This study investigates the educational requirements for quantum technology workforce roles across sectors, specifically examining opportunities for workers who do not have graduate degrees. To examine this, the CQE built a database using more than 5,000 job postings shared by the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C®), a consortium that enables and expands the US quantum industry and is managed by SRI International, and the Quantum Computing Report.

The CQE found that more than half of all quantum technology jobs do not require a graduate degree, a trend that was particularly pronounced in the industry sector (private companies and nonprofits), where two-thirds of jobs are open to those without a graduate degree. This is contrary to the general perception that PhDs dominate the quantum industry — and speaks to the growing opportunity for people of all backgrounds as the quantum technology field scales.

Read the CQE's news story about this report.

Overall Trend: As the quantum technology field scales and commercializes, a growing number of roles are open to those without graduate degrees.

• More than half of quantum technology jobs are open to people with a bachelor’s degree, associate's degree, or no degree at all.
  • Breakdown (percentage of quantum jobs across sectors that required a bachelor's degree or less): 52% (2021), 56% (2022), 55% (2023).
• The proportion is highest in the industry sector. In those roles, nearly two-thirds of jobs posted in 2021, 2022, or 2023 required a bachelor's degree or lower.
  • Breakdown (percentage of quantum jobs in the industry sector that required a bachelor's degree or less): 64% (2021), 66% (2022), and 62% (2023).
  • Industry sector primarily includes private companies, with some nonprofit organizations.
• Jobs in the academic and government sectors still predominantly require graduate degrees, though government roles saw a slight increase in bachelor's-level job availability.
• Some disciplines within quantum technology were more accessible to those with bachelor's degrees. Engineering roles favored bachelor's qualifications, but physics roles leaned more toward PhD requirements. Computer science roles showed an even split between bachelor's and PhD requirements.
• Just because a quantum technology job is open to non-PhDs doesn’t mean it is entry level. Many of the job descriptions the CQE reviewed required experience in a quantum-adjacent field, such as computer science or engineering. 

It represents a huge opportunity: quantum technology — which takes advantage of the unique properties of quantum mechanics — is a rapidly growing sector that has the potential to revolutionize multiple industries, boost economies, and revitalize vulnerable communities.

The projected trajectory (see economic impact projections) suggests that the field will hit a point of rapid growth in the coming years — and some worry that about a possible worker shortage. 

Called for a bachelor's degree: 

• Supply Chain Manager at Rigetti Computing
• Principal System Architect at Microsoft Quantum
• Lead Optical Engineer at Honeywell (now Quantinuum).

Called for a PhD:

• Numerous postdoctoral positions at universities and national labs
• Operations Researcher at 1Qbit
• Experimental Physicist at Xanadu.

Didn't mention a degree: The database also included hundreds of postings that did not specify any degree requirements at all, including:

•  Thin Film Support Engineer at Amazon Web Services
• Cloud Architect at Qrypt
• Design Enablement Engineer at IBM
• Quantum Product Manager at IBM 

Note: these links were all live at the time of publication in September 2024. Some may have since been taken down. 

The CQE built the database for this project using 10,484 unique job postings that appeared on job boards maintained by QED-C and Quantum Computing Report between 2018 and 2023.

Why this approach

By using job postings collected by organizations that specifically serve the quantum technology industry, we were able to address one of our biggest challenges: creating a dataset focused exclusively on quantum technology jobs. Filtering large jobs databases by company wasn’t effective: some big companies that post quantum technology jobs also have similar positions in non-quantum areas — and limiting our analysis to companies that only focus on quantum technology would mean excluding major players like IBM. Job titles weren’t always telling: in our dataset, only 38.5% of quantum jobs had “quantum” in the title. Even filtering by required skills can present issues: during an early search, we pulled up jobs that called for proficiency in Quantum GIS, an open-source geographic information system, but were not part of the quantum technology industry.

What we did

QED-C and Quantum Computing Report sent us records with the following information: job title, company, posting date, and a link to the job posting on the employer’s website or a job board such as Indeed.com. We removed duplicates sent by both organizations. Of the 10,484 URLs, only 5,187 were accessible at the time of analysis; not surprisingly, many of the usable links were skewed toward recent years. These active links were the basis of our analysis — although the wider dataset offered some useful insights — and we focused most heavily on the years 2022 and 2023 because those years offered the most robust data. We included 2021 data when gathering insights on trends over time. There were too few usable links from 2018, 2019, and 2020 to justify including those jobs in the analysis. We built the rest of our database by manually pulling relevant additional data from the job descriptions contained in each link.

Classifications

We classified each accessible posting according to the minimum required degree, the sector of the employer (industry, academia, or government), and the fields of study it mentioned (physics, electrical engineering, materials science/engineering, chemistry/chemical engineering, math, or non-STEM).

