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CAREER INFORMATION FROM THE
DOCTORAL EXIT SURVEY
2010 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 2010 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,
ABOUT THE EARNED DOCTORATE SURVEY
The Doctoratal Exit Survey is administered by Institutional Research, Office of the Provost at MIT.
The full Doctoratal Exit Survey report for 2010 can be viewed at
http://web.mit.edu/ir/surveys/DocExit_2010_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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2010 MIT POST GRADUATION STATISTICS*
*Based upon 490 (84 %) responses to the 2010 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
80% 1.5% 13.9% 4.6%
*Other includes taking time off, traveling, and not planning to work or study.
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WHICH EMPLOYERS HIRED THE MOST MIT PhD 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 38%
Scientific and Technical Services 18%
Other 17%
Health Care Services 5%
Software and Data Services 5%
Manufacturing, Durable 4%
Business and Professional Services 3%
Manufacturing, Non-Durable 3%
Finance and Insurance 3%
Construction 1%
Communications 1%
Social Services 1%
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2010 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) American University of Beirut, Harvard University, LJO Engineering LLC,
MIT, National Research Council, Northwestern University, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, US Department of State
Mechanical Engineering (2) Brown University, C.S. Draper Laboratory, CNRS, D.E. Shaw & Co., Ecole
Polytechnique, Exxon Mobil, Imperial Oil, Intel, Letrina S.A., Massachusetts
General Hospital, Max Planck Institute, McKinsey & Co., Merck, MERL, MIT,
Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs, National University of Ireland at Galway,
Saudi Aramco, Technical University of Munich, TNO, University of
Minnesota, University of Pennsylvania, US Navy, Yale University
Materials Science and Engineering (3) Carnegie Mellon University, Dow Chemical, e ink, Entra Pharmaceuticals,
Exponent, Goldman Sachs, Harvard University, Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology, McKinsey & Co., MIT, NREL, Sandia National Laboratories,
University of California at Santa Barbara
Architecture (4) University of California at Berkeley, University of Massachusetts at
Dartmouth
Chemistry (5) Columbia University, i2chem, Max Planck Institute, Stanford University,
Technical University of Munich, University of California at Berkley,
University of California at San Diego, University of Illinois, University of
Southern California, University of Utah, University of Washington at
Seattle
Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science [EECS] (6)
4 Power, A9.com, ABB, Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs, Boston College, Boston
Consulting Group, Boston Teacher Residency, Carnegie Mellon University,
Convergence Medical Devices, Cornell University, D.E. Shaw & Co., Disney,
Disney Research, Duke University, Goldman Sachs, Google, Harvard
Medical School, Harvard University, IBM, Intel, International Computer
Science Institute, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Massachusetts General
Hospital, MathWorks, Maxim Integrated Product, Merck, MIT, MIT Lincoln
Laboratory, MITRE Corporation, Mount Holyoke College, Movik Networks,
Nicira Networks, Northeastern University, Princeton University, Qualcomm
Inc., Swipely Inc., Texas Instruments, Tufts University, University of
California at Berkeley, University of Porto, University of the Pacific,
University of Washington, University of Wisconsin-Madison, VMWare,
Washington University, Willow Garage
Biology (7) Broad Institute, Campbell Alliance, Columbia University, Dana-Farber
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Course (Course Number) Employers
Cancer Institute/Spiegel man Lab, Duke University, Ginkgo Bioworks,
Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, King Abdullah University of
Science and Technology, L.E.K. Consulting, LSU Health Science Center
(Shreveport LA), Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, Morrison &
Foerster, Rockefeller University, Salk Institute, Stanford University,
University of California at Berkeley, University of California at San
Francisco, University of Georgia, University of Wyoming, University of
Zurich
Physics (8) Argonne National Laboratory, CESR (France), Cloudant, EPFL, Harvard
University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Microsoft, MIT, Morgan
Stanley, Northwestern University, Princeton University, Stanford University,
University of California at San Diego, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Brain and Cognitive Sciences (9) Duke University, Harvard University, MIT, Novartis, Stanford University
