Physics in Ireland:
the brightest minds go further
May 2011
A report prepared for the Institute of Physics by Tom Martin & Associates
Physicists
Go far
Earn more
The Institute of Physics in Ireland
The Institute of Physics in Ireland (IOPI) is a scientific membership
organisation devoted to increasing the understanding and application of
physics in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It has over 2,000
members, and is part of the Institute of Physics.
IOPI aims to promote the role of physics in education, health, the
environment, technology, and scientific literacy. Its membership is wideranging and multidisciplinary, including the educational, industrial, medical,
and general public sectors. The institute seeks common purpose with other
learned societies to promote science and science-based learning and
to influence science policy in the two jurisdictions on the island. Special
emphasis is placed on supporting physics teachers by promoting in our
schools the value, joy and benefits of a knowledge of physics and its
applications.
The Institute of Physics
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the
practice, understanding and application of physics.
It has a worldwide membership of around 40,000 and is a leading
communicator of physics-related science to all audiences, from specialists
through to government and the general public. Its publishing company,
IOP Publishing, is a world leader in scientific publishing and the electronic
dissemination of physics.
IOP Institute of Physics in Ireland
c/o School of Physics
University College Dublin
Belfield
Dublin 4
Tel +353 86 2600903
E-mail sheila.gilheany@iop.org
www.iopireland.org
Photo credits: Medical radiotherapy linear accelerator – Andrew Brookes,
National Physical Laboratory/Science Photo Library
Table of contents
Executive summary
1
1.
A profile of physics graduates
2
2.
Starting salaries for physics graduates
7
3.
Physics: its role in the Irish economy
8
Methodology
10
References
10
List of tables and diagrams
Table 1.1 and Figure 1.1:
Respondents’ current salary range
2
Table 1.2 and Figure 1.2:
Sectors in which respondents were employed
3
Table 1.3 and Figure 1.3:
Main employers
4
Figure 1.4:
Type of physics degree obtained
4
Figure 1.5:
Decade in which respondents were born, and gender profile (%)
5
Table 1.4 and Figure 1.6:
Year in which respondents last obtained a physics degree
5
Table 1.5 and Figure 1.7:
Profile of the respondents’ current geographical location
6
Table 1.6 and Figure 1.8:
How useful were the following skill sets in your career?
6
Table 1.7 and Figure 1.9:
Starting salaries for graduates in selected sectors
7
PHYSICS IN IRELAND — THE BRIGHTEST MINDS GO FURTHER
i
Executive summary
This report presents the findings of a survey of physics graduates from third level colleges in both
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The key findings of the survey are:
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Physicists have the potential to earn very good salaries (the survey found that 14% of graduates
earn more than €100,000 a year)
While physics graduates from Irish universities and institutes of technology mainly work in Ireland,
they have found employment all over the world (Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region)
Graduates with physics degrees are employed in a wide range of sectors ranging from high-tech
industries to the arts and the media
Physics graduates have skill sets such as problem solving, team working and creativity that are
widely sought after by employers
An increasing number of women are pursuing a career in physics: just under a third of the survey
respondents were female
Physics graduates often hold a further qualification in another discipline: a fifth of respondents said
they also held a H.Dip. Ed. or PGCE teaching qualification while a similar proportion gained a postgraduate qualification in another discipline
Graduates with a higher level physics qualification (Masters, PhD) are contributing to Ireland’s
rapidly growing third level research community in disciplines such as ICT, biotechnology and
nanotechnology to name but a few
The bottom line? A physics qualification is a passport to a well-paid career in a wide variety of sectors
throughout the world. A degree in physics can lead to a varied, interesting and rewarding career.
PHYSICS IN IRELAND — THE BRIGHTEST MINDS GO FURTHER
PAGE 1
1.
A profile of physics graduates
Introduction
A survey of physics graduates from third level colleges in Ireland was undertaken in 2010. A total of
822 physics graduates completed the survey (details of the survey methodology are presented in
Appendix 1).
Earnings
Respondents were asked to specify their current annual salary range and the data indicate that 14% of
respondents are earning in excess of €100,000 per annum with 5% earning over €150,000.
