Living Large
The average earned income of Koreans with doctorate degrees in the science and engineering fields was 76.13 million won (US$72,897) in 2012.
According to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the Korea Institute of Science & Technology Evaluation and Planning, the amount increased by 3.6 percent compared to the previous year. The objects of the survey included 2,065 science and engineering Ph.D. holders, certified technicians and highly-skilled research personnel.
Those belonging to colleges earned an average of 77.83 million won (US$74,535), while those working for government research institutes and corporations followed them with 76.35 million won (US$73,108) and 74.86 million won (US$71,671) each. The third group recorded a decrease of 520,000 won (US$497), though their average had been the highest in 2011.
Out of all respondents, 54.1 percent answered that they were satisfied with their jobs in 2013, showing a 0.1 percentage point decline from the previous year. Specifically, the second group’s job satisfaction rate rose from 51.9 percent to 56.3 percent between 2012 and 2013, whereas those of the first and third groups fell from 58.5 percent to 57.5 percent and from 49.0 percent to 44.6 percent, respectively.