Base pay for many research-and-development scientists was restrained by economic forces in 1990, with increases in some cases managing only to match the rate of inflation, according to a survey report recently released by the Washington, D.C.-based Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology.
For instance, chemists with a bachelor's degree and two years' experience made an average of $2,465 per month in 1990, 4.2 percent more than in 1989. Atmospheric scientists with a master's degree and 10 years' experience earned an average monthly salary of $3,848 in 1990, only a 2.6 percent increase over their 1989 salaries.
The survey was conducted early last year by the Washington, D.C., office of the Hay Group, a management consulting firm, for the United States Department of Energy, which seeks such data on an annual basis to gauge salaries for employees working in federal agencies and contract research centers.
The results reflected responses ...
