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CAREER INFORMATION FROM THE

DOCTORAL EXIT SURVEY

2011 Survey Results

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Doctoral Exit Survey Career Information Report

Table of Contents

Page

Welcome 3

Plans After Graduation 4

Top Employers for PhDs 5

Top Industries for PhDs 5-6

Employers by Department 7-8

Information about Postdocs 9

Information about Location after Graduation 10

How Graduates Found Jobs 11

Job Search Process 12

Average Salary and Bonus 13

Average Salary by Course 14

Average Salary by Industry 15-17

Questions about Additional Experiences (Internship, Leadership 17

and Public Service Experience)

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Welcome to the CAREER INFORMATION FROM THE 2011 DOCTORAL EXIT SURVEY. We have

taken career related information from the Doctoral Exit Survey and published this in a brief report for the

MIT community and partners. In 2009, we began using the Doctoral Exit 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,

liverman@mit.edu

ABOUT THE EARNED DOCTORATE SURVEY

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

MIT. The full Doctoral Exit Survey report for 2011 can be viewed at

http://web.mit.edu/ir/surveys/DocExit_2011_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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2011 MIT POST GRADUATION STATISTICS*

*Based upon 473 (77.7 %) responses to the 2011 Doctoral Exit Survey

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF DOCTORATE GRADUATES GO ON

TO WORK, GRADUATE/PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL, OR OTHER?*

Work Graduate/Professional

School

Still Searching

for Employment Other

79.6% 1.4% 13.3% 5.3%

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

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WHICH EMPLOYERS HIRED THE MOST MIT GRADUATES?

PhD Level Employers # Hires

MIT 44

Harvard University 16

Stanford University 9

Mass General Hospital 7

Princeton University 6

UC Berkeley 6

Boston Consulting Group 4

Google 4

Harvard Medical 4

Northwestern 4

Duke University 3

Dow Chemical 3

McKinsey 3

MIT Lincoln Lab 3

New York University 3

US Navy 3

Argonne 3

WHAT WERE THE TOP INDUSTRIES FOR MIT PhD GRADUATES?

INDUSTRY %

Educational Services 34.7%

Scientific and Technical Services 20.2%

Other 17.8%

Manufacturing, Durable 7.0%

Software and Data Services 5.8%

Business and Professional Services 5.8%

Finance and Insurance 3.3%

Health Care Services 3.3%

Communications 1.0%

Manufacturing, Non-Durable 1.0%

Public Administration 1.0%

Social Services 1.0%

Transportation 1.0%

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7

2011 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) Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Lufthansa German

Airlines, Shell, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Boston

Consulting Group, UCLA, University of Hong Kong, W.P. Carey

Mechanical Engineering (2) Applied Physical Sciences Corp., Beckman Institute at UIUC, Brown

University, California Institute of Technology, Ecole Polytechnique, EXA,

Exponent, Mahatma Education Society, McKinsey & Company, MIT, Naval

Undersea Warfare Center, Nucleus Scientific, Sandia National Labs,

Schlumberger-Doll Research, Smith and Nephew, UC Berkeley, Undertone

Networks, University of Chicago, zeiss

Materials Science and Engineering (3) ABC Inc., DSO National Laboratories Singapore, French Government,

General Electric, Intel Corporation, Intellectual Ventures Laboratory,

Investment Technology Group, Lucius Pitkin Inc., MIT, Rowland Institute at

Harvard, University of Texas at Austin

Architecture (4) Univeristy of Virginia

Chemistry (5) Boston University, California Institute of Technology, Clarion Healthcare,

Concord Academy, Chulalongkorn University, DuPont, Goodwin Procter

LLP, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Jay Keasling / UC

Berkeley, McKinsey and Company, Miller Institute for Basic Research at

University of California Berkeley, MIT, National Institutes of Health,

Stanford University, The Scripps Research Institute, UC Berkeley, University

of California Santa Barbara, University of Cambridge, University of

Washington, University of Wisconsin Madison

Electrical Engineering and Computer

Science [EECS] (6)

Boston Dynamics, Carnegie Mellon University, Elfar Adalsteinsson /

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Enphase Energy, Exponent,

FastCAP Sytems Inc, G2 Systems LLC, GA Tech, Google, Harvard Medical

School, Hewlett Packard, IBM, IBM Research, Institute for Advanced Study,

Intel, International Rectifier, Kasetsart University, Lincoln Lab, Marvell

Semiconductor, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Maxim

Integrated Products, Microsoft, MIT, MIT CSAIL, MIT Lincoln Laboratory,

Oracle, Princeton University, Qualcomm Incorporated, Quanta Research

Cambridge Inc., Royal Society, Sandia National Labs, The Chinese

University of Hong Kong, The Mathworks, University of Michigan, Two

Sigma Investments, University of Southampton, University of Wisconsin-

Madison, Yonsei University

Biology (7) Clark & Elbing LLP, Gryphon Scientific, Harvard Medical School, MIT,

Rockefeller University, Stanford University, Texas A&M University, Tufts

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Course (Course Number) Employers

University, UCSD, UCSF, University of California-Davis, University of Texas

Southwestern Medical Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,

Yale University

Physics (8) Aarhus University, Harvard University, Lawrence Berkeley National

Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, NASA/ORAU, Oak Ridge

Institute for Science and Education, Sharif University of Technology,

University of California at Davis, University of California at Berkeley,

University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Groningen,

University of Maryland/Joint Quantum Inst.

