What are the postgraduation trends?
A graduate's first position after earning the doctoral degree may reflect broad economic conditions and can shape later career opportunities and choices. Over the longer term, the early career patterns of doctorate recipients may influence the decisions of future generations of students considering careers as scientists, engineers, scholars, and researchers.
Definite commitments at doctorate award, by science and engineering fields
of study: 1994–2014
Percent
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SOURCE: Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2014. Related detailed data: tables 42, 43.
Job market: Science and engineering
At any given time, the job market will be better for new doctorate recipients in some fields of study than in others.
In every broad science and engineering (S&E) field, the proportion of 2014 doctorate recipients who reported definite commitments for employment or a postdoc position was at or near the lowest level of the past 15 years.
Definite commitments at doctorate award, by non-science and engineering
fields of study: 1994–2014
Percent
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employment or has signed a contract (or otherwise made a definite commitment) for employment or a
postdoc position in the coming year.
SOURCE: Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities 2014. Related detailed data: tables 42, 43.
Job market: Non-science and engineering
The proportion of doctorate recipients with definite commitments for employment or postdoc study declined in 2014 for the fifth time in the past 6 years in every broad non-S&E field of study. The share of doctorate recipients with definite commitments reached 20-year low points in each of these non-S&E fields.
Definite commitments for academic employment in the United States, by field of study: 1994–2014
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First postgraduate position: Academic employment
In 2014, nearly half of all doctorate recipients with definite commitments for employment in the United States (excluding those with commitments for postdoc positions) reported that their principal job would be in academe.
The highest rates of academic employment are reported by doctorate recipients in humanities and other non-S&E fields (near 80%); the lowest rates are reported by engineering (15%) and physical sciences (29%) doctorates. Over the past 10 years, the rate of academic employment has declined by more than five percentage points in life sciences, physical sciences, and engineering, whereas the academic employment rate of doctorates in education and other non-S&E fields has increased.
U.S. postdoc rate, by field of study: 1994–2014
Percent
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First postgraduate position: Postdoc positions
Historically, postdoc positions have been a customary part of the early career paths of doctoral scientists in the life sciences and physical sciences; such positions are also becoming increasingly prevalent in engineering and social sciences. However, the proportion of doctorate recipients taking postdoc positions in the United States declined in 2014 in physical sciences and engineering, and the proportion increased only slightly in life sciences and non-S&E fields. The proportion of doctorate recipients accepting U.S. postdoc positions has increased more sharply in social sciences than in other fields over the past decade, climbing from 31% in 2004 to 37% in 2014.
Median basic annual salary of doctorate recipients with definite commitments in
the United States,
by position type and field of study: 2014
Dollars
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Median salaries
In 2014, doctorate recipients who had definite commitments for a postdoc or other employed position in the United States in the coming year reported annual salaries ranging from $40,000 to $105,000, depending on their field of study and the type of position to which they committed.
In 2014, doctorate recipients who took postdoc positions reported similar salaries (ranging between $40,000 and $49,000) regardless of their field of study. In all broad fields, postdoc salaries were lower than salaries reported by doctorate recipients entering non-postdoc employment in industry or academe. Academic salaries lagged behind industry salaries in all broad fields except humanities.
Stay rate of temporary visa holders with definite commitments in the
United States, by field of study: 1994–2014
Percent
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Postgraduation location
Over the past 20 years, temporary visa holders earning doctorates have been increasingly likely to stay in the United States immediately following graduation, a measure referred to as the stay rate. In 1994, more than half of doctorate recipients holding temporary visas reported definite postgraduation commitments for a postdoc or other employment in the United States; by 2014, the stay rate had risen to three-fourths. Stay rates are highest in fields where temporary visa holders are most prevalent: engineering, physical sciences, and life sciences. Over the past 20 years, the stay rates for doctorate recipients in non-S&E fields and in social sciences have been similar and have remained approximately 20 percentage points below the stay rates of graduates in engineering, physical sciences, and life sciences.
