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Doctoral fellow salary
Average doctoral fellow salary
$53,366
The Doctoral Fellow position offers an average annual salary of $53,366. This role typically requires advanced research skills and is common in academic and research institutions across the United States. Salaries can vary significantly depending on factors such as location, years of experience, and field of study. For instance, doctoral fellows in states like California and New York often earn higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals.
Those considering a career as a doctoral fellow should look at the highest-paying cities, such as San Francisco and Boston, which offer competitive compensation and numerous job opportunities. Additionally, engaging in specialized fields such as STEM or healthcare can increase earning potential. Networking within academic circles and attending relevant conferences can provide valuable insights into job openings and industry trends. As you navigate this career path, consider the benefits of internships or research assistant positions to gain relevant experience, which can lead to higher salary prospects in the future.
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Where can a Doctoral Fellow earn more?
Average doctoral fellow salary by state
The highest-paying states for doctoral fellows are Hawaii, Maine, and California. The lowest average doctoral fellow salary states are Utah, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for doctoral fellows
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maine | $67,807 | $32.60 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $63,142 | $30.36 |
| 3 | California | $67,278 | $32.35 |
| 4 | Tennessee | $63,666 | $30.61 |
| 5 | Minnesota | $57,846 | $27.81 |
| 6 | Connecticut | $60,056 | $28.87 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $55,828 | $26.84 |
| 8 | Rhode Island | $58,557 | $28.15 |
| 9 | Delaware | $54,623 | $26.26 |
| 10 | Arizona | $57,586 | $27.69 |
| 11 | Hawaii | $72,630 | $34.92 |
| 12 | Vermont | $53,466 | $25.70 |
| 13 | Oregon | $52,349 | $25.17 |
| 14 | Indiana | $55,165 | $26.52 |
| 15 | Nevada | $57,066 | $27.44 |
| 16 | New York | $52,069 | $25.03 |
| 17 | Wyoming | $52,608 | $25.29 |
| 18 | Pennsylvania | $51,769 | $24.89 |
| 19 | Maryland | $52,727 | $25.35 |
| 20 | New Hampshire | $54,119 | $26.02 |
| 21 | Colorado | $51,111 | $24.57 |
| 22 | Illinois | $52,103 | $25.05 |
| 23 | Alaska | $52,270 | $25.13 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | $51,697 | $24.85 |
| 25 | Oklahoma | $52,750 | $25.36 |
| 26 | Washington | $50,051 | $24.06 |
| 27 | District of Columbia | $48,723 | $23.42 |
| 28 | North Carolina | $47,451 | $22.81 |
| 29 | Michigan | $48,957 | $23.54 |
| 30 | Nebraska | $46,026 | $22.13 |
| 31 | Montana | $47,090 | $22.64 |
| 32 | Arkansas | $48,414 | $23.28 |
| 33 | Iowa | $45,724 | $21.98 |
| 34 | New Mexico | $43,534 | $20.93 |
| 35 | Virginia | $45,841 | $22.04 |
| 36 | Ohio | $45,414 | $21.83 |
| 37 | Kentucky | $45,651 | $21.95 |
| 38 | Idaho | $45,777 | $22.01 |
| 39 | Kansas | $43,993 | $21.15 |
| 40 | Florida | $45,746 | $21.99 |
| 41 | Missouri | $40,263 | $19.36 |
| 42 | Texas | $42,741 | $20.55 |
| 43 | Georgia | $40,967 | $19.70 |
| 44 | West Virginia | $37,426 | $17.99 |
| 45 | South Dakota | $42,447 | $20.41 |
| 46 | Alabama | $42,373 | $20.37 |
| 47 | Louisiana | $39,513 | $19.00 |
| 48 | North Dakota | $38,559 | $18.54 |
| 49 | Utah | $40,055 | $19.26 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $38,836 | $18.67 |
| 51 | South Carolina | $37,305 | $17.94 |
Highest paying cities for doctoral fellows
The highest-paying cities for doctoral fellows are San Francisco, CA, Memphis, TN, and Farmington, CT.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $68,712 | $33.03 |
| 2 | Memphis, TN | $64,080 | $30.81 |
| 3 | Farmington, CT | $60,617 | $29.14 |
| 4 | Boston, MA | $55,993 | $26.92 |
| 5 | Indianapolis, IN | $55,083 | $26.48 |
| 6 | Baltimore, MD | $52,915 | $25.44 |
| 7 | Ardmore, OK | $52,478 | $25.23 |
| 8 | Evanston, IL | $52,206 | $25.10 |
| 9 | Portland, OR | $52,197 | $25.09 |
| 10 | New York, NY | $52,050 | $25.02 |
| 11 | Philadelphia, PA | $51,948 | $24.98 |
| 12 | Milwaukee, WI | $51,606 | $24.81 |
| 13 | Boulder, CO | $51,213 | $24.62 |
| 14 | Seattle, WA | $50,304 | $24.18 |
| 15 | Washington, DC | $48,693 | $23.41 |
| 16 | Cleveland, OH | $45,799 | $22.02 |
| 17 | Richmond, VA | $45,757 | $22.00 |
| 18 | Kansas City, KS | $43,803 | $21.06 |
| 19 | Albuquerque, NM | $43,696 | $21.01 |
| 20 | San Antonio, TX | $42,965 | $20.66 |
Doctoral fellow salary details
A doctoral fellow's salary ranges from $39,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $72,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a doctoral fellow's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $72,000 | $6,000 | $35 |
| 75th Percentile | $62,000 | $5,167 | $30 |
| Average | $53,366 | $4,447 | $26 |
| 25th Percentile | $45,000 | $3,750 | $22 |
| 10th Percentile | $39,000 | $3,250 | $19 |
Highest paying doctoral fellow jobs
The highest paying types of doctoral fellows are medical science liaison, senior scientist, and scientist.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Scientist | $89,998 | $7,500 | $43.27 | 93,013 |
| Staff Scientist | $93,941 | $7,828 | $45.16 | 121,054 |
| Researcher | $67,145 | $5,595 | $32.28 | 30,498 |
| Research And Development Scientist | $90,278 | $7,523 | $43.40 | 129,803 |
| Scientist | $97,344 | $8,112 | $46.80 | 62,467 |
| PHD Researcher | $51,634 | $4,303 | $24.82 | 19,736 |
Which companies pay doctoral fellows the most?
