COVID-19 Minimally Affects Employment of U.S.-Trained Doctoral Scientists and Engineers

The COVID-19 pandemic affected many individuals’ education, employment, and professional activities. However, were these hardships equally distributed amongst the varying demographic groups based on their education level? In a new article, “U.S. Residing Doctoral Scientists and Engineers Report Modest Professional Impacts from the Coronavirus Pandemic: Findings from the 2021 Survey of Doctorate Recipients,” published by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), researchers describe the pandemic’s effects on employment and earnings of U.S.-trained doctoral scientists and engineers. Westat’s Jean Opsomer, PhD, and Jianru (Angela) Chen, MS, are among the coauthors, collaborating with colleagues Wan-Ying Chang and Flora Lan of NCSES.

The findings gathered from the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) in 2021, which included new questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and other surveys, provided insight into the pandemic’s effects on doctorate holders. This information also revealed how the pandemic affected the highly skilled doctoral population’s employment status, salary, and work conditions.