Materials Scientist total compensation: base vs bonus vs equity
Base pay is only part of the story. A Materials Scientist's total compensation runs about $126K (range $122K–$131K) once bonus, equity, and benefits are included — base is roughly 73% of that.
Where the money comes from
Total (mid): $126K. Equity and bonus vary widely by employer and performance — treat these as planning ranges, not a guaranteed offer.
Common questions
What is a Materials Scientist's total compensation?
A Materials Scientist's total comp is roughly $126K at the mid estimate (range $122K–$131K): base $92K plus a 5–15% bonus, ~5% equity, and ~22% benefits.
How much of Materials Scientist pay is base vs bonus and equity?
Base is about 73% of total comp for a Materials Scientist. The rest comes from bonus ($9K mid), equity/RSUs (~$5K/yr annualised), and benefits (~$20K).
Do Materials Scientists get stock or RSUs?
Typically yes in this field — around 5% of base in annualised equity, though it varies widely by employer (startups skew higher and riskier; large public firms pay liquid RSUs).
Bonus/equity/benefits are modelled estimates from industry-category norms applied to the BLS base salary — not sourced from any third-party database, and not an offer.