by Jaquelina C. Falkenheim and Joan S. Burrelli[1]
In 2008, 19 million scientists and engineers were employed in the United States.[2] This figure includes 4.9 million employed in science and engineering (S&E) occupations, 5.5 million employed in S&E related occupations, and 8.8 million employed in non-S&E occupations with S&E related degrees.[3] More than half (53%) of these scientists and engineers worked in industry (figure 1).
This InfoBrief examines sex, racial/ethnic, and disability characteristics of scientists and engineers employed in industry, including breakouts by highest educational degree, occupation, primary and secondary work activity, and management occupations.
Compared with their proportions in the U.S. population, women, blacks, Hispanics (regardless of racial background), American Indians and Alaska Natives, and persons with disabilities are underrepresented in the industrial S&E workforce; Asians and whites are overrepresented.[4] White men who are not of Hispanic origin account for half of the scientists and engineers working in industry, and white women who are not of Hispanic origin account for another 25% (table 1). Minority women account for 10% and minority men account for 15% of scientists and engineers working in industry, with about half of all minorities being Asian.[5] Six percent of scientists and engineers employed in industry have disabilities.
TABLE 1. Scientists and engineers employed in industry, by sex, race/ethnicity, disability status, and level of highest degree: 2008
All degree levelsa
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctoral
Sex, race/ethnicity, and disability status
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
Both sexes
10,204,000
100.0
6,374,000
62.5
2,536,000
24.9
300,000
2.9
White
7,639,000
100.0
4,886,000
64.0
1,792,000
23.5
196,000
2.6
Asian
1,311,000
100.0
646,000
49.3
471,000
35.9
84,000
6.4
Black or African American
470,000
100.0
313,000
66.6
112,000
23.8
8,000
1.7
Hispanic
542,000
100.0
351,000
64.8
121,000
22.3
8,000
1.5
American Indian or Alaska Native
36,000
100.0
26,000
72.2
7,000
19.4
*
*
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
44,000
100.0
34,000
77.3
6,000
13.6
1,000
2.3
Multiple race
161,000
100.0
118,000
73.3
26,000
16.1
3,000
1.9
Without disability
9,561,000
100.0
5,940,000
62.1
2,396,000
25.1
283,000
3.0
With disability
643,000
100.0
434,000
67.5
140,000
21.8
17,000
2.6
Female
3,587,000
100.0
2,310,000
64.4
872,000
24.3
70,000
2.0
White
2,575,000
100.0
1,687,000
65.5
607,000
23.6
45,000
1.7
Asian
471,000
100.0
258,000
54.8
148,000
31.4
17,000
3.6
Black or African American
232,000
100.0
156,000
67.2
54,000
23.3
4,000
1.7
Hispanic
208,000
100.0
136,000
65.4
48,000
23.1
3,000
1.4
American Indian or Alaska Native
13,000
100.0
10,000
76.9
2,000
15.4
*
*
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
16,000
100.0
12,000
75.0
1,000
6.3
*
*
Multiple race
72,000
100.0
52,000
72.2
12,000
16.7
1,000
1.4
Without disability
3,397,000
100.0
2,176,000
64.1
832,000
24.5
68,000
2.0
With disability
190,000
100.0
134,000
70.5
41,000
21.6
2,000
1.1
Male
6,617,000
100.0
4,064,000
61.4
1,664,000
25.1
229,000
3.5
White
5,063,000
100.0
3,200,000
63.2
1,185,000
23.4
151,000
3.0
Asian
840,000
100.0
389,000
46.3
323,000
38.5
67,000
8.0
Black or African American
238,000
100.0
156,000
65.5
59,000
24.8
4,000
1.7
Hispanic
334,000
100.0
216,000
64.7
73,000
21.9
5,000
1.5
American Indian or Alaska Native
23,000
100.0
16,000
69.6
5,000
21.7
*
*
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
29,000
100.0
21,000
72.4
5,000
17.2
*
*
Multiple race
89,000
100.0
67,000
75.3
13,000
14.6
2,000
2.2
Without disability
6,164,000
100.0
3,764,000
61.1
1,564,000
25.4
215,000
3.5
With disability
453,000
100.0
301,000
66.4
99,000
21.9
15,000
3.3
* = estimate < 500.
a Total includes professional degrees not broken out separately.