Brain and Cognitive Sciences (9) Brown University, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Howard

Hughes Medical Institute, MIT

Chemical Engineering (10) Applied Materials, Bain & Co., Dominion Engineering, Inc., Dow Chemical

Company, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Harvard University, IBM, McKinsey

and Company, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Sandia National Labs, The Boston

Consulting Group, University of Pennsylvania

Urban Studies and Planning (11) Harvard University, MIT, New York University, University of San Diego

Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary

Sciences [EAPS] (12)

ETH, ExxonMobil, Harvard University, National Center for Atmospheric

Research, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, University of

California at Santa Barbara, WHOI

Economics (14) Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Harvard University, Los Andes

University, Mathematica Policy Research, Occidental College, Universidad

de los Andes, University of British Columbia, University of Pennsylvania

Management (15)

MIT Sloan School of Management, University of Texas MD Anderson

Cancer Center, Wharton School

Aeronautics and Astronautics (16) Busek Co., Inc., California Institute of Technology, DSO National

Laboratories, McKinsey, MIT, Pioneer Astronautics, Vecna

Political Science (17) RAND, George Washington University, University of Chicago, University of

Pennsylvania

Mathematics (18) Georgia Institute of Technology, Goldman Sachs Japan Holdings, Ltd.,

Harvard University, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Louisiana State

University, Mathematical Science Research Institute, McGill University,

McMaster University, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Northwestern University,

Pfizer, Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, Stanford University,

University of Texas at Austin, University of Geneva, University of

Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania Mathematics Department,

University of Texas at Austin, University of Toronto, Virtu Financial LLC

Biological Engineering (20) Clarion Healthcare, MIT, NovelMed Therapeutics, Teach for America,

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Course (Course Number) Employers

University of Virginia

Nuclear Engineering (22) Argonne National Laboratory, Bechtel Marine Propulsion, Georgia Inst. of

Tech., MIT, MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory, MIT Plasma Science and

Fusion Center, Oak Ridge National Lab, TerraPower LLC

Linguistics and Philosophy (24) Ecole Normale Superieure, Harvard University, Institut Jean Nicod

Computational and Systems Biology

[CSB]

Harvard University, Institut Pasteur, Salk Institute

Engineering Systems Division [ESD]

(including Operational Research)

DHL, Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard Business School, MIT,

National University of Singapore, PRTM Management Consultants, U.S. Air

Force, US Army

Health Sciences and Technology [HST] Goldman Sachs, Harvard University, Opera Solutions LLC, UCSF

Media Arts and Sciences (Media Lab)

[MAS]

Accenture, g8four, MIT, Northeastern University / Harvard University, Olin

College of Engineering, Sociometric Solutions

Science, Technology, and Society [STS] Brown University, University of British Columbia

DO YOU INTEND TO TAKE A POSTDOC POSITION?

Yes 51.8%

No 48.2%

DO YOU INTEND TO TAKE A POST DOC POSTION? (%)

Number of respondents are in columns titled #

Course (Course Number) Yes No N#*

Civil & Environmental Engineering (1) 8.3% 91.7% 12

Mechanical Engineering (2) 36.4% 63.6% 44

Materials Science and Engineering (3) 38.9% 61.6% 18

Architecture (4) 20.0% 80.0% 5

Chemistry (5) 72.4% 27.6% 29

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

[EECS] (6) 40.9% 59.1% 93

Biology (7) 77.8% 22.2% 27

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Physics (8) 94.7% 5.3% 19

Brain and Cognitive Sciences (9) 75.0% 25.0% 8

Chemical Engineering (10) 27.8% 72.2% 18

Urban Studies and Planning (11) 33.3% 66.7% 6

Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

[EAPS] (12) 90.0% 10.0% 10

Economics (14) 20.0% 80.0% 10

Management (15) 0% 100% 5

Aeronautics and Astronautics (16) 25.0% 75.0% 12

Political Science (17) 60.0% 40.0% 5

Mathematics (18) 65.5% 34.5% 29

Biological Engineering (20) 44.4% 55.6% 9

Nuclear Engineering (22) 35.7% 64.3% 14

Linguistics and Philosophy (24) 60.0% 40.0% 5

Computational and Systems Biology [CSB] 66.7% 33.3% 6

Engineering Systems Design (ESD)

