Physicists' salaries

* Physicists' salaries have risen by an average of 15 per cent over the past two years, according to a survey published by the Institute of Physics, writes Kam Patel.

The average annual salary for 90 per cent of the respondents is Pounds ,000, with 50 physicists declaring a salary of over Pounds 90,000. One university academic claimed to earn Pounds 500,000.

For 90 per cent of male respondents the average salary was Pounds 28,000, while for nearly 80 per cent of female respondents it was Pounds 20,300. The highest female salary recorded was Pounds 142,000.

All levels of institute membership were covered by the study, with a 46 per cent response rate from 14,200 members canvassed.