(Rate: 



Figure 49 



Unemployment Rates for Scientists and 

 Engineers, by Age Group and Highest 

 Degree, 1971 



By age group 



Engineers 



24 and 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65 years 

 under ^^^ g^„„p and over 



By highest degree 



Scientists Engineers 



4 3 2 10 (Percent) 12 3 4 5 

 I I I I 



Total 



Doctorate 



Masters 



Bachelor's 



Less than 

 bachelor s 



SOURCt National Science Foundation 



Holding Actions 



Several other factors should be considered in a 

 review of employment. For most of the 1960's, 

 the percentage of those who planned to con- 

 tinue their training immediately upon receipt of 

 their science and engineering Ph.D-'s remained 

 essentially constant, except for those in the life 

 and physical sciences, who showed a steadily in- 

 creasing tendency toward postdoctoral study 

 (figure 50)- Then, in the late years of the decade, 

 the fraction of all Ph.D.'s taking postdoctoral 

 study increased somewhat-^ This may, in part, 

 have been an early indicator of the shrinking 

 employment market for scientists and engi- 



5 The sharp increases shown in figure 50 between 1068 

 anci 1969 are misleading because of changes in definitions in 

 postdoctorate study. However, analysis of the data indicates 

 increases in the proportion over earlier years. 



neers- The number of science and engineering 

 Ph.D.'s in temporary postdoctoral study was still 

 increasing in 1971- The availability of post- 

 doctoral study thus provides a number of new 

 Ph.D.'s with an alternative to employment 

 competition and at least temporarily helps re- 

 lieve pressure on the labor market. 



A related matter is the length of time between 

 receipt of the bachelor's degree and the doctor- 

 ate. The median time had been decreasing in 

 almost all fields when, in 1968-69, it started to 

 rise again in the physical sciences, mathematics, 

 engineering, and the life sciences (figure 51). 

 This may be due in part to graduate students 

 attempting to prolong their study because of the 

 scarcity of jobs. 



Age Distribution 



Without a flow of young people into science 

 and engineering, creativity in these fields would 

 tend to decline overall, as would be the case in 

 any profession. In the last decade or so, the 

 number of scientists or engineers, particularly 

 the doctorate population, has grown substan- 

 tially. Therefore, with this large flow of new en- 

 trants the average age has not risen; for doctor- 

 ates it has actually declined. 



Based on current and projected degree produc- 

 tion and projected growth in employment, it 

 appears that the average age of the science and 

 engineering population will not rise sub- 

 stantially in the coming decade. However, even 

 though the overall average age may not change 

 markedly, the proportion in the younger age 

 groups will decrease significantly unless recruit- 

 ment of new young talent continues. 



Other Changes 



As mentioned previously, the deployment of 

 doctorates into nonacademic, non-R&D activi- 

 ties increased during the 1960's. This trend in- 

 creased during the most recent years, as supply 

 expanded relative to demand. Similarly, in- 

 creased employment of doctorates was evident 

 in junior and community colleges, as well as in 4- 

 year institutions. The number of doctorates em- 

 ployed full time in the former institutions in- 

 creased nearly twice as fast as all science and 

 engineering staff between 1969 and 1971, with 

 the result that the proportion of full-time staff 

 holding doctorates increased from 8.8 to 10.6 

 percent in 2-year institutions.'' 



" National Science Foundation, Resources for Scientific 

 Activities at Universities and Colleges, 1971, NSF 72-315. 



60 



