1% 29.9% 97

Biological Engineering (20) 38.8% 61.2% 85

Nuclear Engineering (22) 43.5% 56.5% 62

Linguistics and Philosophy (24) 32.4% 67.6% 34

Computational and Systems Biology [CSB] - - -

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Engineering Systems Design (ESD)

(including Operations Research) 15.1% 84.9% 73

Health Sciences and Technology (HST) 49.4% 50.6% 87

Media Arts & Science (MAS) 21.1% 78.9% 38

Science, Technology, and Society [STS] - - -

WHAT WAS THE AVERAGE SALARY OF WORKING MIT GRADUATES?

Doctor of Philosophy going into postdoctoral positions $53,513/$24,000-$130,000

Doctor of Philosophy going on to other positions $104,833/$25,000-$200,000

WHAT WAS THE AVERAGE BONUS (for those receiving bonuses) OF WORKING MIT GRADUATES?

$16,475/ $4,000-$55,000

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF WORKING GRADUATES NEGOTIATED THEIR SALARY AND BONUS?

Degree Level Negotiated Salary Negotiated Bonus

Doctorate 13.4% 9.6%

WHAT WAS THE AVERAGE NEGOTIATED INCREASE IN SALARY

AND BONUS OF WORKING GRADUATES?

Degree Level Increase in Salary Increase in Bonus

Doctorate $8,407 $18,765

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2012 Average Salary by Course (US Dollars)

(Number of respondents are in columns titled # after each salary amount. Blank represents 1 or no responses per cell.)

Course (Course Number) Salary N# Bonus N#

Civil & Environmental Engineering (1) $66,348 9 - -

Mechanical Engineering (2) $61,061 18 $11,750 4

Materials Science and Engineering (3) $62,250 8 - -

Architecture (4) $74,100 2 - -

Chemistry (5) $68,043 14 $15,000 4

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (6) $98,803 44 $18,000 16

Biology (7) $54,000 15 - -

Physics (8) $58,906 16 - -

Brain and Cognitive Sciences (9) $43,100 5 - -

Chemical Engineering (10) $84,531 16 $14,286 7

Urban Studies and Planning (11) $82,000 3 - -

EAPS (12) $52,146 10 - -

Economics (14) $112,000 9 $15,000 2

Management (15) $165,000 3 - -

Aeronautics and Astronautics (16) $82,513 12 $21,667 3

Political Science (17) $53,667 3 - -

Mathematics (18) $63,308 12 - -

Biological Engineering (20) $71,470 6 $15,000 2

Nuclear Engineering (22) $58,167 6 - -

Linguistics and Philosophy (24) $62,500 2 - -

Computational and Systems Biology [CSB] - - - -

Engineering Systems Design (ESD) (inc. Operations Research) $63,333 3 - -

Health Sciences and Technology (HST) $58,333 3 - -

Media Arts & Science (Media Lab) (MAS) $100,000 2 - -

Science, Technology, and Society [STS] - - - -

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2012 Industry & Employer Data

Industry

# of

Students Employers

Average

Salary

Salary Range

Aerospace &

Defense

9 Applied Physics Laboratory, BAE, Boeing, Charles

Stark Draper Laboratory, Embraer, Lockheed

Martin, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, U.S. Air Force

$102,018 $70,000 –

$125,000

Architecture &

Urban Planning

1 - - -

Automotive &

Transportation

1 - - -

Business

Services

(Advertising,

Real Estate,

Retail)

