New Astronomy PhDs: What Comes Next. Data from the Degree Recipient Follow-Up Survey for the Classes of 2018, 2019, and 2020. Focus On

Astronomy PhD recipients generally follow three main outcomes after receiving their degrees: they accept a postdoctoral position, a non-postdoctoral temporary position, or a potentially permanent position. To learn more about these outcomes, AIP annually asked new astronomy PhDs about their immediate post-degree outcomes. For the classes of 2018, 2019, and 2020, an average of just over 160 individuals per year earned an astronomy PhD at one of the 45 departments in the US with an astronomy doctoral program. From these three classes, around two-thirds of PhD graduates accepted a postdoc. Most of the other graduates secured potentially permanent employment. The graduates accepting potentially permanent jobs entered very different employment positions than those accepting postdocs. Most of the postdocs were in academia, while most of the potentially permanent positions were in the private sector. Those taking positions in the private sector typically reported considerably higher starting salaries than those accepting postdocs. Despite the lower pay, more of the graduates accepting a postdoc find their work challenging, and a higher proportion indicate being satisfied with their employment.