During a year that has been saturated with talk of the national economy, a fledgling job market, and an unpredictable unemployment rate, spectroscopists can take solace in the fact that according to the 2005 Spectroscopy Salary and Employment Survey, while their industry did not experience superlative growth during the previous 12 months, it did undergo a steady, albeit moderate, period of progress.

A total of 405 spectroscopists responded to this year's survey. As in past years, a majority of these were male — 298, or 73.6% — while females totaled 107, or 26.4%. A little more than a third of all respondents were between the ages of 40 and 55 — the largest age group.

While the most recent national unemployment rate (as of December 2004), according to the U.S. Labor Department, dipped to 5.2%, only 2.4% of those responding spectroscopists said they currently are not employed, compared with last year's 3.7%. Of those working, 90.7% are full-time employees, a slight increase from last year.

Table I. 2001-2005 average salaries

Salaries Hold Steady for Most The average annual salary for all respondents is $72,920, a slight increase over last year's $72,140. This marked the lowest salary increase in the last five years, however, at just $780, and is far below the average increase of $1646 between 2001 and 2005 (see Table 1).

To coincide with the marginal across-the-board increase, the largest group of responders (8.7%) earn between $60,000 and $65,000. The largest single group in last year's survey, also 8.7% of the total respondents, earned between $75,000 and $80,000.

This year, 4.5% of respondents report they earn less than $25,000 per year — more than double the 2.1% in this category from 2004. On the other hand, 3% are earning more than $150,000 per year, a marginal increase from last year's 2.1%.

Industrial sector continues to strive, academia falters. Industrial spectroscopists continue to be the highest paid group at an average salary of $78,170, up slightly from last year's mark of $77,420. While the one-year increase of $750 is modest, at best, industrial spectroscopists have seen their yearly average salaries climb $6400 in just two years ($71,770 in 2003).

While their industrial counterparts have enjoyed escalating pay, academic spectroscopists continue to see their yearly salaries dwindle at a rapid pace. This year academic scientists, on average, will earn $54,640, a significant decrease from 2004's $59,850 average, and a far cry from the $62,130 they averaged just two years ago.

"Academia typically pays less than industry, and that's always been the case. However, many academic salaries are 9- or 10-month salaries, based on the idea that many academics get the summer off," says David Ball, a professor of Chemistry at Cleveland State University, and a member of Spectroscopy's Editorial Advisory Board. "Many academics have the opportunity to supplement their salaries with external grants or summer school teaching. When that additional salary is taken into account, in many cases, a full-year salary can be commensurate with an industrial salary. Academics also can consult, while industry frowns upon or forbids moonlighting, or can serve as expert witnesses or write textbooks for royalties. An academic scientist has other opportunities to earn income than many industrial workers do."