Table 1.1 and Figure 1.1:Respondents’ current salary range
Salary level
Up to €19,999
% of
respondents
16
€20,000–29,999
8
€30,000–39,999
11
€40,000–49,999
13
€50,000–59,999
11
€60,000–69,999
9
€70,000–79,999
8
€80,000–89,999
6
€90,000–99,999
4
€100,000–€149,999
9
More than €150,000
5
More than €150,000
Up to €19,999
€100,000–149,999
€90,000–99,999
€20,000–29,999
€80,000–89,999
€70,000–79,999
€30,000–39,999
€60,000–69,999
€50,000–59,999
€40,000–49,999
Seven per cent of female respondents and sixteen per cent of male respondents said that they earned
over €100,000 per annum.
Twenty seven per cent of all respondents had an annual salary of between €60,000–€100,000.
Table 1.1 indicates that, in 2010, the majority of physics graduates earned more than the estimated
average annual earnings of all employees (c. €35,000) based on quarterly earnings published by the
Central Statistics Office for Quarter 3, 2010, for all economic sectors excluding agriculture, forestry
and fishing.
The majority of the respondents to the survey were working (84%), of which just under four-fifths were
working full-time and the balance were part-time. The remaining respondents were either retired, on a
career break or seeking employment.
PHYSICS IN IRELAND — THE BRIGHTEST MINDS GO FURTHER
PAGE 2
Sectors where respondents are currently employed
The survey responses show that physics graduates are working in a wide variety of sectors including
manufacturing and services (both public and private).
While four out of ten respondents worked in the education sector (both second and third level), physics
graduates were employed in a diverse range of sectors including health and finance — proving that
employers hold graduates with a physics qualification in high regard.
Just over 14% of respondents were working in Communications/IT/electronics while a smaller
percentage (7%) were employed in other high-tech sectors such as Pharmaceuticals/chemicals/
medical devices, Aeronautics/space and Energy. Physicists were also to be found in the Construction,
Environment, Leisure/tourism/retail and Media/arts sectors (see Table 1.2 below).
There can be no doubt that a physics qualification opens doors to employment in a wide range of
sectors.
Table 1.2 and Figure 1.2:Sectors in which respondents were employed
% of
respondents
Sector
Aeronautics/space
1.6
Communications/IT/electronics
Communications/
IT/electronics
14.3
Construction
0.9
Defence forces
31.6%
0.4
Education – 2nd level
21.8
Education – 3rd Level
20.2
14.3%
All other sectors
Education
(2nd level)
Health/medicine
Energy
3.2
Environment
1.6
Finance
5.6
Government/non-profit
6.9
Education
(3rd level)
Health/medicine
6.4
20.2%
Leisure/tourism/retail
0.6
Media/arts
0.6
Pharmaceuticals/chemicals/medical devices
2.6
Other
21.8%
6.5%
Finance
5.6%
13.3
An analysis of the occupational choices of recent physics graduates (those who graduated after 2000)
indicates that they follow a wide variety of career paths including:
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Software
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Astrophysics
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Renewable energy
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Biophysics
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Quantum physics
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Financial services
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Plasma physics
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Transport
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Nanotechnology
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Instrumentation
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Materials research
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Micro systems technology
The range of sectors in which physicists are involved is positive proof that a qualification in physics is
a passport to a varied and fulfilling career.
Respondents were fairly evenly divided between the main employer categories of academia, industry
and government/not-for-profit as shown in Table 1.3 below.
PAGE 3
PHYSICS IN IRELAND — THE BRIGHTEST MINDS GO FURTHER
Table 1.3 and Figure 1.3:Main employers
Other
10.2%
% of
respondents
Employer categories
Industry
24.7
Academia
34.0
Government/not-for-profit
including hospitals/schools
31.1
Other
10.2
Industry
24.7%
Government/
not-for-profit
31.1%
Academia
34.0%
Degree obtained
Respondents were asked to specify what physics degrees that they held. 822 said they had a
Bachelors degree in physics while 235 said that they held a Masters degree with a further 37 saying
that they held another post-graduate physics qualification. A total of 227 respondents had qualified
with a doctorate in physics. 157 respondents said that in addition to a physics degree they also held a
H.Dip. Ed. or PGCE (teaching) qualification.
A total of 175 respondents said that in addition to holding a physics degree they also gained a postgraduate qualification in another discipline.
The experiences of the survey respondents show that holders of Bachelors degrees in physics have
varied options open to them in terms of further qualifications. As the light blue arrows in Figure 1.4
below shows, a graduate with a Bachelors degree can progress to higher level physics qualifications
such as a Masters degree or a doctorate. Another group of respondents (denoted by the green arrow)
opted for a teaching qualification and are now teaching physics to the next generation. The darker blue
arrow shows that yet another group of respondents branched out by gaining a post-graduate degree in
another discipline.
