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Career test for Caltech students

See which careers fit your traits — based on what 639+ Caltech alumni actually went on to do.

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What Caltech grads actually do

Based on 639 notable Caltech alumni with Wikipedia pages. Data: Wikidata (CC0).

university teacher
224
physicist
157
engineer
83
mathematician
74
chemist
66
astronomer
65
researcher
59
computer scientist
54
astrophysicist
35
scientist
28
biochemist
26
biologist
26

Notable Caltech alumni

William Luther Pierce
William Luther Pierce
politician · writer
Jean Swank
Jean Swank
astrophysicist · astronomer
Frank Oppenheimer
Frank Oppenheimer
physicist · teacher
Paul MacCready
Paul MacCready
aircraft pilot · physicist
Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove
writer · historian
David J. C. MacKay
David J. C. MacKay
mathematician · professor
Bertrand Blanchard Acosta
Bertrand Blanchard Acosta
aircraft pilot
Halton Arp
Halton Arp
astronomer

Salary outlook for top Caltech career paths

National median annual wage (BLS Occupational Employment Statistics).

physicist
10th–90th percentile: $80,950$232,940
$155,680
median / yr
engineer
10th–90th percentile: $62,130$177,020
$111,970
median / yr
mathematician
10th–90th percentile: $62,260$183,500
$116,440
median / yr
chemist
10th–90th percentile: $52,950$149,550
$84,680
median / yr
astronomer
10th–90th percentile: $56,500$183,500
$127,930
median / yr
researcher
10th–90th percentile: $59,010$158,160
$95,890
median / yr

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About Caltech

The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university/institute of technology in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes of technology in the United States that are devoted to the instruction of pure and applied sciences. The institution was founded as a preparatory and vocational school by Amos G. Throop in 1891 and began attracting influential scientists such as George Ellery Hale, Arthur Amos Noyes, and Robert Andrews Millikan in the early 20th century. The vocational and preparatory schools were disbanded and spun off in 1910, and the college assumed its present name in 1920. In 1934, Caltech was elected to the Association of American Universities, and the antecedents of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which Caltech continues to manage and operate, were established between 1936 and 1943 under Theodore von Kármán. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphasis on science and engineering, managing $332 million in research grants as of 2010. Its 124-acre (50 ha) primary campus is located approximately 11 mi (18 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles, in Pasadena. First-year students are required to live on campus, and 95% of undergraduates remain in the on-campus housing system at Caltech. Students agree to abide by an honor code which allows faculty to assign take-home examinations. The Caltech Beavers compete in 13 intercollegiate sports in the NCAA Division III's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). Scientists and engineers at or from the university have played an essential role in many modern scientific breakthroughs and innovations, including advances in space research, sustainability science, quantum physics, and seismology. As of October 2024, there are 80 Nobel laureates who have been affiliated with Caltech, making it the institution with the highest number of Nobelists per capita in America. This includes 48 alumni and faculty members (49 prizes, with chemist Linus Pauling being the only individual in history to win two unshared prizes). In addition, 68 National Medal of Science Recipients, 43 MacArthur Fellows, 15 National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipients, 11 astronauts, 5 science advisors to the president, 4 Fields Medalists, and 6 Turing Award winners have been affiliated with Caltech.

Source: Wikipedia · Licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0.

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