U.S. Residing Doctoral Scientists and Engineers Report Modest Professional Impacts from the Coronavirus Pandemic: Findings from the 2021 Survey of Doctorate Recipients

The number of U.S.-trained SEH doctorate holders working and residing in the United States was 872,100 in 2021, an increase of 14,900 from 2019 (table 1). This corresponds to a virtually unchanged overall employed rate of 85.0% in 2019 and 85.2% in 2021. Among those not working, the number unemployed rose from 14,100 to 16,650, the number not employed or not seeking work rose from 17,650 to 20,150, and the number retired fell from 120,000 to 114,750. Overall, no substantial shifts were observed in the employment status composition of U.S.-trained SEH doctorate holders residing in the United States between 2019 and 2021. Going back to 2015, the overall employment distribution of U.S.-trained SEH doctorate holders residing in the United States has remained remarkably stable (figure 1), with the proportions employed full time or part time, retired, unemployed, or not employed or not seeking work essentially remaining in a narrow range over the last four cycles of the SDR.

As noted earlier, the number of U.S.-trained SEH doctorate holders residing outside of the United States increased by almost 16% since 2019. This increase was spread across all the employed and not employed categories, resulting in a mostly stable employment status composition between both years. The overall proportion that was employed was about 90% in both 2019 and 2021, approximately 5% higher than the corresponding proportion of those residing in the United States. This difference between the regions is mainly manifested in the larger proportion of full-time employed among those residing outside the United States.

Of the approximately 1 million U.S.-trained SEH doctorate holders residing in the United States, 30,700, or 3.0%, reported that their employment status was affected by the coronavirus pandemic: 20,300 who were working part time, 6,750 who were unemployed, and 3,600 who were not employed or not seeking work.

The number of U.S.-trained SEH doctorate holders residing outside the United States whose employment status was affected by the COVID pandemic was 4,200: 3,000 who were working part time, 1,050 who were unemployed, and 150 who were not employed or not seeking work. Overall, this corresponds to 2.6% of the U.S.-trained SEH doctorate holders residing outside of the United States whose employment status was affected by the COVID pandemic, a similar percentage (3.0%) as the one found for those residing in the United States.

Among U.S. residing doctoral scientists and engineers who were employed full time, 81.9% reported no change in their 2020 earned income^{​The SDR collects data on total earned income counting all jobs held in the calendar year prior to the survey reference period.The SDR collects data on total earned income counting all jobs held in the calendar year prior to the survey reference period.} due to the COVID pandemic, whereas 12.8% reported a decrease and 5.3% reported an increase related to the pandemic (table 2). The reported impact of COVID on earned income varied across sectors and employment status (figure 2).^{​Although the reported earnings were for the 2020 calendar year, the full-time and part-time employment status was for the reference week of 1 February 2021.Although the reported earnings were for the 2020 calendar year, the full-time and part-time employment status was for the reference week of 1 February 2021.} Interestingly, the fraction of full-time employed individuals reporting a decrease in earned income was significantly lower (5.3%) in the government sector than in the education sector and in the business or industry sector (14.6% and 12.6%, respectively) (table 2). Those employed in the federal government were particularly unaffected, with only 1.7% reporting a decrease, whereas 30.6% of self-employed doctoral scientists and engineers reported decreased earned income due to the pandemic. Part-time employed workers experienced greater negative effects of the pandemic.

Among U.S. residing doctoral scientists and engineers who were employed part time, 68.3% reported no change in their earnings due to COVID and 25.6% reported a decrease. Among all U.S. residing doctoral scientists and engineers, the proportion reporting a decrease in their earnings was significantly higher for part-time employed workers than for full-time employed workers in most sectors, although these proportions were approximately equal for those employed at 4-year educational institutions or for those who were self-employed. Self-employed doctoral scientists and engineers, both full time and part time, had the largest percentage reporting a decrease in income as a result of COVID, compared with all of the other employment sectors.

In addition to the proportions of U.S. residing doctoral scientists and engineers reporting that their earnings were affected by the pandemic, it is also possible to look at the magnitude of the effects on earnings (table 2). The median earned income decrease in 2020 due to COVID was $10,000 for full-time employed individuals and $15,000 for part-time employed individuals. The relative decrease was much larger for the latter group, because the median earnings for those who were employed part time was $65,000, compared to $125,000 for those employed full time.

The magnitude that the earnings decreased for those affected varied significantly between employment sectors. Among full-time workers who were negatively affected, the median decrease was $5,000 in the education sector, $10,000 in government, and $19,000 in business or industry. Among the business sectors, the self-employed reported the largest negative median decrease ($25,000), followed by the private for-profit sector ($19,000), and the private nonprofit sector, which reported a median decrease similar to the one found in the government sectors. Among part-time workers who were negatively affected, the difference between sectors was not as large as that seen among full-time workers, with a median decrease of $10,000 in the education sector and $17,000 and $18,000 in the government and business sectors, respectively.

