Bellingham, WA--SPIE conducted a global salary survey of the optics and photonics community this past spring, with the goal of capturing employment and compensation patterns across regions, disciplines, and types of organizations. Questions addressed professional focus, level of education, type of employer, and earnings level, among others.
SPIE sent survey invitations via e-mail to its global database, gathering 7,000 valid responses from 93 countries. Ninety-six percent of participants were located in North America, Europe, and Asia, with respondents from Latin America/Caribbean, Oceania, and Africa providing the balance of data.
SPIE devised the survey after hearing questions from constituents about salary levels and ranges, particularly in working with employers and job seekers through the SPIE Career Center. While a few surveys focused on segments of the industry have been published in recent years, there was no comprehensive data.
The next generation of the workforce is already interested in how much photonics jobs pay as well. Students from elementary-school age through university who are served by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational outreach programs of SPIE, SPIE Student Chapters, and other volunteers ask about salaries in the field.
Survey results identified a median salary of US$75,000 overall. Not surprisingly, the survey found that location has a major effect on salary levels, with the highest in North America and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand).
Non-university jobs pay in the highest ranges, and among disciplines, aerospace engineering and research jobs are at top, with a median salary globally of US$105,152.
Future surveys will seek a closer look at the photonics manufacturing workforce, says SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs, as well as question how salaries or outsourcing in a particular segment in one part of the world affect salaries in another region with a different economy; whether or not skill shortages exist in certain fields or regions; and what factors—such as location and employer type—play a role in indicating that men make more than women.
For full survey results, please visit www.spie.org/x51975.xml.
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