Figure 1.4:
Type of physics degree obtained
Other post-graduate
qualification in physics
Bachelors degree
in physics
37
Masters degree
in physics
235
822
Doctorate
in physics
227
H Dip Ed/PGCE
147
Other
post-graduate
qualification
175
PHYSICS IN IRELAND — THE BRIGHTEST MINDS GO FURTHER
PAGE 4
Age and gender of respondents
The respondents ranged in age from early twenties to late eighties. Just under half of the respondents
were born after 1970 while just under 5% were born before 1940.
Just over two-thirds of respondents were male while 31% were female. The proportion of female
respondents while low is higher than in regions of the UK such as Scotland.1
Figure 1.5:
Decade in which respondents were born, and gender profile (%)
Born before 1940
5%
1980+
24%
1940s
13%
Female
31%
1950s
14%
Male
1970s
24%
69%
1960s
20%
Year of physics degree qualification
A third of the respondents obtained their physics qualification after 2001 while just under a quarter
(23.5%) gained their physics qualification during the 1990s. Respondents graduating with a physics
degree during the 1980s accounted for 17.5% while 1970s graduates totalled 14.3%. Respondents
acquiring a physics degree before 1970 accounted for 13.9%.
Table 1.4 and Figure 1.6:Year in which respondents last obtained a physics degree
Year in which respondents last obtained a
physics degree in Northern Ireland or the
Republic of Ireland
% of
respondents
Before 1970
13.9
1971-1975
7.5
1976-1980
6.6
1981-1985
6.8
1986-1990
10.7
1991-1995
8.3
1996-2000
13.2
2001-2005
11.0
2005-2010
22.0
Before 1970
2005-2010
1971-1975
1976-1980
2001-2005
1981-1985
1986-1990
1996-2000
1991-1995
Location
The responses to the survey show that a physics degree can be a passport to travel. Though almost
three-quarters of the respondents were presently residing on the island of Ireland, the remainder were
dispersed around the globe (see Table 1.5 and Figure 1.7 below).
PAGE 5
PHYSICS IN IRELAND — THE BRIGHTEST MINDS GO FURTHER
Table 1.5 and Figure 1.7:Profile of the respondents’ current geographical location
% of
respondents
Location
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
12
Republic of Ireland
64
Great Britain
12
Great Britain
Europe
4
Europe
North America
5
North America
Asia Pacific
1
Asia Pacific
Rest of the world
2
Rest of the world
12%
64%
Republic of Ireland
12%
4%
5%
1%
2%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
%
Skill sets
Physics graduates through their training acquire skills that are valuable to them in their careers and, by
extension, to employers. The participants in the survey overwhelmingly endorsed the value of the skill
sets that they had acquired from their physics courses.
Over four-fifths (85%) of the respondents said that Analysis/problem solving skills had been very
useful to them in their career while 13% said they had been useful and 2% said they had been quite
useful. Just over six out of ten respondents said that Team working/communications had been very
useful in their career while a further 26% said this skill set had been useful. Sixty one per cent of
respondents said that New Ideas/theories/creativity had been very useful in their career with 28%
saying it had been useful.
Studies have shown that employers greatly value graduates possessing skill sets that encompass
problem solving, team working and creativity — skill sets that physics graduates have in abundance.
Table 1.6 and Figure 1.8:How useful were the following skill sets in your career?
Useful
Quite
useful
Not
very
useful
85%
12%
2%
1%
Team working/
communications
62%
26%
8%
4%
New ideas/theories/
creativity
61%
28%
8%
3%
Very
useful
Analysis/problem
solving
Skill set
Analysis/problem
solving
85%
Team working/
communications
62%
New ideas/theories/
creativity
61%
0
20
40
Very useful
60
80
Useful
%
100
Not very
useful
Quite
useful
PHYSICS IN IRELAND — THE BRIGHTEST MINDS GO FURTHER
PAGE 6
2. Starting salaries for physics
graduates
gradireland, the publishing arm of the Association of Higher Education Careers Services, has released
data on starting salaries for graduates in a number of sectors.2 The results for 2009 indicate that
sectors in which physicists are commonly employed have high median starting salaries.
