The MS advantage
PhD roles report a median of $135K vs $160K for MS, a 16% gap the other way.
202 PhD · 139 MS salary-reporting roles Crosslinked
Market
Live signal from 4,510 active roles · 2,285 report salary
4,510Active listings
1,881Companies hiring
$110KMedian salary
6%Remote / hybrid
887New this week
Posting volume new jobs per week · last 12 weeks
A hands-on field
Only 6% of roles are remote or hybrid (57 remote, 220 hybrid). Bench and floor work keeps this field in person.
Across 4510 active listingsSponsors pay more
Employers with H-1B signals report a median of $140K vs $125K elsewhere, about a 12% premium, likely larger firms competing for talent.
634 roles at known/likely sponsorsThe agency discount
Staffing-agency listings report a median of $125K vs $129K for direct hires, a 3% gap for comparable work.
102 agency · 2183 direct salary-reporting rolesEntry means entry
65% of entry-level roles ask for zero prior experience. Median entry pay: $94K. Unlike tech, "entry level" here is mostly honest.
738 entry-level listingsFall 2026 season · closes Dec 19 · 77 days left
The search, this season
How the polymer and materials job search is going for people on Crosslinked, in aggregate. Five one-tap questions, no names, no rankings. When the season closes, everyone who answered gets the field report first. Updated Oct 4.
0 of 20
The first charts appear once 20 people have answered. Applications sent, interviews, offers, weeks searching, and whether the last one replied. Your answers stay anonymous and are only ever shown as counts.