Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

The strength of a nation’s economy relies significantly on the availability of a well-prepared and productive scientific workforce. Policy makers, scholars and other stakeholders in the United States’ scientific community continue to be concerned about the scarcity within the labor market for PhD-trained scientists. Such potentially career-inhibiting factors as the limited availability of tenure track faculty positions, the proliferation of postdoctoral jobs, and the lack of training and preparation for nonacademic career options has heightened interest in these scientists’ career transitions. A number of empirical studies have sought to understand the scientific workforce supply and its relationship to labor market demand in both the academic and non-academic sectors (Ginther, 2015; Larson, Ghaffarzadegan, & Xue, 2014; Sauermann & Roach, 2012). This study adds to existing knowledge by exploring the characteristics of the behavioral and social scientists transitioning between academic and non-academic careers. While there have been many studies focused on the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce, few have addressed the increasing interest in the behavioral and social sciences (BSS) workforce, which includes fields of economics, psychology, anthropology, political science, and social science. Government agencies share this interest, such as The National Institutes of Health, which recognizes the value of multidisciplinary research teams in solving complex health problems. [Add report reference from NIH?]

The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Survey of Doctoral Recipients (SDR) data from 2013 and 2015 were used for this logit regression analysis of scientists’ career paths and the underlying factors affecting their decisions to leave the academe for jobs in business and industry. We determined the likelihood of BSS doctoral holders leaving academic employment for jobs in business and industry, given their individual demographics and education. Likewise, we evaluated the factors present in cases where BSS PhDs working in business and industry moved to jobs in academia. We found that workers with non-BSS PhD’s were more likely than BSS PhD’s to change employment sectors in both academic and non-academic directions. While both male and female researchers who have children were less likely to move from their current employment sector, women in BSS fields were twice as likely as men to move from academic jobs to work in business and industry. Funding from NIH was determined to be a significant factor in preventing movement out of the academic sector, with recipients being far less likely to leave than their peers. Other factors such as race, opportunities for advancement, and salary were also explored.