NOTES: Scientists and engineers include persons who have ever received a U.S. bachelor's or higher degree in a science and engineering (S&E) or S&E-related
field through 30 June 2007, persons holding a non-S&E bachelor's or higher degree who were employed in an S&E or S&E-related occupation on 1 October 2003,
and persons who held a non-U.S. S&E degree and were in the United States on 1 October 2003. American Indians or Alaska Natives, Asians, blacks or African
Americans, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, whites, and persons reporting more than one race refer to individuals who are not of Hispanic origin. Persons
of Hispanic origin may be of any race. Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation/National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT): 2008.
Most scientists and engineers (63%) employed in industry have a bachelor's degree as their highest degree (figure 1, table 1). Another 25% have master's degrees, and 3% have doctoral degrees. Although the percentage with doctoral degrees is small, the number of scientists and engineers with doctorates in industry (300,000) is second only to the number of scientists and engineers with doctorates who are employed by 4-year colleges and universities (381,000).
Male scientists and engineers employed in industry have higher levels of education than their female counterparts. Among scientists and engineers employed in industry, women are more likely than men to have a bachelor's as their highest degree and men are more likely than women to have a doctoral degree. Black, Hispanic, and white scientists and engineers in industry have fairly similar educational attainment, but Asians, Asian men in particular, are more likely than any other group to have master's or doctoral degrees (table 1). Compared with scientists and engineers without disabilities, those with disabilities are more likely to have a bachelor's as their highest degree and are less likely to have a master's as their highest degree.
Occupation
Of the 10 million scientists and engineers employed in industry, about 3 million work in S&E occupations, over 2 million work in S&E-related occupations (primarily doctors and nurses), and nearly 5 million work in non-S&E occupations (primarily top-level management, management-related occupations, and sales). Among those employed in S&E occupations, by far the largest numbers are employed as computer and mathematical scientists and engineers (table 2).
TABLE 2. Scientists and engineers employed in industry, by sex, race/ethnicity, disability status, and occupation: 2008 (Percent)
S&E occupations
Sex, race/ethnicity, and disability status
All occupations
(n)
Computer and mathematical scientists
Biological, agricultural, and other life scientists
Physical and related scientists
Social and related scientists
Engineers
S&E-related occupations
Non-S&E occupations
Both sexes
10,204,000
14.1
1.4
1.5
1.1
12.1
24.4
45.4
White
7,639,000
12.4
1.3
1.5
1.2
12.0
24.3
47.4
Asian
1,311,000
26.3
2.1
1.8
0.8
14.7
23.6
30.7
Black or African American
470,000
12.6
1.1
0.9
0.9
7.2
27.2
50.4
Hispanic
542,000
10.0
1.7
1.3
0.9
11.8
26.4
48.0
American Indian or Alaska Native
36,000
13.9
D
S
S
8.3
33.3
41.7
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
44,000
13.6
*
D
D
15.9
27.3
40.9
Multiple race
161,000
13.7
1.2
1.9
1.2
12.4
22.4
47.8
Without disability
9,561,000
14.1
1.4
1.5
1.2
12.1
24.7
45.1
With disability
643,000
12.8
0.9
1.7
0.8
12.6
21.2
49.9
Female
3,587,000
9.3
1.8
1.3
1.4
4.2
33.8
48.1
White
2,575,000
7.9
1.7
1.2
1.6
3.5
34.6
49.3
Asian
471,000
18.5
2.8
1.9
1.1
7.4
29.5
38.9
Black or African American
232,000
9.9
1.3
0.9
0.4
3.0
37.5
47.0
Hispanic
208,000
5.8
1.9
1.0
1.0
4.8
30.3
55.3
American Indian or Alaska Native
13,000
S
D
D
D
7.7
46.2
38.5
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
16,000
D
D
D
D
S
37.5
43.8
Multiple race
72,000
8.3
S
S
1.4
5.6
29.2
52.8
Without disability
3,397,000
9.3
1.9
1.3
1.4
4.3
34.0
47.9
With disability
190,000
8.9
1.6
1.6
1.6
2.1
31.1
53.2
Male
6,617,000
16.6
1.2
1.6
1.0
16.4
19.4
43.9
White
5,063,000
14.6
1.1
1.6
1.0
16.3
19.0
46.4
Asian
840,000
30.7
1.7
1.7
0.8
18.8
20.4
26.1
Black or African American
238,000
15.1
0.8
0.8
S
11.3
17.2
53.8
Hispanic
334,000
12.6
1.5
1.8
0.6
16.2
24.0
43.4
American Indian or Alaska Native
23,000
17.4
D
*
D
8.7
26.1
43.5
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
29,000
13.8
D
D
D
20.7
20.7
37.9
Multiple race
89,000
18.0
S
2.2
S
16.9
16.9
43.8
Without disability
6,164,000
16.8
1.2
1.6
1.0
16.4
19.5
43.5
With disability
453,000
14.3
0.9
1.8
0.4
17.0
17.0
48.6
* = estimate < 500; D = suppressed for confidentiality; S = suppressed for reliability.
