postdoctoral appointments as part of the general 

 academic science expansion. Between the late 

 1960's and the early 1970's, however, academic 

 science funding from the Federal Government 

 leveled off (in constant dollar terms), while the 

 employment market for new doctorates, es- 

 pecially in academic institutions, declined 

 markedly. 



Although fewer academic R&D funds were 

 available, there are at least two possible reasons 

 for increases in the postdoctoral population 

 between 1967 and 1974. Both new doctorates 

 and the universities at which they worked may 

 have used the postdoctoral appointments as a 

 "holding pattern" until new Ph.D.'s could find 

 desirable positions. This reason was given by 

 over 35 percent of science and engineering 

 postdoctorals in a recent study. ^'^ A second 

 possible reason is the interest of academic 

 researchers in maximizing their research effec- 

 tiveness in periods of financial stress. One way 

 to accomplish this may have been to substitute 

 postdoctorals for research assistants during the 

 earlier years of the 1967-74 period, a pattern 

 which is suggested by the data in figure 5-10. 



A high in the number of academic postdoctoral 

 appointments was reached in 1972 followed by a 

 decline resulting primarily from decreases in the 

 number of postdoctoral appointments of 're- 

 cent" doctorates (i.e., those who had earned their 

 doctorates within four years of the study). In 

 1972 these recent degree recipients comprised 

 72 percent of all postdoctorals, compared with 58 

 percent in 1974. 



Industrial employment of scientists and 

 engineers 



The industrial sector is by far the largest 

 employer of scientists and engineers. -f TTiere 

 was, however, some fluctuation in the level of 

 employment during the 1970-74 period, reflec- 

 ting first the layoffs of scientific and technical 

 personnel in industry in 1971-72, and then the 

 general upturn in the economy during late 1973 

 and early 1974. Scientists and engineers 

 employed in industry in 1970 constituted almost 

 two-thirds of all such personnel employed in 



I' Charactenslics of Doctoral Scienhsis and Engineers in the United 

 States. 1973. National Science Foundation (NSF 75-312-A). 



2° "National Sample of Scientists and Engineers: Changes 

 in Employment, 1970-72 and 1972-74", Science Resources Studies 

 Highlights. National Science Foundation (NSF 75-309), May 

 19, 1975. 



that year, but increased in the two subsequent 

 years so that the level in early 1974 was near that 

 of 1970. 



Engineers accounted for nearly 80 percent of 

 the scientists and engineers employed in the 

 industrial sector in 1974. Physical scientists 

 (including those in the environmental sciences) 

 accounted for 11 percent of the total and 

 computer scientists, 6 percent. 



In 1974, R&Dand its management constituted 

 the largest primary activity of industrial scien- 

 tists and engineers, involving almost 30 percent 

 of the total group. However, as shown in the 

 table below, there were some differences 

 between the activity patterns of scientists and 

 engineers. A larger fraction of industrial scien- 

 tists were primarily engaged in R&D and 

 management of R&D (36 percent) than was the 

 case for engineers (26 percent). The next most 

 common activity of industrial engineers was 

 management of non-R&D activities, while for 

 scientists it was the area of computer 

 applications. 



Percent distribution of the 1970 science 

 and engineering labor force employed in 

 industry, by primary work activity, 1974* 



Primary work activity Total Scientists Engineers 



R&Dand R&D 



management 29 36 26 



Management of 



non-R&D activities ..19 15 20 



Production and 



inspection 16 13 17 



Design 14 NA 18 



Computer 



applications 6 19 2 



Other activities 16 17 17 



^ NSF, special tabulations 



The Federal Government provided support 

 for 23 percent of all industrial scientists and 

 engineers in 1974 versus 28 percent in 1972. 

 This decrease was evident among most fields. In 

 both years, much of the Federal support was for 

 industrial R&D activities. The estimated relative 

 level of support varied widely among the 

 different science fields. In 1974, 26 percent of the 

 engineers and 22 percent of the mathematical 

 scientists received Federal support; the same was 

 true for only 10 percent of the physical scientists 

 and approximately 5 percent of the life and 

 environmental scientists. 



Over half — 52 percent — of all Federal support 

 of scientists and engineers in 1974 came from 



125 



