Physics bachelors who earn a master’s degree in any math, science, or engineering field have higher salaries and a greater appreciation of their undergraduate training than their counterparts with only a bachelor’s, according to a recent report by the American Institute of Physics.

The new report zeroes in on physics bachelors who hold a master’s degree and are in the work force. They represent some 25% of the respondents to AIP’s broad survey on employment trends of physics bachelors, which was conducted in 1998–99 and focused on graduates from 1990 to 1993 (see Physics Today, September 2002, page 32).

Among those with master’s degrees, 40% are in physics, 40% are in other math, science, or engineering fields, and 20% are in business, education, health, and other nonscience fields. Physics masters work mostly in science and lab jobs and in software, while the largest fraction of people holding a...

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