Chemical Engineering (10) A.T. Kearney, Argonne National Laboratory, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical
Center, Booz & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Clearview Healthcare
Partners, Dow Chemical Company, Eli Lilly, Genzyme, Illinois Institute of
Technology, McKinsey & Co., MIT, NASA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
Stanford University, University of Illinois
Urban Studies and Planning (11) Emerald Cities Partnership, MSU, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais,
University of British Columbia
Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary
Sciences [EAPS] (12)
Carnegie Institution of Washington, CSIRO, First Wind Energy LLC, Harvard
University, MIT, Stanford University, University of Bergen, University of
Chile
Economics (14) Carlos III, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Harvard University, Kamakura
Corporation, New York University, Northwestern University, Stanford
University
Management (15) Dartmouth College, University of Southern California, Washington
University in St. Louis
Aeronautics and Astronautics (16) MIT Lincoln Laboratory, MITRE Corporation, NASA, Singapore armed
forces, US Government
Political Science (17) Harvard University, Koc University, University of Oxford, US Department of
Defense
Mathematics (18) Brown University, ExxonMobil, Harvard Medical School, Northwestern
University, Oracle, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Stanford
University, Tsinghua University, University of Chicago, University of
Copenhagen, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University
of Missouri
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Course (Course Number) Employers
Biological Engineering (20) Eleven Biotherapeutics, MIT, Rush University Medical Center
Nuclear Engineering (22) Applied Predictive Technologies, Argonne National Laboratory, Mars and
Co., MIT, Total, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Westinghouse
Linguistics and Philosophy (24) Bates College, New York University, Nanzan University
Computational and Systems Biology
[CSB]
Massachusetts General Hospital, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Engineering Systems Division [ESD]
(including Operational Research)
Air Force Institute of Technology, Boston Consulting Group, FCT-IST
Portugal and MIT, MIT
Health Sciences and Technology [HST] Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Clearview Healthcare Partners,
Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, KAIST, Massachusetts General
Hospital, Smartcells, Teva North America
Media Arts and Sciences (Media Lab)
[MAS]
Science, Technology, and Society [STS] Ministry of Justice
DO YOU INTEND TO TAKE A POSTDOC POSITION (All PhDs)?
Yes 55.5%
No 44.5%
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) 47.1% 52.9% 17
Mechanical Engineering (2) 42.6% 57.4% 47
Materials Science and Engineering (3) 53.3% 46.7% 30
Architecture (4) 33.3% 66.7% 3
Chemistry (5) 66.7% 33.3% 24
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
[EECS] (6) 40.6% 59.4% 101
Biology (7) 80.6% 19.4% 36
Physics (8) 65.2% 34.8% 23
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Brain and Cognitive Sciences (9) 90.9% 9.1% 11
Chemical Engineering (10) 32.1% 67.9% 28
Urban Studies and Planning (11) 25.0% 75.0% 8
Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
[EAPS] (12) 86.7% 13.3% 15
Economics (14) 10.0% 90.0% 10
Management (15) 7.1% 92.9% 14
Aeronautics and Astronautics (16) 9.1% 90.9% 11
Political Science (17) 100% 0% 3
Mathematics (18) 81.0% 19.0% 21
Biological Engineering (20) 60.0% 40.0% 10
Nuclear Engineering (22) 41.7% 58.3% 12
Linguistics and Philosophy (24) 20% 80% 5
Computational and Systems Biology [CSB] 66.7% 33.3% 3
Engineering Systems Design (ESD)
(including Operations Research) 30.0% 70.0% 10
Health Sciences and Technology (HST) 68.4% 31.6% 19
Media Arts & Science (MAS) 0% 100% 4
Science, Technology, and Society [STS] 0% 100% 1
FOR THOSE STAYING IN THE UNITED STATES, WHAT STATE
DO YOU INTEND TO LIVE AFTER GRADUATION? N=397
Massachusetts 49%
California 16%
New York 6%
Illinois 3%
New Jersey 3%
Texas 3%
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FOR THOSE LEAVING THE UNITED STATES, IN WHAT
COUNTRY DO YOU INTEND TO LIVE AFTER GRADUATION? N=74
France 10%
Germany 10%
Canada 8%
United Kingdom 8%
South Korea 7%
Switzerland 5%
Spain 4%
Japan 4%
Singapore 4%
China 3%
Hong Kong SAR 3%
Saudi Arabia 3%
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 41%
Networking 35%
Through Department 31%
Personal contacts 19%
On-campus recruiting (CareerBridge, Interviewtrak) 15%
Externally Advertised job listing 15%
Professional Conference 12%
Career Fair 11%
Previously employed by employer 9%
Other 6%
Internship led to job offer 5%
Contacts acquired through MIT Career Services 3%
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WHAT IS THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOB APPLICATIONS/INTERVIEWS/JOB OFFERS?