Graduates working in Science, research and development had a median starting salary in 2009 of
€38,000 compared with the median starting salaries of graduates employed in Banking, insurance and
financial services of €26,000 and Accountancy and financial management of €21,600 (see Table 1.7
and Figure 1.9 below). Starting median salaries for graduates working in the Engineering and
manufacturing and IT and telecoms sectors were also higher than in the Banking and Accountancy
sectors.
The Science, research and development, Engineering and manufacturing and IT and telecoms sectors
accounted for a quarter of all graduate jobs created in 2009.
Table 1.7 and Figure 1.9:Starting salaries for graduates in selected sectors
Sector
Median
salary 2009
Science, R&D
Law, legal services
& patents
Engineering &
manufacturing
Science, research and development (R&D)
€38,000
Law, legal services and patents
€32,000
Engineering and manufacturing
€28,000
Logistics & transport
Logistics and transport
€27,000
IT & telecoms
IT and telecoms
€26,500
Retail and sales
€26,500
Banking, insurance and financial services
€26,000
Accountancy and financial management
€21,600
Retail & sales
Banking, insurance
& financial services
Accountancy & financial
management
Median salary 2009 (€)
€40K
(Source: gradireland Graduate Salary & Graduate Recruitment Trends Survey 2010)
The gradireland survey results clearly show that graduates with a technical qualification such as
physics have the potential to achieve high starting salaries across a range of industry sectors.
The Hudson 2010 Ireland Salary Guide 3 reviewed salaries and employment prospects across key
sectors of the economy. While acknowledging the difficulties facing Irish business, Hudson said it
believed a number of technical sectors were showing growth; these included the medical devices,
pharmaceuticals, utilities and environmental services sectors — sectors in which physics graduates
are regularly found. The Hudson study noted that in the technical and engineering disciplines, project
managers with between 1–10 years experience could command an annual salary ranging from
€50,00–75,000 excluding bonuses.
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PHYSICS IN IRELAND — THE BRIGHTEST MINDS GO FURTHER
3. Physics: its role in the Irish
economy
Heritage
Irish physicists have a long and distinguished history, but perhaps the finest of them was William
Rowan Hamilton of Dublin. Hamilton reformulated Newton’s Mechanics, a development that was to
prove useful not just in electromagnetism, but in quantum mechanics. He also invented quaternions,
an extension of complex numbers to higher dimensions. William Thomson of Belfast was a 19th
century giant of thermodynamics, whose title (Lord Kelvin) is the unit of absolute temperature. Ernest
Walton, born in Waterford and educated in Belfast and Dublin, split the atom with John Cockcroft in
Cambridge, becoming the only Irish scientist to win a Nobel prize.
Recent research by the Higher Education Authority and Forfás4 reveals that Irish physicists in leadingedge research centres have gained a larger share of the world market in research publications and, as
testimony of their quality, the number of times these publications have been cited by other researchers
has also been increasing.
In 2010, ScienceWatch.com5, a division of Thomson Reuters, ranked Northern Ireland and Ireland in
the top 20 countries for the number of citations per paper in relation to academic papers published in
Thomson Reuters-indexed journals during the period January 2000–August 2010.
Physics: its significant contribution to the Irish economy
A report published by the Institute of Physics in October 2007, Physics and the
Irish Economy,6 highlighted the significant and positive contribution of physics to
the Irish economy in 2005 on a number of different levels. The report showed
that:
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Institute of Physics Report
Physics and the
Irish Economy
A report prepared for the Institute of Physics by the Centre for Economics
and Business Research Ltd
October 2007
In 2005 there were more than 85,500 jobs in physics-based sectors in the
Republic of Ireland. This compared with 82,000 jobs in the banking, finance
and insurance sector and was equivalent to 5.3% of all jobs in the economy.
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Physics-based sectors contributed €15 billion to the Irish economy in 2005
— 10.5% of total Gross Value Added (GVA) generated in the economy. This
was slightly more than the 10.1% share of total national GVA accounted for by Ireland’s banking,
finance and insurance sector in the same year.
Productivity in physics-based sectors is also relatively high. On average between 2000 and 2005,
the GVA per employee in physics-based sectors was around €150,200 per annum — approximately
88% higher than the national average.
The physics-based sectors also had a positive multiplier effect. Expenditure of physics-based
sectors on intermediate goods and services in Ireland in 2005 helped to support 69,100 jobs and
€6.1 billion worth of GVA in supplier sectors.
