Chapter 3 | Science and Engineering Labor Force

S&E Workers in the Economy

The business sector is by far the largest employer of the broad S&E workforce (including those with at least an S&E or S&E-related bachelor’s degree and those working in an S&E or S&E-related occupation regardless of having an S&E degree). In 2015, the business sector—mostly for-profit businesses—employed about 71% of such individuals (Table 3-6). The education sector, including private and public institutions, employed another 19%, the bulk in 2-year and precollege institutions. The government sector—federal, state, and local—employed another 11%. This distribution pattern has been quite stable for decades, except for a small rise in the nonprofit segment and a small decline in government (Appendix Table 3-4).

Some differences exist in the concentration of particular groups of S&E workers across employment sectors. For example, academic institutions are the largest employer of scientists and engineers with doctorates, although the business sector is the largest employer of scientists and engineers overall. Whereas individuals employed in engineering occupations and computer and mathematical sciences occupations are largely concentrated in the business sector, those employed as life scientists, physical scientists, and social scientists are more evenly distributed between the business sector and education and government sectors together. The following discussion provides a deeper analysis of the economic sectors in which scientists and engineers work.

The education sector employs nearly one-fifth of the S&E workforce but is segmented by level of S&E education (Table 3-6; Figure 3-10; Appendix Table 3-5). The vast majority of S&E doctorate holders in this sector work in 4-year institutions as faculty, postdoctorates (postdocs), research staff, and a variety of other full- and part-time positions. The majority of bachelor’s level scientists and engineers work in 2-year and precollege institutions. (See Chapter 5 for additional detail on academic employment of science, engineering, and health [SEH] doctorate holders.)

The subsectoral employment distribution also differs for those in S&E occupations. Larger proportions of life, physical, and social scientists work in the education sector, compared with engineers or computer and mathematical scientists (Figure 3-11). Within the education sector, the vast majority (82%) of those in S&E occupations are concentrated in 4-year institutions. In contrast, the great majority of workers in S&E-related or non-S&E occupations in the education sector are found in 2-year and precollege institutions (71% and 69%, respectively), and the bulk of them are employed as teachers.

For-profit businesses. For-profit businesses employ the largest proportion of scientists and engineers (Table 3-6). At the doctorate level, however, the proportions employed by for-profit businesses (36%) and 4-year educational institutions (40%) are similar (Figure 3-10; Appendix Table 3-5; also, see sidebar Patterns of Mobility of New S&E PhDs into the Business Sector). Employment also varies by occupational categories. The majority of those working in computer and mathematical sciences occupations (74%) and in engineering occupations (77%) are employed by for-profit businesses, but the proportions are much lower for those in other S&E occupations, ranging from 16% for social scientists to 40% for physical scientists (Figure 3-11).

Nonprofit organizations. Employment of scientists and engineers in nonprofit businesses has grown (Appendix Table 3-4), with particularly strong growth among S&E-related occupations, which include health-related jobs. Continuing the trend seen in the broader economy, the number of health-related jobs in nonprofit organizations has risen dramatically from 97,000 in 1993 to 1.2 million in 2015. As a result, the total share of all health-related occupations in nonprofit organizations has risen from 13% in 1993 to 25% in 2015. Nearly half (47%) of such workers are employed as registered nurses, dieticians, therapists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners.

Among those in S&E occupations, the proportion employed by nonprofit organizations is much smaller (5%) (Table 3-6), with substantial variation among different fields, ranging from 2% of engineers to 10% of social scientists and 7% of life scientists (Figure 3-11).

Self-employment. In 2015, almost 4.3 million scientists and engineers (17%) reported being self-employed in either an unincorporated or incorporated business, professional practice, or farm (Table 3-7).^​ Those working in S&E-related or non-S&E occupations reported higher levels of self-employment (15% and 22%, respectively) than those working in S&E occupations (11%). Among those with a highest degree in S&E, individuals with professional degrees reported substantially higher rates of self-employment (35%) than those with a bachelor’s degree (17%), master’s degree (12%), or doctorate (12%) as their highest degree.

Incorporated businesses account for at least half of self-employed scientists and engineers in most fields (Table 3-7). However, most of those in social science occupations worked in unincorporated businesses, which was largely driven by psychologists. In 2015, among the 213,000 employed psychologists, 28% were self-employed, mostly in unincorporated businesses. In addition, 39% of professional degree holders in a field of psychology were self-employed, also with most employed in unincorporated businesses.

