Figure 5-4 



Estimated percent distribution of doctoral scientists, by primary worl< activity, 1966-73 



(Percent) 



40 

 35 

 30 



k , 1968 

 ■W 1970 

 i^- 1973 



25 - 



20 



Management or 

 administration 



I 



Teaching 



Other 



SOURCE: National Science Foundation, 



to nonscience occupations. Between 10-30 

 percent of the doctorates in each field are 

 employed in fields different from their doctorate 

 field. The fields of bioscience, mathematics, and 

 psychology experience the highest retention 

 rates, with approximately 90 percent of the 

 doctorates in these fields still employed in the 

 same field of their doctorate, while physics and 

 chemistry have the lowest retention rates 

 (approximately 70 percent). Data on shifts to 

 nonscience occupations show 11 percent of the 

 doctoral social scientists changing fields, com- 

 pared to 6 percent of the doctoral chemists and 

 doctoral psychologists.* 



Academic employment of scientists and 

 engineers 



Universities and colleges employed about 

 288,100 scientists and engineers in 1974 (in- 

 cluding full-time and part-time personnel), an 

 increase of 61 percent over the 178,900 



' Doctoral Scimlisli and Engineen in the Uniled Stales, 1973 Profile. 

 National Academy of Sciences, 1''74. 



employed in 1965. Most of the growth occurred 

 between 1965 and 1971, with increases in all 

 scientific disciplines. The average annual rate of 

 growth in academic employment of scientists 

 and engineers between 1971-74 was only 1.7 

 percent compared with 7.3 percent during 1965- 

 71. In absolute terms, the largest growth 

 occurred in the employment of life scientists and 

 social scientists, which together accounted for 

 more than three-fifths of the overall increase 

 between 1905-74 (figure 5-5). In two fields, 

 engineering and social sciences, there were small 

 declines in employment from 1973 to 1974. 



As demand slackened for academic employ- 

 ment during the early 1970's, the attainment of 

 the doctoral degree in the sciences and engineer- 

 ing became increasingly important as a requisite 

 for employment in this sector. Since 1971, 

 academic scientists and engineers with Ph.D.'s 

 or health profession doctorates increased about 

 10 percent, compared with small declines in the 

 employment of persons with master's or 

 bachelor's degrees (figure 5-6). Between 1965 

 and 1974, employment of doctorates in univer- 

 sities and colleges increased by more than 60 



120 