(including Operations Research) 17.6% 82.4% 17

Health Sciences and Technology (HST) 23.1% 76.9% 13

Media Arts & Science (MAS) 38.5% 61.5% 13

Science, Technology, and Society [STS] 50.0% 50.0% 4

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

GRADUATION? N=372

Massachusetts 43.3%

California 19.1%

New York 5.6%

New Jersey 2.7%

Texas 4%

Pennsylvania 2.7

Washington 2.7

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

AFTER GRADUATION? N=73

Canada 12.3%

France 8.2%

Singapore 8.2%

United Kingdom 6.9%

South Korea 6.8%

Thailand 6.8%

Germany 4.1%

Hong Kong SAR 4.1%

India 4.1%

Switzerland 4.1%

China 2.7%

Columbia 2.7%

Chile 2.7%

Japan 2.7%

Spain 2.7%

Turkey 2.7%

HOW DID MIT PhD GRADUATES FIND THEIR JOBS?

(Students could check all that applied so the number will be more than 100%)

Directly applied to employer 38.8%

Networking 34.0%

Through Department (faculty, academic administrator) 28.6%

Advertised job listing (on-line, print) 18.4%

Personal Contacts (friends, family) 17.3%

On-campus recruiting (CareerBridge, Interviewtrak) 15.0%

Professional Conference 12.6%

Career Fair 9.2%

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

Other 6.5%

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Internship led to job offer 4.4%

Contacts acquired through MIT Career Services 2.4%

WHAT IS THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOB APPLICATIONS/INTERVIEWS/JOB OFFERS?

13

Degree Level Job Applications Job Interviews Job Offers

Doctorate 8 3 2

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF WORKING GRADUATES NEGOTIATED THEIR SALARY AND BONUS?

Degree Level Negotiated Salary Negotiated Bonus

Doctorate 18.3% 12.4%

WHAT WAS THE AVERAGE SALARY AND SALARY RANGE OF WORKING MIT GRADUATES?

Doctor of Philosophy going into postdoctoral positions $50,371/ ($30,000-$89,000)

Doctor of Philosophy going on to other positions $100,416/ ($11,500-$200,000)

WHAT WAS THE AVERAGE BONUS (for those receiving bonuses) AND

RANGE OF BONUSES OF WORKING MIT GRADUATES?

Doctor of Philosophy going into postdoctoral positions $5,717/$500-$15,000

Doctor of Philosophy going on to other positions $22,913/ $1,000-$500,000

WHAT WAS THE AVERAGE NEGOTIATED INCREASE IN SALARY

AND BONUS OF WORKING GRADUATES?

Degree Level Increase in Salary Increase in Bonus

Doctorate $4,756 $10,943

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2011 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) 84,333 3 12,166 3

Mechanical Engineering (2) 65,257 15 23,333 6

Materials Science and Engineering (3) 84,250 6 11,600 5

Architecture (4) - - - -

Chemistry (5) 58,733 15 11,750 4

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

[EECS] (6) 90,497 30 47,618 17

Biology (7) 56,417 6 - -

Physics (8) 53,616 6 3,450 2

Brain and Cognitive Sciences (9) 39,500 2 - -

Chemical Engineering (10) 90,083 6 15,000 8

Urban Studies and Planning (11) 44,000 3 7,500 2

EAPS (12) 56,500 4 2,000 1

Economics (14) 73,500 3 6,500 6

Management (15) 83,500 2 3,800 1

Aeronautics and Astronautics (16) 71,600 5 27,000 1

Political Science (17) 61,750 4 10,000 1

Mathematics (18) 60,501 15 6,000 4

Biological Engineering (20) 63,750 2 10,000 1

Nuclear Engineering (22) 76,800 6 7,750 4

Linguistics and Philosophy (24) - - - -

Computational and Systems Biology [CSB] 57,500 2 - -

Engineering Systems Design (ESD)

(including Operations Research) 110,833 6 15,000 4

Health Sciences and Technology (HST) 85,000 3 8,750 2

Media Arts & Science (Media Lab) (MAS) 59,400 5 20,000 1

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

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2011 Industry & Employer Data

