The share of academic doctoral positions held by women with SEH doctoral degrees increased from 26.4% in 1999 to 38.5% in 2019. Underrepresented minorities also hold a larger share of these positions than they did in 1999, although their share remains small (8.9%) and is considerably less than their share of the population, which is about a third of the U.S. population ages 18–64. The share of those in academic doctoral positions with one or more disabilities increased to 9.1%, slightly less than their share in the population (10.5%) (figure 42).

One goal of an academic career is to achieve tenure. Of all SEH doctorate holders employed in either universities or 4-year colleges in 2019, 46.6% were tenured, with an additional 14.8% in tenure-track positions.

Among SEH doctorate holders in academia, a larger share of men than women had tenure in 2019. Whites had the highest rates of tenure, followed by underrepresented minorities and Asians, who had similar tenure rates. Employed SEH doctorate holders who reported at least one disability were tenured at a higher rate than those without disability (figure 43). This is at least in part due to tenured faculty who are older reporting an aging-related disability, such as reduced sight or hearing, more frequently. Also, a larger proportion of older academics are tenured.

Looking at types of academic positions, SEH male doctorate holders outnumbered their female counterparts across all major positions in 2019. In particular, women made up about 36% of both research faculty and teaching faculty. Research and teaching assistant numbers were small for men and women (figure 44).

When SEH doctorate holders were asked how related their work was to their doctoral degree, a larger share of women than men who had S&E positions at 4-year educational institutions said that their work was closely related to their degree (38.5% versus 36.9%). In addition, over a third of both women and men were able to find S&E jobs in other sectors that were closely related to their degree, although the share of women was larger than that of men (37.3% versus 35.7%). How closely related SEH doctorate holders’ work was to their degree generally declined going from S&E positions to S&E-related positions to non-S&E positions (figure 45).

Overall, SEH doctorate holders who were employed full-time had a median salary of $119,000 in 2019. Among those who held positions at 4-year educational institutions and were tenured or on tenure track, the median salary was $110,000 for men and $95,000 for women. Those in the private sector had the highest median salaries ($150,000 for men and $122,000 for women) (figure 46).

Of particular interest are early career doctorate holders, who are transitioning into their careers after graduate school. Of the 73,850 SEH doctorate holders—those who earned a PhD, MD, or equivalent—who graduated in 2016 or 2017, about 2% were unemployed (not employed and looking for work) in 2019 and about 2% more were not in the labor force (not employed and not seeking work).

Looking at early career doctorate holders within 10 years of receiving their degree is useful in understanding career paths. The first position a new SEH doctorate recipient holds can serve to launch or stall a career, so it is of interest to look at differences across various demographic groups. Twenty-six percent of all early career doctorate holders employed in federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) or U.S. master’s- and doctorate-granting academic institutions, excluding affiliated medical schools and centers, held a tenure or tenure-track position as their first type of position, with similar shares across racial and ethnic groups. Blacks or African Americans had the lowest share of those whose first position was a postdoctoral (postdoc) position (16.4%). In contrast, about 29%–41% of other four racial and ethnic groups held a postdoc position as their first position after receiving their doctorate. Temporary visa degree recipients had the highest incidence of holding a postdoc position as their first position (69.3%) (figure 47).