S&E = science and engineering.
NOTES: Scientists and engineers include persons who have ever received a U.S. bachelor's or higher degree in an S&E or S&E-related field through 30 June 2007,
persons holding a non-S&E bachelor's or higher degree who were employed in an S&E or S&E-related occupation on 1 October 2003, and persons who held a non-U.S.
S&E degree and were in the United States on 1 October 2003. See http://sestat.nsf.gov/docs/occ03maj.html for a detailed description of the occupational classification.
American Indians or Alaska Natives, Asians, blacks or African Americans, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, whites, and persons reporting more than one race
refer to individuals who are not of Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand. Detail may not add to
total because of rounding.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation/National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT): 2008.
Men and women differ in occupation within the industry sector. Men are more likely than women to be engineers and computer and mathematical scientists, and women are more likely than men to work in S&E-related occupations. With the exception of Asians, most racial/ethnic groups differ little in occupation within industry. Asians are more likely than other racial/ethnic groups to be computer and mathematical scientists and less likely to work in non-S&E occupations. Persons with and without disabilities work in largely similar occupations.
Primary or Secondary Work Activity
In contrast to academia, where most scientists and engineers are engaged in teaching and research, the majority of scientists and engineers working in industry reported that their primary or secondary work activity was management, sales, or administration (69%). Another 30% reported research and development, 15% reported computer applications, and 6% reported teaching (table 3).[6]
TABLE 3. Scientists and engineers employed in industry, by sex, race/ethnicity, disability status, and primary/secondary work activity: 2008 (Percent)
Sex, race/ethnicity, and disability status
All work
activities (n)a
Research and
development
Management,
sales, or
administrationb
Computer
applications
Teaching
Both sexes
10,204,000
30.0
68.8
15.2
5.7
White
7,639,000
28.8
71.0
13.5
5.6
Asian
1,311,000
39.7
55.8
27.3
4.0
Black or African American
470,000
24.7
68.5
12.3
10.0
Hispanic
542,000
28.2
69.7
12.4
7.4
American Indian or Alaska Native
36,000
27.8
63.9
8.3
S
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
44,000
27.3
70.5
11.4
6.8
Multiple race
161,000
29.8
69.6
13.7
5.6
Without disability
9,561,000
30.1
68.8
15.2
5.7
With disability
643,000
29.1
69.4
14.0
5.4
Female
3,587,000
22.2
66.6
9.9
10.2
White
2,575,000
20.7
68.5
8.6
10.6
Asian
471,000
30.8
56.7
18.9
6.2
Black or African American
232,000
20.3
64.2
8.6
14.2
Hispanic
208,000
23.1
69.2
7.7
10.1
American Indian or Alaska Native
13,000
S
61.5
S
S
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
16,000
25.0
62.5
D
D
Multiple race
72,000
22.2
66.7
11.1
6.9
Without disability
3,397,000
22.3
66.7
9.9
10.2
With disability
190,000
19.5
65.8
10.5
8.9
Male
6,617,000
34.3
70.0
18.0
3.2
White
5,063,000
33.0
72.3
16.0
3.0
Asian
840,000
44.8
55.2
31.9
2.6
Black or African American
238,000
29.0
72.7
16.0
6.3
Hispanic
334,000
31.4
70.1
15.3
5.7
American Indian or Alaska Native
23,000
30.4
65.2
8.7
D
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
29,000
31.0
72.4
17.2
D
Multiple race
89,000
36.0
71.9
15.7
4.5
Without disability
6,164,000
34.3
69.9
18.2
3.1
With disability
453,000
33.1
70.9
15.5
4.0
D = suppressed for confidentiality; S = suppressed for reliability.
a Total includes other work activities (production, operations, or maintenance; professional services; or other) not broken out separately. b Includes respondents who reported the following work activities: accounting, finance or contracts, employee relations, quality or productivity management,
sales and marketing, or managing and supervising.
