Figure 5-9 



Age distribution of doctoral scientists 

 and engineers, by type of employer, 1973 



(Percent) 

 5 10 15 20 



I I I 



25 



under 30 



30-34 years 



35-39 years 



40-44 years 



45-49 years 



50-54 years 



55-59 years 



60-64 years 



65 or over 



Four-year colleges and universities 

 Business and industry 

 Federal Government 



r 



SOURCE National Science Foundation. 



baccalaureate and the doctorate has been 

 approximately 7 to 8 years. i^ 



Inherent in the age and tenure data is an 

 implication that the pattern in many fields over 

 the next 5 to 10 years may be that of a relatively 

 senior faculty, the great majority of whom will 

 be tenured. However, it is possible that for some 

 fields these recent trends could be reversed if in 



the future, replacement openings for science and 

 engineering faculty caused by death and retire- 

 ment are filled extensively with new junior 

 faculty on academic staffs. 



Utilization of postdoctoral personnel. 



Between 1967 and 1974, the number of science 

 and engineering postdoctorals, as indicated by a 

 survey of representative science and engineer- 

 ing departments in doctorate-granting in- 

 stitutions, increased by 21 percent, reaching 

 almost 17,000 in 1974 (figure 5-10). is The 

 reasons for these increases may have changed 

 midway during this period. In the late 1960's, 

 universities provided increasing numbers of 



Figure 5-10 



Postdoctorals and research assistants in 

 science and engineering departments at 

 doctorate-granting institutions, 1967-74 



Index: 1967 = 100 

 140 



1967 '68 '69 70 



SOURCE: National Science Foundation. 



■71 



■73 



1' Doclorale Recipients from U.S. Unwersilies: Summary Report, 

 National Academy of Sciences, annual series. 



i» The indices for 1967-71 are estimates based on 

 applications submitted to NSF for its departmental 

 traineeship program. Indices after 1971 were collected by the 

 "Survey of Graduate Science Student Support and Postdoc- 

 torals" for matched departments. 



124 