Degree Level Job Applications Job Interviews Job Offers
Doctorate 10 4 2
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF WORKING GRADUATES NEGOTIATED THEIR SALARY AND BONUS?
Degree Level Negotiated Salary Negotiated Bonus
Doctorate 14.6% 10.7%
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WHAT WAS THE AVERAGE SALARY AND SALARY RANGE OF WORKING MIT GRADUATES?
Doctor of Philosophy going into postdoctoral positions $51,015/ $20,000 -$114,000
Doctor of Philosophy going on to other positions $97,112/ $11,000 - $192,000
WHAT WAS THE AVERAGE BONUS (for those receiving bonuses) AND
RANGE OF BONUSES OF WORKING MIT GRADUATES?
Doctor of Philosophy going into postdoctoral positions $6,400/ $500 -$15,300
Doctor of Philosophy going on to other positions $17,897/ $2,000 - $125,000
WHAT WAS THE AVERAGE NEGOTIATED INCREASE IN SALARY
AND BONUS OF WORKING MIT GRADUATES?
Degree Level Increase in Salary Increase in Bonus
Doctorate $4,802 $11,259
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2010 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) 56,057 7 5,000 1
Mechanical Engineering (2) 69,736 20 22,900 10
Materials Science and Engineering (3) 70,000 6 10,500 4
Architecture (4)
Chemistry (5) 47,375 8
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
[EECS] (6) 77,883 48
19,140 20
Biology (7) 52,193 15 14,100 5
Physics (8) 63,000 11 24,000 3
Brain and Cognitive Sciences (9) 45,600 3 8,000 1
Chemical Engineering (10) 82,183 11 18,111 9
Urban Studies and Planning (11) 54,000 3 20,500 2
EAPS (12) 53,857 7 8,667 3
Economics (14) 117,778 9 15,000 6
Management (15) 178,667 3 9,167 3
Aeronautics and Astronautics (16) 100,720 5 4,500 2
Political Science (17) 44,167 3 15,000 1
Mathematics (18) 67,900 10 8,417 6
Biological Engineering (20) 50,450 4
Nuclear Engineering (22) 69,500 4 15,000 3
Linguistics and Philosophy (24) 53,000 2 8,250 2
Computational and Systems Biology [CSB] 37,000 1
Engineering Systems Design (ESD)
(including Operations Research) 91,237 7 6,667 3
Health Sciences and Technology (HST) 65,778 9 2,313 8
Media Arts & Science (Media Lab) (MAS)
Science, Technology, and Society [STS] 100,000
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2010 Industry & Employer Data
Industry
# of
Students Employers
Average
Salary
Salary
Range
Construction 1 LJO Engineering LLC - -
Computer
Software
11 A9.com, Cloudant, Google, MathWorks, Microsoft,
Movik Networks, Nicira Networks, Oracle, Qualcomm
Inc., Swipely Inc., VMWare
97,455 30,000 –
125,000
Consulting 8 A.T. Kearney, Applied Predictive Technologies, Boston
Consulting Group, Clearview Healthcare Partners, IBM,
L.E.K. Consulting, Mars and Co., McKinsey & Co.
