Wages for science and engineering Ph.D. professionals in Korea were found to vary widely by the type of university they attended.
According to the report "Determinants of wages for newly minted science and engineering Ph.D.s and implications" released on the 25th by Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI), the variable that most affects science and engineering Ph.D. wages was university type.
Graduates of top research-intensive universities such as KAIST and Seoul National University had an average monthly wage of 7.25 million won, while graduates of regional flagship national universities earned 4.75 million won, a gap of 2.5 million won per month. On an annual basis, that translates to about 30 million won.
Compared with top research-intensive universities, the average monthly wage of graduates from large private universities in the Seoul metropolitan area was found to be 11.8% lower, and for graduates from small and mid-sized private universities in the area it was 14.8% lower.
Major also affected wage levels. Engineering Ph.D.s earned 12.2% more than other fields, and those in national strategic technology fields posted a 13% premium. Those who completed integrated master's-Ph.D. programs also showed an 8.9% wage advantage.
Among research outcomes, the share of first-author papers at the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) level showed a significant correlation with wages. The report analyzed that when the SCIE first-author share increases by 1 percentage point, wages rise by 0.2 percentage point. By contrast, total number of papers, patent applications, and industry-academia collaboration experience did not show statistically clear relationships.
Differences by gender also appeared. Women Ph.D.s' monthly pay was 11.2% lower than men's, but when converted to an hourly wage, the gender gap was analyzed to be statistically insignificant.
It was also found that the type of university where the doctorate was earned has a greater impact on wage determination than the university where the bachelor's degree was earned. An examination of university mobility from bachelor's to Ph.D. programs showed a consistent pattern of moving toward university types associated with higher wages.
Lee Seung-yun, associate research fellow at STEPI, said, "Systematic empirical analyses of the wage-determination structure for science and engineering Ph.D. talent have been insufficient," and added, "We hope this will serve as a basis for designing tailored policies across various dimensions such as university type, field of study, gender, and employer type."