NOTES: Scientists and engineers include persons who have ever received a U.S. bachelor's or higher degree in a science and engineering (S&E) or S&Erelated
field through 30 June 2007, persons holding a non-S&E bachelor's or higher degree who were employed in an S&E or S&E-related occupation on 1
October 2003, and persons who held a non-U.S. S&E degree and were in the United States on 1 October 2003. See http://sestat.nsf.gov/docs/occ03maj.html for a detailed description of the occupational classification. American Indians or Alaska Natives, Asians, blacks or African Americans, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, whites, and persons reporting more than one race refer to individuals who are not of Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be
of any race. Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand. Detail may not add to total because of rounding and multiple response to work activity. Totals sum
to more than 100% because respondents could select both a primary and a secondary work activity.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation/National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT): 2008.
Partly reflecting differences in occupation discussed above, men are more likely than women to report research and development or computer applications as their primary or secondary work activity, whereas women are more likely to name teaching, regardless of race/ethnicity or disability status. Asians are more likely than any other racial/ethnic group to report research and development or computer applications as their primary or secondary work activity, and they are less likely than most other racial/ethnic groups to report management, sales, or administration. Compared with most other racial ethnic groups, blacks are less likely to report research and development and more likely to report teaching as their primary/secondary work activity. Persons with and without disabilities differ little in work activity.
Management
Just over 1 in 10 scientists and engineers working in industry are managers. Men and women and the various racial/ethnic groups differ in their propensity to be managers, partly reflecting differences in age distributions. Among scientists and engineers in the United States, women are younger on average than men, and minorities are younger on average than whites.[7] Among scientists and engineers within industry, men are more likely than women to be managers, both midlevel and top-level managers, executives, and administrators within most racial/ethnic groups and regardless of disability status (table 4). Asians, blacks, and persons who reported multiple races are less likely than whites to be managers. Similar proportions of persons with and without disabilities are managers.
TABLE 4. Scientists and engineers employed in industry, by sex, race/ethnicity, disability status, and management occupation: 2008 (Percent)
Sex, race/ethnicity, and disability status
All
occupations (n)
All
managers (n)
Top-level managers, executives, or administrators
Mid-level S&E managers
Mid-level non-S&E managers
Nonmanagers (n)
Both sexes
10,204,000
1,108,000
5.8
3.1
2.0
9,095,000
White
7,639,000
900,000
6.4
3.1
2.3
6,738,000
Asian
1,311,000
97,000
3.6
2.9
0.9
1,214,000
Black or African American
470,000
36,000
3.0
3.0
1.7
434,000
Hispanic
542,000
54,000
5.2
3.0
1.8
488,000
American Indian or Alaska Native
36,000
5,000
8.3
5.6
D
32,000
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
44,000
5,000
S
D
D
39,000
Multiple race
161,000
10,000
4.3
1.2
0.6
151,000
Without disability
9,561,000
1,044,000
5.8
3.1
2.0
8,517,000
With disability
643,000
64,000
5.0
2.6
2.2
579,000
Female
3,587,000
206,000
2.4
1.8
1.6
3,381,000
White
2,575,000
160,000
2.4
1.9
1.8
2,416,000
Asian
471,000
20,000
2.8
1.1
0.4
451,000
Black or African American
232,000
12,000
1.7
2.2
1.3
221,000
Hispanic
208,000
12,000
2.9
1.0
1.9
196,000
American Indian or Alaska Native
13,000
S
D
D
D
12,000
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
16,000
D
D
D
D
15,000
Multiple race
72,000
2,000
D
S
D
70,000
Without disability
3,397,000
196,000
2.5
1.7
1.6
3,201,000
With disability
190,000
10,000
S
2.6
S
180,000
Male
6,617,000
902,000
7.6
3.8
2.3
5,715,000
White
5,063,000
741,000
8.4
3.8
2.5
4,322,000
Asian
840,000
77,000
4.0
3.9
1.3
763,000
Black or African American
238,000
25,000
4.6
3.8
2.1
213,000
Hispanic
334,000
42,000
6.6
4.2
1.8
292,000
American Indian or Alaska Native
23,000
4,000
13.0
D
D
19,000
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
29,000
5,000
S
D
D
24,000
Multiple race
89,000
8,000
7.9
1.1
S
81,000
Without disability
6,164,000
848,000
7.7
3.9
2.2
5,316,000
With disability
453,000
54,000
6.4
2.9
2.6
399,000
D = suppressed for confidentiality; S = suppressed for reliability.
