Programs How much can someone with a phd in physics make?

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A PhD in physics can lead to a wide range of salaries depending on the chosen career path, with starting salaries for quantitative analysts on Wall Street around $100,000 plus bonuses. With experience, these professionals can advance to VP positions, earning approximately $150,000 in salary and $100,000 in bonuses. Some physics PhDs may reach managing director levels, where total compensation can exceed $500,000. Academic and government research positions also offer varying salaries, but the financial rewards are generally lower than those in finance. Ultimately, the income potential for a physics PhD is highly dependent on the specific job and industry.
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I know that you shouldn't get a phd for the money, and you should get one because you want one. I am just wondering how much someone with a phd in physics can make depending on what job they choose.
 
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Same range as somebody with a high school diploma can make. Anywhere from $0 to hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Like you said, it depends on what job they choose. What job did you have in mind specifically?
 
anything involving research in physics. Whether it be being a professor at a research university, working for the government, most anything involving research really.
 
http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/highlite/salary/salary06.htm (from the American Institute of Physics)
 
Brian May is worth about $80 million, but his PhD is in Astrophysics. I don't know if you're considering the various sub-fields or not.
 
Troponin said:
Brian May is worth about $80 million, but his PhD is in Astrophysics. I don't know if you're considering the various sub-fields or not.

Ah, but he took that rare and difficult rock-star-to-scientist route :wink:.
 
okay, thanks for the answers everyone, I think I got what I was looking for from jtbell's link.
 
agent_509 said:
I know that you shouldn't get a phd for the money, and you should get one because you want one. I am just wondering how much someone with a phd in physics can make depending on what job they choose.

Starting salary for Ph.D. level quants on Wall Street is roughly $100K + $50K bonus. With three years of experience, you make VP level, and that gets you about $150K salary + $100K bonus. Most people stay at VP level for the rest of their careers, but I know physics Ph.D.'s that have gotten into managing director level, and total comp there can be $500K+.
 

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