PHYSICS IN IRELAND — THE BRIGHTEST MINDS GO FURTHER
PAGE 8
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The spend of employees from physics-based sectors on goods and services in the wider economy
amounted to €3.1 billion in 2005. This helped to support 16,700 jobs and more than €1.5 billion
worth of GVA in the wider economy.
Physics-based sectors also play a vital role in the economy by supplying intermediate goods
and services to many other industries. In 2005, these industries spent a total of €18.2 billion on
intermediate goods and services from physics-based sectors. This is equivalent to 128,400 jobs
and more than €9.6 billion of the GVA generated in these non physics-based sectors.
A review of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) in Northern Ireland7 by the
Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland has
pointed out that a strong, STEM educated workforce is fundamental to economic growth for the
following reasons:
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Economic studies conducted before the information technology revolution, have shown that the
vast majority of growth in per capita income is due to technological change.
Studies have also highlighted how companies with qualified scientists and engineers in senior
positions tend to invest in projects which bring a longer term benefit and have better performance.
The opportunity to attract Foreign Direct Investment will be enhanced by a society with a workforce with good qualifications in STEM subjects. Multinational companies cite access to qualified
personnel as a major factor in developing off-shore operations and this past decade has seen a
move from traditional, capital-based investment to a more knowledge-based investment providing
access to intellectual property.
The STEM review indicates that increasing Northern Ireland’s GVA will be influenced by research and
development, innovation and scientific management, all of which require a supply of graduates with
appropriate STEM skills.
Physics and Innovation Ireland
Physics-based sectors are important building blocks for the achievement of the Government’s
stated ambition of making Ireland “an innovative, high-value export-led economy with some of the
world’s leading research-intensive multinationals and thousands of innovative small and medium
enterprises.” 8
The Government’s investment over the last decade, for example, in nanotechnology has made Ireland
a home to a world-class infrastructural base which will serve as a strong foundation for producing
high-quality nanotechnology research and ensuring Ireland’s international competitiveness in this area.
Physics occupies a central position in nanotechnology as witnessed by the role of nanoelectronics,
nanomechanics and nanophotonics in providing a basic scientific foundation for nanotechnology.
The contribution of highly qualified Irish physics graduates will be essential to progressing Ireland’s
nanotechnology efforts across key application domains — Next generation electronics, Medical
devices and diagnostics, Environmental applications and Industrial process improvements.
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PHYSICS IN IRELAND — THE BRIGHTEST MINDS GO FURTHER
Methodology
The data used in Section 1 was collected through an on-line survey of physics graduates of third level
institutions in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The data collection process involved the
development of a questionnaire and the identification of lists of graduates with a physics degree or
with a degree the final year of which incorporated a significant physics component.
The graduates were contacted by email or by letter and invited to participate in the survey. The online
poll consisted of 13 questions and was conducted during May-July 2010.
The vast majority of the 822 graduates with a physics degree who responded to the survey obtained
their qualification in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.
Graduates from the following third level institutions were surveyed:
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Cork Institute of Technology
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Dublin City University
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Dublin Institute of Technology
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National University of Ireland, Galway
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National University of Ireland, Maynooth
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Open University
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Queen’s University Belfast
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Trinity College Dublin
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University College Cork
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University College Dublin
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University of Limerick
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University of Ulster
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Waterford Institute of Technology
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Other N. Ireland College
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Other ROI College
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Other college outside NI/ROI
References
1. Institute of Physics (2009), Physics in Scotland: the brightest minds go further.
2. gradIreland (2010), Graduate Salary & Graduate Recruitment Trends Survey 2010.
3. Hudson (2010), 2010 Ireland Salary Guide.
4. Forfás and the Higher Education Authority (2009): Research strengths in Ireland: a bibliometric
study of the public research base.
5. ScienceWatch.com.
6. Institute of Physics (2007), Physics and the Irish Economy.
7. Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Learning (2007), Report of the
STEM Review.
8. Department of the Taoiseach (2010): Innovation Ireland — The Report of the Innovation Taskforce.
PHYSICS IN IRELAND — THE BRIGHTEST MINDS GO FURTHER
PAGE 10
Physics in Ireland:
the brightest minds go further
For further information contact:
Sheila Gilheany
Institute of Physics in Ireland
c/o School of Physical Sciences
University College Dublin
Belfield, Dublin 4
Tel +353 86 2600903
E-mail sheila.gilheany@iop.org
www.iopireland.org