🇺🇸 United States · Physicist
From $167,830 / yr by industry
Mean salary — $167,830 / yr.
$167,830 / yr
💰 Pay spread — by industry / specialty
The mean is the headline; the spread is what matters.
220,000 $
Semiconductor Physics
Industry — Intel, TSMC, Applied Materials
🟢 Tier 1 — BLS OEWS May 2024
195,000 $
Medical Physics
Radiation oncology, imaging
🟢 Tier 1 — BLS OEWS May 2024
250,000 $
Quant Finance Physics
Hedge funds, prop trading
🟢 Tier 1 — BLS OEWS May 2024
145,000 $
National Lab Research
DOE labs, government scale
🟢 Tier 1 — BLS OEWS May 2024
🗺️ The path — stage by stage
- 1. Bachelor (Physics) (4 yr) — Heavy math + lab
- 2. PhD (5~7 yr) — Specialize: theory / experiment / applied
- 3. Postdoc (2~5 yr) — Often required for academic track
- 4. Staff / Industry (— yr) — National lab / industry / academia split
🏛️ Top schools
| School | Location | Notable |
|---|---|---|
| MIT Physics | Cambridge, MA | Top US physics dept |
| Stanford Physics | Stanford, CA | Strong applied physics |
| Caltech Physics | Pasadena, CA | Theory + LIGO |
| Princeton Physics | Princeton, NJ | Particle theory |
| UC Berkeley Physics | Berkeley, CA | Public, top research |
🟠 Tier 3 — context only
💵 Specialties — same title, different number
| Specialty / Industry | Mean / yr | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Semiconductor Physics | 220,000 $ | Industry — Intel, TSMC, Applied Materials |
| Medical Physics | 195,000 $ | Radiation oncology, imaging |
| Quant Finance Physics | 250,000 $ | Hedge funds, prop trading |
| National Lab Research | 145,000 $ | DOE labs, government scale |
| Academic Physicist | 110,000 $ | Tenure track + grants |
🏢 Employer types — base vs total comp
Academic
Base + summer salary from grants
National Lab
Base + benefits, no equity
Industry / Tech
Base + equity + bonus, highest comp
📈 Income across years
PhD student
35,000 $
5~7 yr
Postdoc
70,000 $
2~5 yr
Staff Physicist
145,000 $
5~10 yr
Senior Researcher / Industry
200,000 $
10+ yr
📚 Go deeper
Four sub-pages — gift, vision, path, history.