Industry

# of

Students Employers

Average Salary Salary Range

Computer Software

6 G2 Systems LLC , Google, Microsoft, Oracle

Qualcomm Incorporated 111,167 75,000 - 127,000

Consulting 10 Accenture, Bain & Co., Clarion Healthcare,

Lucius Pitkin Inc. , McKinsey & Company,

Sociometric Solutions, Boston Consulting

Group, Undertone Networks, Opera Solutions,

LLC, PRTM Management Consultants

108,500 85,000 - 125,000

Education

86 Aarhus University, Bangladesh University of

Engineering and Technology, Beckman

Institute at UIUC, Boston University, Brown

University, California Institute of Technology,

Carnegie Mellon University, Ecole Normale

Superieure, Ecole Polytechnique, Elfar

Adalsteinsson / Massachusetts Institute of

Technology, George Washington University,

Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard

Business School, Harvard University, Kasetsart

University, Korea Institute for Advanced

Study, Los Andes University, Louisiana State

University, Mahatma Education Society,

McGill University, McMaster University, MIT,

New York University, Northeastern University

/ Harvard University, Northwestern University,

Occidental College, Olin College of

Engineering, Princeton University, Rockefeller

University, Salk Institute, Scripps Research

Institute, Sharif University of Technology,

Simons Center for Geometry and Physics,

Stanford University, Teach for America, Texas

A&M University, The Chinese University of

Hong Kong, Tufts University, Universidad de

Los Andes, University Corporation for

Atmospheric Research, University of British

Colombia, University of California at Berkeley,

University of California at Davis, University of

56,693 11,500 - 190,000

16

California at Los Angeles, University of

California at San Diego, University of

California at San Francisco, University of

California at Santa Barbara, University of

Cambridge, University of Chicago, University

of Geneva, University of Groningen,

University of Hong Kong, University of

Maryland/Joint Quantum Inst., University of

Michigan, University of Pennsylvania,

University of San Diego, University of

Southampton, University of Texas at Austin,

University of Toronto, University of Virginia,

University of Washington, University of

Wisconsin Madison, Woods Hole

Oceanographic Institution, Yale University,

Yonsei University

Energy and Utilities

4 Enphase Energy, FastCAP Sytems Inc, Shell,

Dominion Engineering, Inc. 101,500 85,000 – 116,000

Financial Services

(Commercial

Banking, Insurance)

3 Goldman Sachs, Investment Technology

Group, Two Sigma Investments, Virtu

Financial LLC, W.P. Carey

123,333 100,000 – 150,000

Health/Medicine

3 Harvard Medical School, University of Texas

MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of

Texas Southwestern Medical Center

59,333 40,000 - 92,000

Manufacturing,

Durable

(machinery,

electronic

hardware, medical

instruments)

8

Busek Co., Inc., General Electric, EXA, Hewlett

Packard, Intel, International Rectifier, Marvell

Semiconductor, Maxim Integrated Products,

Quanta Research Cambridge Inc., Zeiss

106,500 90,000 – 125,000

Manufacturing,

Non-Durable (food,

chemicals, plastics,

textiles) (including

Chemicals and

Materials)

1

Applied Materials, Boston Dynamics, Dow

Chemical Company, DuPont, 93,000 93,000

17

Pharmaceuticals

(Biotech, Medical

Device)

1

Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Smith and

Nephew, NovelMed Therapeutics 88,500 88,500

Public

Administration/

Government

2 NASA/ORAU, Naval Undersea Warfare Center,

French Government , Swiss Federal

Department of Foreign Affairs, U.S. Air Force,

US Army

71,000 52,000 – 90,000

Scientific &

Technical Services

17 ABC Inc., Applied Physical Sciences Corp.,

Argonne National Laboratory, Bechtel Marine

Propulsion, DSO National Laboratories

Singapore, Exponent, Gryphon Scientific,

Howard Hughes Medical Institute, IBM, IBM

Research, Institute of Advanced Study,

Institut Jean Nicod , Institut Pasteur,

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,

Lawrence Livermore National Lab,

Mathematical Science Research Institute,

Mathworks, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, National

Center for Atmospheric Research, National

Institutes of Health, Nucleus Scientific, Oak

Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge Institute for

Science and Education, Pioneer Astronautics,

Schlumberger-Doll Research, Sandia National

Labs, TerraPower LLC, Vecna

80,129 30,000 - 112,000

Non-profit

organizations

2 Mathematica Policy Research, RAND, Royal

Society, 44,450 38,900 – 50,000

Transportation 1 Lufthansa German Airlines - -

Other 2 Clark & Elbing LLP, DHL, Goodwin Procter

LLP 97,500 95,000 – 100,000

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF DOCTORATE STUDENTS COMPLETED AN INTERNSHIP IN THEIR CURRENT PROGRAM?

YES NO DON’T KNOW

30.3% 69.7% 0%

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WHAT WAS THE PERCENTAGE OF DOCTORATE GRADUATES HAD LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE?

YES NO DON’T KNOW

50.6% 46.5% 2.9%

WHAT WAS PERCENTAGE OF DOCTORATE GRADUATES HAD SERVICE EXPERIENCE?

YES NO DON’T KNOW

44.5% 53.5% 2.0%