• We classified a job as “N/A” if no degree was required or if the minimum degree was lower than a bachelor’s.
• We classified a job as bachelor’s if it mentioned that degree or used language such as “college degree/college education,” “post-secondary degree,” or “degree” (as in “a degree in physics.”)
• We classified a job as master’s if it used language such as “graduate degree” or “higher-level university degree.”
• We classified a job as PhD if it specifically called for a PhD or doctorate.
• When a posting required a degree “or equivalent experience,” we classified that job by the degree mentioned because we had no way of knowing how often companies hired those without degrees.
• Student internships were classified by the degree that targeted applicants would be pursuing.
• Non-profits were classified as industry, as there were too few to justify their own category.
• We did not include company size as part of our analysis because, in this fast-changing field, some quantum technology companies grew dramatically from year to year.

Limitations

• Data sources are limited to job postings collected by the QED-C and Quantum Computing Report, potentially limiting the sample.
• A significant portion of jobs include “or equivalent experience” without specifying an exact degree, which may skew degree-based analysis.
• Across 10,484 job postings reviewed, only 49% still had active URLs, which allowed data extraction on degree requirements.
• The data set is constrained to the years 2021–2023 due to URL availability and relevance.

When citing these findings, please credit the Chicago Quantum Exchange analysis of QED-C and Quantum Computing Report data.

Meredith Fore, CQE science writer, analyzed the data, conducted the interviews, and wrote the story. She also presented the findings at the QED-C plenary at Northwestern University in Spring 2024. Please email Meredith with questions about the data or the project.

Becky Beaupre Gillespie, CQE director of communications, oversaw the project and edited the story. Please email Becky  with questions about the data, the project, media interviews, or future collaborations or insights.

Tyler Prich, CQE and UChicago manager of media relations for quantum and innovation, is the contact for journalists who are interested in interviewing an expert about this data. Please email Tyler  to arrange an interview with CQE leadership or another expert connected to this report.

A special thanks to our many contributors, including:

• Members of the QED-C staff and Workforce TAC, who provided a database of job postings and invaluable insights. Special thanks to Terrill Franz, Erin Weeks, Jonathan Felbinger, and Celia Merzbacher.
• Doug Finke at the Quantum Computing Report, who provided job postings.
• Industry experts quoted throughout this story for sharing invaluable insights.
• The communications team at IBM for providing photos, insights, and data and sharing their ideas.
• Interns Aditya Singh and Jelani Hannah helped input data from job postings.
• Robin Ficke, Wendy Wu, and Himashi Jayasundera of World Business Chicago examined broader datasets to help us better understand our findings and put them in context.
• Briana Konnick, Director of Career Development at UChicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, who provided context and talked through our approach and other considerations early in the process.
• CQE colleagues, who provided support in wide variety of ways, including Kate Timmerman, Emily Easton, Andrea Jett, and Megan Rouse.

Quantum technology — which takes advantage of the unique properties of quantum mechanics — is a rapidly growing sector that has the potential to revolutionize multiple industries, boost economies, and revitalize vulnerable communities. 

Analysts predict as many as 191,000 quantum tech jobs in the Illinois-Wisconsin-Indiana region by 2035. Of those, 136,000 — 70% — are expected to be open to people with bachelor's degrees, associate's degrees, or technical training. Learn more here. 

Adjacent occupations most closely related to quantum technical roles are high paying. For instance, according to 2023 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• Computer hardware engineers nationally earn a mean annual wage of $147,770
• Software developers earn an average of $138,110
• Computer systems analysts earn an average of $110,800.

Jobs like these generally do not require a PhD but do require skills that are transferrable to quantum technology with a small amount of retraining, either on the job or through professional education programs.

 Major industry players, like IBM, SandboxAQ, Xanadu, Wolfram Research and others have entire teams dedicated to quantum education and workforce development. Those programs are aimed at building an inclusive and sustainable quantum workforce and addressing what some worry is, or will become, a quantum workforce shortage.

The CQE has made workforce development a central part of its mission, too — and it is a major part of two CQE-led projects, the Economic Development Administration-designated Bloch Quantum Tech Hub and the US National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) Development Award: Advancing quantum technologies in the Midwest.

Quantum technology, while revolutionary, runs on a foundation of entirely classical systems. Even code on a quantum computer is managed and run by code used in traditional software. The cryogenic systems and electronic circuits necessary for quantum engineering are also well-established technologies with a long, non-quantum history.

For this reason, many of the technical skills required for quantum jobs — coding in Python, working with analog circuits, etching semiconductor wafers — can be learned or acquired in fields that aren’t quantum at all. Sometimes they can be learned on the job: that’s why so many employers told us that what they most need aren’t PhD quantum physicists — although there are still important careers for those with doctorate degrees — but curious learners with experience in another field and a willingness to pivot.

That’s also why projects aimed at quantum commercialization often have a workforce development component focused on building the programming that will equip workers with the skills to make that shift.