When comparing the median earnings of those who experienced COVID-related decreases in earnings with those whose earnings remained unchanged or increased, those whose income decreased as a result of COVID also had a lower income to begin with. This was found across all sectors and employment types (part time or full time). The only exception to this was for full-time workers in the education sector. The higher effect of the pandemic on those with relatively lower earnings is further confirmed when looking at the fraction of individuals whose earnings decreased, by earnings quartile among those employed part time and full time (figure 3). Among those employed full time, 14.5% of those in the first (lowest) quartile of earnings experienced a COVID-related decrease. This percentage decreased to 11.0% in the fourth (highest) quartile of earnings. Among part-time employed individuals, this trend is even more pronounced, with 33.8% of those in the lowest earnings quartile experiencing a COVID-related earning decrease, compared with 17.3% in the highest earning quartile.

Despite the COVID pandemic, the degree of job satisfaction among full-time employed U.S.-trained SEH doctorate holders residing in the United States remained high in all sectors of employment, with 88.8%–95.0% rating themselves as very or somewhat satisfied with their principal job^{​Job satisfaction was reported on a 4-point scale, with categories “very satisfied,” “somewhat satisfied,” “somewhat dissatisfied,” and “very dissatisfied.”Job satisfaction was reported on a 4-point scale, with categories “very satisfied,” “somewhat satisfied,” “somewhat dissatisfied,” and “very dissatisfied.”} in 2021, compared with 89.2%–96.3% in 2019 (figure 4). Only very small differences are observable by sector, either in the level of job satisfaction or in the change from 2019 to 2021.

The proportion of individuals working full time who attended work-related training decreased slightly in 2021 from 2019 for both the nonprofit and for-profit private sectors (from 55.2% to 50.3% for the nonprofit sector and from 46.2% to 41.9% for the for-profit sector). However, the proportions of those who attended conferences decreased more sharply, with the largest decrease seen among those employed in the 4-year educational sector (from 79.4% to 68.9%) and in the private for-profit sector (from 52.1% to 42.3%). Notable differences were seen between employment sectors in those activities. In the 4-year educational sector, there was virtually no change in work-related training (just below 50% in 2019 and 2021) but a large decrease in conference attendance. In contrast, the private nonprofit and for-profit sectors exhibited decreases in both activities between 2019 and 2021.

In response to the COVID pandemic, many employers in the United States instituted new policies, including allowing or requiring employees to work remotely and providing new or additional paid leave. Overall, 76.0% of full-time employed U.S.-trained SEH doctorate holders residing in the United States reported being allowed or required to work remotely due to the COVID pandemic.^{​Among those for whom working remotely made sense and who were not otherwise allowed or required to work remotely.Among those for whom working remotely made sense and who were not otherwise allowed or required to work remotely.} This fraction varied across sectors, ranging from 52.4% in the self-employed sector to 83.8% in the 4-year educational sector (figure 5). New or additional paid leave was provided to 33.7% of full-time employed U.S.-trained SEH doctorate holders residing in the United States, with large differences by sectors: 13.8% in self-employed, 25.4% in 4-year educational institution, and 46.7% in federal government.

Data are from the 2021 SDR, which collects data on individuals who earned research doctoral degrees in SEH fields from U.S. institutions. The target population of the SDR consists of all U.S.-trained SEH doctoral graduates who were younger than 76 years of age and not institutionalized or terminally ill on 1 February 2021. To provide context, many comparisons with results from the prior cycles of SDR are also included. The SDR has been conducted since 1973 and is sponsored by NCSES and by the National Institutes of Health. The estimates in this InfoBrief are based on responses from a sample of the population and may differ from actual values because of sampling variability. As a result, apparent differences between the estimates for two or more groups may not be statistically significant. All comparative statements in this report have undergone statistical testing and are significant at the 90% confidence level unless noted otherwise. In addition, the estimates presented are rounded to the nearest 50 ($1,000 for salaries), although percentage calculations are based on unrounded estimates. More information on the SDR can be found at (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvydoctoratework/).

Opsomer J, Chen A, Chang W-Y, and Lan F; National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2023. U.S. Residing Doctoral Scientists and Engineers Report Modest Professional Impacts from the Coronavirus Pandemic: Findings from the 2021 Survey of Doctorate Recipients. NSF 23-318. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23318.

Jean Opsomer
Westat, under contract to NCSES

Angela Chen
Westat, under contract to NCSES

Wan-Ying Chang
Mathematical Statistician, NCSES

Flora Lan
Survey Manager, NCSES
E-mail: flan@nsf.gov

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