Student research assistant salary

According to the American Institute of Physics Employment & Careers Report in Physics (available at aip.org/statistics/reports/employments-and-careers-physics), they are starting salaries for new physics Ph.D.'s range roughly from $40k - $65k for academic positions, $60k-$75k for government positions, and $85k-115$ in the private sector. Starting salaries for recent graduates with bachelor's degrees range from about $30k-$70k. In all employment areas, salaries grow at a reasonable rate with increased experience and seniority. The unemployment rate for graduates at both the bachelor's and Ph.D. levels have been well below 10% in recent years.

In most cases, academic positions have significantly lower starting salaries than industry, since the standard academic salary is for nine or ten months of teaching rather than for 12 months. However, the tradeoff is that academic jobs allow a greater degree of freedom in how you spend your time and what type of research you pursue. Furthermore, academic salaries can be supplemented by extra teaching, consultant work, or grant-funded summer salaries, which, in many cases, can raise a professor's total income to levels close to what would be earned in the industry. So, although salary is certainly a consideration, ultimately, the deciding factor for what type of career to pursue should be based on what type of work would make you happiest in the long term.