Federal government. According to data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal government employed approximately 329,000 people in S&E occupations in 2016, which represents about 16% of the federal civilian workforce.^​,​ Federal workers in S&E occupations are almost evenly distributed among computer and mathematical sciences occupations (33%); engineering occupations (31%); and life sciences, physical sciences, and social sciences occupations (36%). The majority (81%) of the federal workers in S&E occupations have a bachelor’s or higher level degree.

The five federal agencies with the largest proportions of their workforce in S&E jobs are those with strong scientific missions: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (66%), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (63%), the Environmental Protection Agency (61%), NSF (41%), and the Department of Energy (33%). The Department of Defense has the largest number of workers in S&E occupations (154,000), accounting for 47% of the federal workforce in S&E occupations.^​

State and local government. In 2015, about 1.6 million scientists and engineers (6%) were working in state and local governments in the United States (Table 3-6). Public educational institutions are included in the education sector and excluded here. State and local governments employ about 7% of both S&E bachelor’s degree holders and S&E master’s degree holders, compared to only 2% of S&E doctorate holders (Figure 3-10). Among those employed in S&E occupations, larger proportions of life scientists, physical scientists, and social scientists work in state and local governments, compared with computer and math scientists (Figure 3-11).

The majority of educational institutions and government entities that employ individuals trained in S&E fields or working in S&E occupations are large employers (i.e., having 100 or more employees). These large organizations employ 87% of scientists and engineers in the education sector and 92% of those in the government sector. In contrast, scientists and engineers working in the business sector are more broadly distributed across firms of different sizes (Figure 3-12).

Many scientists and engineers who are self-employed work in businesses with 10 or fewer employees. In all, 84% of self-employed individuals in unincorporated businesses and 45% of self-employed individuals in incorporated businesses work in businesses with 10 or fewer employees. In contrast, only 5% of all other scientists and engineers work in businesses with 10 or fewer employees. Many of these scientists and engineers likely think of themselves as independent professionals rather than small-business owners.

The OES survey provides detailed estimates for employment in S&E occupations by type of industry; however, it excludes self-employed individuals, those employed in private households, and some individuals employed in agriculture. Industries vary in their proportions of S&E workers (Table 3-8). In 2016, the industry group with the largest S&E employment was professional, scientific, and technical services (2.1 million),^​ followed by manufacturing (937,000) (Table 3-8). The government sector, which includes federal, state, and local governments, employed 652,000 S&E workers; educational services, including private and public educational institutions, employed another 702,000 S&E workers. These four industry groups—professional, scientific, and technical services; manufacturing; government; and educational services—had a disproportionate concentration of S&E workers and together accounted for about 66% of S&E employment, compared with 31% of total employment.

S&E employment intensity, defined by an industry’s S&E employment as a proportion of its total employment, was highest in professional, scientific, and technical services (24%), followed by information (20%) and by management of companies and enterprises (14%) (Table 3-8). The broad industry sectors with S&E employment intensity below the national average (4.8%) together employed 60% of all workers in 2016 but only 14% of workers in S&E occupations. These sectors with S&E employment intensity below the national average include large employers such as health care and social assistance, retail trade, and accommodation and food services. The health care and social assistance industry employed a large number of health workers who fall under NSF’s category of S&E-related occupations (Table 3-2).

The availability of a skilled workforce is an important indicator of a region’s population, productivity, and technological growth (Carlino, Chatterjee, and Hunt 2001; Glaeser and Saiz 2003). The federal government uses standard definitions to describe geographical regions in the United States for comparative purposes. It designates very large metropolitan areas, sometimes dividing them into smaller metropolitan divisions that can also be substantial in size (OMB 2009).

This section presents the following indicators of the availability of S&E workers in a metropolitan area: (1) the number of S&E workers in the metropolitan area or division, and (2) the proportion of the entire metropolitan area workforce in S&E occupations. Data on the metropolitan areas with the largest proportion of workers in S&E occupations in 2016 appear in Table 3-9. These estimates are affected by the geographic scope of each metropolitan area, which can vary significantly. In particular, comparisons between areas can be strongly affected by how much territory outside the urban core is included in the metropolitan area.