1

- - -

Chemicals &

Materials

10 A*STAR, California Institute of Technology, Dow

Chemical Company, ETH-Zurich, MGH/HMS, Saint

Gobain, Samsung-Total, Yale University

$80,360 $40,000 –

$101,000

Computer

Hardware

3 Globalfoundries, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories,

IBM, Intel, Self employed $106,667

$100,000 –

$115,000

Computer

Software

18 Athenahealth, DNAnexus, ETH Zurich, Google,

Intel Corporation, Lawrence Berkeley National

Laboratory, Microsoft, Microsoft Research, MIT,

Oracle, Quanta Research Cambridge, Tumblr

$120,417 $78,000 –

$155,000

Consulting 8 BCG, ClearView Healthcare Partners, Deloitte

Consulting, Exponent, Geosyntec Consultants,

McKinsey, MediTech Media

$106,250 $65,000 –

$135,000

Education

91 Boston College, California Institute of Technology

(4), Case Western Reserve University,

Champalimaud Center for the Unknown, Clay

Mathematics Institute, City University of Hong

Kong, Columbia University, University of

Minnesota (Department of Mathematics), edX,

Harvard University, IMPA, Imperial College

London, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,

$65,679 $24,000 –

$200,000

15

Institute for Advanced Study, ITAM, King

Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi,

Miller Institute, Berkeley, MIT, Nagoya University,

New York University, Northeastern University,

Northwestern University, NYU Stern, Oak Ridge

Institute for Science and Education, Oxford

University, Princeton University, Simons Center for

Geometry and Physics, Stanford University,

Stockholm School of Economics, Temple

University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong,

NSF postdoc funding, Universidad de Chile,

Universita' Bocconi (Italy), Universite du Quebec a

Montreal, University of Arizona, University of

California at Berkeley, University of California at

San Diego, University of Illinois at Urbana-

Champaign, University of Michigan, University of

Minnesota, University of Pennsylvania, University

of Southern California, University of Texas at

Austin, University of Toronto, University of

Wisconsin, USRA/ GMAO at NASA Goddard, Wyss

Institute /Harvard University, Yale University,

WHOI

Energy and

Utilities

4 A123, Argonne National Lab, ConocoPhillips,

General Atomics, Ubiquitous Energy, Inc. $90,000

$63,000 –

$120,000

Financial

Services

(Commercial

Banking,

Insurance)

5

AMA Capital Mgmt LLC, Bank of America,

Dynamic Ideas, Goldman Sachs, Swissquant

group, Deutsche Bank

$104,000 $80,000 –

$125,000

Government 15 Banco Central de la República Argentina, Booz

Allen Hamilton, Government of Rwanda, Lawrence

Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos

National Lab, NASA, National Economic Council,

National Institute of Standards of Technology,

NOAA Sea Grant Fellowship, Pierce County

Government, State Department or Department of

Energy, United States Geological Survey, Dept. of

Interior, World Bank

$74,297 $38,000 –

$130,000

16

Health/Medicine

20 University of California, Albert Eistein College of

Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Pathology Residency Training Program, Children's

Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts

General Hospital, National Cancer Institute,

Scripps Research Institute, Sony Computer

Science Laboratory, Stanford University, UCSF, UT

Southwestern Medical Center, UW Madison

$48,980 $36,000 –

$100,000

Industrial and

Consumer

Manufacturing

(Construction,

Product

Manufacturing,

Consumer

Products)

4

Cambrian Innovation, Pepsico, Saint-Gobain $85,125 $65,000 –

$96,000

Law 1 - - -

Military 2 The MITRE Corporation, US Army Corps of

Engineers, Engineer Research and Development -

Construction Engineering Research Lab

$77,250 $60,000 –

$94,500

Pharmaceuticals

(Biotech,

Medical Device)

3

Biogen Idec, Merck $101,667 $81,000 –

$115,000

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WHAT PERCENTAGE OF DOCTORATE STUDENTS COMPLETED

AN INTERNSHIP WHILE IN THEIR CURRENT PROGRAM?

YES NO DON’T KNOW

23.4% 76.6% 0%

WHAT WAS THE PERCENTAGE OF GRADUATES WITH LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE?

YES NO DON’T KNOW

44.5% 51.8% 3.6%

WHAT WAS THE PERCENTAGE OF GRADUATES WITH SERVICE EXPERIENCE?

YES NO DON’T KNOW

33.3% 62.3% 4.4%