Doctoral fellow salaries at IBM and Jefferson Lab are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average doctoral fellow salary at companies like Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Security LLC are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IBM | $80,270 | $38.59 |
| 2 | Jefferson Lab | $75,586 | $36.34 |
| 3 | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory | $74,472 | $35.80 |
| 4 | Los Alamos National Security LLC | $74,146 | $35.65 |
| 5 | Ncar - The National Center For Atmospheric Research | $72,579 | $34.89 |
| 6 | Boehringer Ingelheim | $70,951 | $34.11 |
| 7 | Novartis | $70,353 | $33.82 |
| 8 | AbbVie | $70,286 | $33.79 |
| 9 | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | $70,080 | $33.69 |
| 10 | Amgen | $69,757 | $33.54 |
| 11 | Biogen | $68,732 | $33.04 |
| 12 | National Bureau of Economic Research | $68,499 | $32.93 |
| 13 | Gilead Sciences | $68,189 | $32.78 |
| 14 | Regeneron | $67,576 | $32.49 |
| 15 | Genentech | $67,265 | $32.34 |
| 16 | Halozyme | $66,804 | $32.12 |
| 17 | Johnson & Johnson | $66,057 | $31.76 |
| 18 | Pfizer | $65,328 | $31.41 |
| 19 | University of Tennessee | $64,615 | $31.06 |
| 20 | 23andMe | $64,303 | $30.91 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Doctoral Fellow salary by industry
The average doctoral fellow salary varies across industries:
- The average doctoral fellow salary in the pharmaceutical industry is $67,423, the highest of any industry.
- The average doctoral fellow salary in the finance industry is $61,866.
- Doctoral fellows in the health care industry earn an average salary of $52,132, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for doctoral fellows
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pharmaceutical | $67,423 | $32.41 |
| 2 | Professional | $61,866 | $29.74 |
| 3 | Education | $52,876 | $25.42 |
| 4 | Health Care | $52,132 | $25.06 |
High paying doctoral fellow jobs
Doctoral fellow salary trends
The average doctoral fellow salary has risen by $8,969 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average doctoral fellow earned $44,397 annually, but today, they earn $53,366 a year. That works out to a 14% change in pay for doctoral fellows over the last decade.
Compare doctoral fellow salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average doctoral fellow salary over time
Compare doctoral fellow salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Doctoral fellow salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $53,400 | $25.66 | +3.0% |
| 2025 | $51,800 | $24.89 | +4.5% |
| 2024 | $49,500 | $23.78 | +3.2% |
| 2023 | $47,900 | $23.02 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | $47,000 | $22.58 | -2.1% |
Recently added doctoral fellow salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arkansas | Postdoctoral Fellow | Little Rock, AR | 06/30/2025 | $48,000 |
| University of Texas-Austin | Postdoctoral Fellow | Cove, UT | 06/30/2025 | $60,000 |
| American Museum of Natural History | Postdoctoral Fellow | New York, NY | 06/29/2025 | $71,181 |
| Princeton University | Andlinger Center for Energy and The Environment Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow | Princeton, NJ | 06/28/2025 | $75,000 |
| Florida Atlantic University | Postdoctoral Fellow In Machine Learning and Robotics | Fort Pierce, FL | 06/27/2025 | $55,000 |
| Md Anderson | Postdoctoral Fellow-Thoracic Head & Neck Medical Oncology (Tina Cascone's LAB) | Houston, TX | 06/27/2025 | $64,000 |
| Bryn Mawr College | Postdoctoral Fellow | Bryn Mawr, PA | 06/27/2025 | $60,000 |
| American Water Resources Association | Postdoctoral Fellow Position-Molecular Ecology/Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions | Ithaca, NY | 06/26/2025 | $61,500 |
| Indiana University | Postdoctoral Fellow-Lanthanide Cluster Properties | Bloomington, IN | 06/26/2025 | $45,000 |
| Tonix Pharmaceutical | Postdoctoral Fellow, Research | Frederick, MD | 06/25/2025 | $70,000 |
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