S&E = science and engineering.
NOTES: Scientists and engineers include persons who have ever received a U.S. bachelor's or higher degree in an S&E or S&E-related field through 30 June 2007,
persons holding a non-S&E bachelor's or higher degree who were employed in an S&E or S&E-related occupation on 1 October 2003, and persons who held a non-U.S.
S&E degree and were in the United States on 1 October 2003. See http://sestat.nsf.gov/docs/occ03maj.html for a detailed description of the occupational classification.
American Indians or Alaska Natives, Asians, blacks or African Americans, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders, whites, and persons reporting more than one race
refer to individuals who are not of Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand. Detail may not add to
total because of rounding.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation/National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT): 2008.
Data presented here are from the 2008 Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT), which comprises three large demographic and workforce surveys of individuals conducted by the National Science Foundation: the National Survey of College Graduates, the National Survey of Recent College Graduates, and the Survey of Doctorate Recipients. The 2008 SESTAT included 100,313 individuals representing a population of about 19 million scientists and engineers, including people trained in S&E or S&E-related fields or working in S&E or S&E-related occupations. The 2008 SESTAT surveys had a reference week of 1 October 2008. All demographic, employment, and education data on scientists and engineers represent the status of these individuals during the reference week. The full set of detailed tables from the SESTAT integrated database will be available in the forthcoming report Characteristics of Scientists and Engineers in the United States: 2008 at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/us-workforce/.
Definitions
Scientists and engineers: Persons who have ever received a U.S. bachelor's or higher degree in an S&E or S&E-related field through 30 June 2007, persons holding a non-S&E bachelor's or higher degree who were employed in an S&E or S&E-related occupation on 1 October 2003, and persons who held a non-U.S. S&E degree and were in the UnitedStates on 1 October 2003.
S&E fields: Biological/agricultural/environmental life sciences, computer and information sciences, mathematics and statistics, physical sciences, psychology, social sciences, and engineering. S&Erelated fields include health, science and mathematics teacher education, technology and technical fields, and other S&E-related fields, such as architecture/ environmental design and actuarial science. See http://sestat.nsf.gov/docs/ed03maj.html for a detailed description of the educational classification.
S&E occupations: Computer and mathematical scientists; biological, agricultural, and other life scientists; physical and related scientists; social and related scientists; and engineers. S&E-related occupations include health-related occupations, S&E managers, S&E precollege teachers, S&E technicians and technologists, and other S&E-related occupations, such as architects and actuaries. See http://sestat.nsf.gov/docs/occ03maj.html for a detailed description of the occupational classification.
Race/ethnicity: All graduates, both U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens, are included in the race/ethnicity data presented in this report. American Indians or Alaska Natives, Asians, blacks or African Americans, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, whites, and persons reporting more than one race refer to individuals who are not of Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
Disability: The SESTAT surveys ask the degree of difficulty—none, slight, moderate, severe, unable to do—an individual has in seeing (with glasses/contact lenses), hearing (with hearing aid), walking without assistance, or lifting 10 pounds. Respondents who answered "moderate," "severe," or "unable to do" for any activity were classified as having a disability.
Primary and secondary work activities: These activities were self-defined by the respondent in response to the following question: "On which two activities... did you work the most hours during a typical week on this job?" Numbers for work activities sum to more than 100% because of multiple responses.
Notes
[1] Jaquelina C. Falkenheim (jfalkenh@nsf.gov; 703-292-7798) and Joan S. Burrelli (retired), Science and Engineering Indicators Program, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965, Arlington, VA 22230.
[2] In this report, "industry" includes private for-profit noneducational institutions, persons who are self-employed and incorporated, and other for-profit noneducational employers.
[3] National Science Board (NSB). 2012. Science and Engineering Indicators 2010. NSB 12-01. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation.
[4] For data on demographic characteristics of the U.S. population, see National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics (NSF/SRS). 2011. Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. Special Report NSF 11-309. Arlington, VA. Available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/.
[5] A minority is a racial/ethnic group that is a small percentage of the U.S. population. Minority groups include blacks or African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, Asians, and persons who reported multiple races.
[6] Totals sum to more than 100% because respondents could select both a primary and a secondary work activity.
[7] National Science Board (NSB). 2010. Science and Engineering Indicators 2010. NSB 10-01. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation.
National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics Diversity in Science and Engineering Employment in Industry
Arlington, VA (NSF 12-311) [March 2012]