S&E employment in the United States is geographically concentrated; that is, a small number of geographic areas account for a significant proportion of S&E jobs. For example, the 20 metropolitan areas listed in Table 3-9 account for 19% of nationwide employment in S&E jobs, compared to about 9% of employment in all occupations.

R&D creates new types of goods and services that can contribute to economic and productivity growth and enhance living standards. Thus, the status of the nation’s R&D workforce is a policy area of concern nationally, regionally, and, increasingly, locally. This section uses NSF’s NSCG data to examine the R&D activity of scientists and engineers. In this section, the R&D workforce is defined as the proportion of workers who reported basic research, applied research, design, or development as a primary or secondary work activity in their principal job (i.e., activities that rank first or second in total work hours from a list of 14 activities).^​

Overall, 28% of employed scientists and engineers in 2015 reported R&D as a primary or secondary work activity; the proportions who did so vary substantially across occupations and degrees (Figure 3-13). The majority of individuals in S&E occupations (55%) reported performing R&D, but so did a considerable proportion of those in S&E-related occupations (21%) and non-S&E occupations (16%). This indicates that, although R&D activity spans a broad range of occupations, it is concentrated in S&E occupations. Among those with a non-S&E highest degree but working in an S&E occupation, a sizeable proportion reported R&D activity (45%), although this proportion is lower than for their colleagues with a highest degree in an S&E field (58%). A sizeable proportion of those with S&E degrees do not perform R&D—among them, many S&E degree holders subsequently earn degrees in fields such as medicine, law, or business. In 2015, the majority of S&E bachelor’s degree holders who subsequently obtained an advanced degree (60%) earned it in an S&E-related field (18%) or non-S&E field (42%). Additionally, among S&E bachelor’s degree holders who reported a second major for their bachelor’s degree, about 59% designated an S&E-related field (4%) or non-S&E field (55%) as their second major.

Most individuals in the S&E workforce who reported performing R&D have a bachelor’s (52%) or master’s (33%) degree as their highest degree; those with doctorates account for 12% of researchers but only 5% of the S&E workforce. In most occupations, those with doctorates indicated higher rates of R&D activity than those with a bachelor’s or master’s degree as their highest degree (Table 3-10).^​ Overall, among those employed in S&E occupations, about three-quarters of life and physical scientists reported R&D activity, whereas approximately half of social scientists (51%) and computer and mathematical scientists (45%) reported R&D activity (Table 3-10).

R&D activity tends to decline in later career stages (Figure 3-14). Among SEH doctorate holders who earned their doctorate in 2006 or later, 73% reported R&D activity in 2015. Among those receiving degrees between 1986 and 2005, 60% reported R&D activity in 2015. For those with degrees predating 1986, 56% reported R&D activity in 2015. The decline in R&D activity over the course of individuals’ careers may reflect movement into teaching or management, growth of other career interests, or possession of scientific knowledge and skills that are no longer in demand. It may also reflect increased opportunity for more experienced scientists to perform functions involving the interpretation and use of, as opposed to the creation and development of, scientific knowledge.

In addition to formal education, workers receive work-related training. Such training can contribute to innovation and productivity growth by enhancing skills, efficiency, and knowledge. In 2015, 52% of scientists and engineers reported participating in work-related training within the past 12 months of being surveyed (Table 3-11).^​ Among those who were employed, workers in S&E-related jobs (e.g., health-related occupations, S&E managers, S&E precollege teachers, and S&E technicians and technologists) exhibited higher rates of training (71%) than workers in S&E (54%) or non-S&E occupations (58%). Women participated in work-related training at a higher rate than men (55% versus 49%) (Appendix Table 3-6). This difference exists regardless of labor force status.

Among scientists and engineers who participated in such work-related training, most stated that their most important reason for participation was to improve skills or knowledge in their current occupational field (52%) (Appendix Table 3-7).^​ Others did so for licensure or certification in their current occupational field (20%) or because it was required or expected by their employer (19%). Relative to those who were employed or not in the labor force, those who were unemployed more frequently reported that they engaged in work-related training to facilitate a change to a different occupational field. Those who were not in the labor force more frequently reported that they engaged in this activity for leisure or personal interest than those who were in the labor force.