Mid- and late-career salaries in optics and photonics: How much do these professional engineers and scientists earn?
Average Mid/Late Career Salaries
Half of mid-career professionals earn over $74,563 per year, with the top 25 percent earning $119,002 or more (mid-career is defined as 6-20 years of employment). Late-career professionals have a median salary of $127,882, while the top 25 percent earn $195,000 or more (late-career is defined as 21 or more years of employment).
| Average | 25th Percentile | Median | 75th Percentile | |
| Mid | $89,286 | $43,680 | $74,563 | $119,002 |
| Late | $142,528 | $75,659 | $127,822 | $195,000 |
Where do mid- and late-career professionals work?
Almost half of mid-career and just over half of late-career photonics professionals work in the for-profit sector. Earnings at for-profit companies are highest, followed by government, then academia.
| Mid Career Percent | Mid Career Total | Late Career Percent | Late Career Total | |
| For-profit companies | 47% | $96,874 | 54% | $150,000 |
| Academic institutions | 36% | $55,290 | 31% | $95,421 |
| Government/military | 17% | $63,911 | 15% | $95,867 |
What are the most popular engineering degrees for mid- and late-career professionals?
Electrical engineering is the most popular degree for mid- and late-career workers in optics and photonics. Late-career employees with chemical engineering degrees earn the most, though they represent only 5% of...
| Mid Career Percent | Mid Career Total | Late Career Percent | Late Career Total | |
| Electrical | 25% | $73,498 | 29% | $149,890 |
| Optical | 20% | $90,702 | 17% | $160,000 |
| Mechanical | 12% | $101,000 | 11% | $127,911 |
| Engineering Physics | 11% | $66,000 | 13% | $120,183 |
| Materials | 7% | $95,867 | 6% | $175,000 |
| Biomedical | 6% | $73,701 | 2% | $230,000 |
| Other | 5% | $55,813 | 5% | $109,867 |
| Computer | 4% | $70,143 | 4% | $101,826 |
| Chemical | 3% | $127,000 | 5% | $172,548 |
| Aerospace | 2% | $93,350 | 2% | $104,870 |
Median salaries by engineering degree
Mid- and late-career professionals around the world
| Mid Career | Late Career | |
| United States | $127,000 | $180,000 |
| Germany | $85,215 | $106,519 |
| South Korea | $75,373 | $95,680 |
| Canada | $74,376 | $98,176 |
| Japan | $68,094 | $75,659 |
| United Kingdom | $58,654 | $79,334 |
| France | $55,390 | $71,368 |
| Peoples Republic of China | $43,825 | $65,737 |
| Spain | $42,608 | $62,846 |
| Italy | $41,681 | $61,994 |
| India | $18,218 | $24,290 |
| Russia | $17,371 | $20,696 |
Median salaries by country
How did mid- and late-career professionals find their current jobs?
| Mid Career | Late Career | |
| Networking or referral through personal contact | 30% | 33% |
| Online job advertisement | 25% | 13% |
| I was recruited | 19% | 23% |
| I contacted the employer directly (no job was advertised) | 9% | 10% |
| University career office | 5% | 6% |
| I founded or started the company | 3% | 4% |
| Printed job advertisement (newspaper or journal) | 2% | 5% |
Source: 2023 Optics and Photonics Salary Report SPIE Full report and methodology: spie.org/2023salaryreport.
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