For employers — from startups to Fortune 500 companies — having programs that educate people at a variety of levels is key. IBM, for instance, hires at bachelor's, master's, and PhD levels — from quantum software developers and hardware engineers to roles including design, marketing, sales, business development, and product management. To ensure a robust talent pool, the company works with over 270 organizations in the IBM Quantum Network to support education and workforce development efforts, including a collaboration with the University of Chicago, the University of Tokyo, Keio University, Yonsei University, Seoul National University to train 40,000 students over the next 10 years.

The company says it has taught more than 700 classes with IBM Quantum tools and resources, worked with more 22,000 students via in-person events on campuses worldwide, and reached more than 8.6 million learners across all of their educational platforms.

Workforce development initiatives, in fact, are becoming common at quantum technology companies. For example, SandboxAQ, an Alphabet Inc. spinoff and enterprise B2B company that works at the nexus of AI and quantum technology (AQ), partners with universities to jointly develop AI + quantum curriculum, bootcamps, and certification programs and offers open-access educational materials through SandboxAQ Academy. Xanadu, a full-stack quantum computing company based in Toronto, works with universities across the globe, running educational events ​such as quantum hackathons ​and creating ​instructional ​materials​ for university faculty teaching quantum programming​. In February, Wolfram Research and Infleqtion announced a collaboration with QuSTEAM, a nonprofit quantum education initiative, to expand and improve undergraduate quantum education, integrate practical quantum technologies into curricula, and provide opportunities for hands-on learning, internships, and workshops.

Among the options: the CQE partners with the University of Chicago on professional education programs that equip early- and mid-career professions from both science and business backgrounds with quantum technical skills. Those include a four-day intensive course in quantum engineering and technology that is aimed at business professionals looking to understand and advocate for quantum technologies in a variety of fields and a virtual eight-week quantum science, networking, and communications course that is aimed at scientists and engineers.

Insight from a participant

Mohsin Ansari, a portfolio strategist at a financial company who has a background in math and engineering, took the eight-week course after learning about quantum technology by watching free lectures on YouTube and elsewhere. Ansari said the program was a “game changer” for him that formalized everything he had been learning on his own.

“You got live access to professors, and it was a small class, so I was able to ask a lot of questions,” he said.

He credits the program with his participation and success in the BIG Q Hackathon by CQE and QuantX last year, where he and his team won the business challenge by proposing a quantum computing solution to a technical problem put forth by Boeing.

“We were able to talk to professionals that had submitted the problems that were to be solved,” Ansari said. “That really helped me understand that this technology actually could help them and that we may not be that far away from actually having real world problems that could be solved with quantum computers.”

Although Ansari isn’t working for a quantum technology company, the training and experience has equipped him to contribute to this sort of problem-solving as quantum innovations enter the market — and to offer clients deeply informed advice about quantum technology investments as opportunities emerge.

Quantum technology, while revolutionary, runs on a foundation of entirely classical systems. Even code on a quantum computer is managed and run by code used in traditional software. The cryogenic systems and electronic circuits necessary for quantum engineering are also well-established technologies with a long, non-quantum history.

For this reason, many of the technical skills required for quantum jobs can be learned or acquired in fields that aren’t quantum at all. Sometimes they can be learned on the job: that’s why so many employers told us that what they most need are curious learners with experience in another field and a willingness to pivot.

Three examples of quantum-relevant skills workers have learned in other fields:

1. Coding in Python
2. Working with analog circuits
3. Etching semiconductor wafers

Sometimes workers gain relevant experience in unexpected places. Three examples:

1. Jenna Theis, director of operations for Chicago-based quantum startup EeroQ Quantum Hardware, moved into quantum after working in the cannabis industry for 10 years. Much of the lab equipment is similar, she said. “The transition was almost fluid, because it really was utilizing the skills I had,” she said. “Obviously there was a bit of a learning curve since I hadn’t taken a physics class since high school, but it’s not really required for me to get lost in the minutiae of quantum. We already have people whose job it is to know that stuff.”
2. Marie Grubb — a supermarket cake decorator who spent years carefully sculpting waves, letters, and roses with frosting — accepted a technician position at quantum technology company Infleqtion (then called ColdQuanta). The job didn’t require a PhD, a background in physics, or even experience working with quantum computers; the posting only asked that applicants have “good fine motor skills.” “They had me placing extremely small components, bonding a lot of glass cells — just knowing how to hold my hands and steady myself really did make a difference,” said Grubb, who ultimately spent seven years as the lead technician at Infleqtion, a Colorado-based quantum hardware and software company that has offices in Illinois, Wisconsin, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
3. Aaron Miller, the founder and president of Detroit-based quantum optics company Quantum Opus, said he has hired jewelry makers. “They can deal with metals, they can laser weld under a microscope, they know the language,” he said. “We’ve got tiny, breakable, really expensive pieces that they know how to handle safely, and we even use polished sapphire rods — it almost does look a little bit like jewelry when it’s done.”