115,813 87,500 –
135,000
Education 169 Air Force Institute of Technology, American University
of Beirut, Bates College, Boston College, Boston
Teacher Residency, Broad Institute, Brown University,
Carlos III, Carnegie Institution of Washington,
Carnegie Mellon University, Chinese University of
Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, Columbia
University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College,
Duke University, Ecole Polytechnique, Harvard
University, Illinois Institute of Technology, KAIST,
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, King Abdullah
University of Science and Technology, Koc University,
MIT, Mount Holyoke College, MSU, Nanzan University,
National University of Ireland, New York University,
Northeastern University, Northwestern University,
Princeton University, Rockfeller University, Rutgers
University, Salk Institute, Stanford University, Technical
University of Munich, Tsinghua University, Tufts
University, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona,
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, University of
Bergen, University of British Columbia, University of
California at Berkeley, University of California at San
Diego, University of California at San Francisco,
University of California at Santa Barbara, University of
Chicago, University of Chile, University of
Copenhagen, University of Georgia, University of
62,313 15,000-
192,000
16
Illinois, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth,
University of Michigan, University of Minnesota,
University of Missouri, University of Oxford, University
of Pennsylvania, University of Porto, University of
Southern California, University of the Pacific, University
of Utah, University of Washington, University of
Washington at Seattle, University of Waterloo,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of
Wyoming, University of Zurich, Washington University,
Washington University in St. Louis, Yale University
Energy and
Utilities
4 ExxonMobil, First Wind Energy LLC, Imperial Oil, Saudi
Aramco, Westinghouse 94,500
60,000 –
132,000
Financial Services
(Commercial
Banking,
Insurance)
5
D.E. Shaw & Co., Goldman Sachs, Kamakura
Corporation, Morgan Stanley 127,000
100,000 –
185,000
Health/Medicine 8 Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Clearview
Healthcare Partners, Harvard Medical School, LSU
Health Science Center Shreverport L.A., Massachusetts
General Hospital, Rush University Medical Center
51,850 37,000 –
105,000
Manufacturing,
Durable
(machinery,
electronic
hardware, medical
instruments)
5
ABB, Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs, e ink, Intel, Maxim
Integrated Product, MERL, Mitsubishi Electric Research
Labs
100,600 80,000 –
120,000
Manufacturing,
Non-Durable
(food, chemicals,
plastics, textiles)
(including
Chemicals and
Materials)
2
Dow Chemical, Texas Instruments - -
Pharmaceuticals
(Biotech, Medical
Device)
5 Convergence Medical Devices, Eleven Biotherapeutics,
Eli Lilly, Entra Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme, Merck,
Novartis, Teva North America, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
97,404 85,000 -
110,000
17
Public
Administration/
Government
8 Ministry of Justice, NASA, National Research Council,
NREL, Singapore Armed Forces, US Department of
Defense, US Department of State, US Government, US
Navy
72,013 12,000 -
108,000
Scientific &
Technical Services
22 4 Power, Argonne National Laboratory, Broad
Institute, Campbell Alliance, CESR (France), CNRS, C.S.
Draper Laboratory, CSIRO, Dana-Farber Cancer
Instisute/Spiegel man Lab,, EPFL, Exponent, Ginkgo
Bioworks, i2chem, International Computer Science
Institute, LosAlamos National Laboratory, Lyric
Semiconductor, Max Planck Institute, MIT Lincoln
Laboratory, MITRE Corporation, Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Smartcells,
TNO, Willow Garage
73,941 36,600 –
125,000
Non-profit
Organizations
1 Emerald Cities Partnership - -
Trade (Resale and
Wholesale)
1 Letrina S.A. - -
Other 3 Disney, Disney Research, Morrison & Foerster 74,667
72,000 –
80,000
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF DOCTORATE GRADUATES COMPLETED AN INTERNSHIP IN THEIR CURRENT PROGRAM?
YES NO DON’T KNOW
30.8% 69.2% 0%
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF DOCTORATE GRADUATES HAD LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE?
YES NO DON’T KNOW
52.5% 41.1% 6.5%
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF DOCTORATE GRADUATES HAD SERVICE EXPERIENCE?
YES NO DON’T KNOW
41.2% 53.2% 5.6%