Science Resources Studies Division

DATA BRIEF

Directorate for

Social, Behavioral

and Economic

Sciences

National Science Foundation

Individuals with

bachelor’s

or master’s degrees

in science or

engineering earn

more than their

counterparts

in other fields.

Vol. 1995, No. 16, November 14, 1995

by Mark C.

Regets

Electronic

Dissemination

SRS data are available through

the World Wide Web (http://

www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/stats.htm)

and also through STIS, NSF’s

online Science and Technology

Information System, described

in NSF flyer 95-64, “Getting NSF

Information and Publications.”

For a paper copy of the flyer,

call 703-306-1130. For an electronic copy of the STIS User's

Guide, send an e-mail with the

phrase "get NSF9410.TXT" to

stisserv@nsf.gov. For NSF’s

Telephonic Device for the Deaf,

dial 703-306-0090.

More Than 10.3 Million U.S. Residents

Have Science or Engineering Degrees

Any science or

engineering field

Life sciences

Math/computer

science

Physical

sciences

Social

sciences

Engineering

More than 10.3 million U.S. residents in1993 had at least one college degree in

a science or engineering (S&E) field. Individuals with bachelor’s or master’s degrees

in science or engineering earn more than

those with bachelor’s or master’s degrees in

non-S&E fields. This Data Brief presents

these and other selected statistics on

bachelor’s and master’s degree scientists and

engineers from data just released from the

1993 National Survey of College Graduates

(NSCG). The NSCG is a National Science

Foundation followup survey of the education

and labor market experiences of 215,000 individuals under age 76 who held a bachelor’s

degree or higher in any field at the time of

the 1990 census. Tables and micro records

from the NSCG will be available soon on the

Division of Science Resources Studies’ World

Wide Web site (http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/

stats.htm) or on a public-use computer file on

tape available from NSF.

Chart 1 shows the number of individuals

holding science or engineering degrees for

various degree levels and fields. Since many

individuals have more than one degree in science or engineering, the totals across degree

levels or across fields of degree are higher

than the total number of individuals holding

any science or engineering degree. Whereas

10.3 million individuals have some degree in

science or engineering, 9.2 million have a

bachelor’s degree in an S&E field, and 2.3

million have a master’s or professional degree in such a field. These numbers are likely

to underestimate total S&E degrees since the

NSCG excludes those with no college degree

prior to April 1990. Of approximately 29.0

million total college graduates, 4.2 million

individuals have a degree in social science,

4.0 million in natural science, and 2.5 million

in engineering.

Although fewer than half of individuals with

S&E bachelor’s or master’s degrees work as

NOTE: The 1993 National Survey of College Graduates

excludes degrees earned after April 1990

SOURCE: NSF/SRS, National Survey of College Graduates, 1993

scientists or engineers (bachelor’s: 28.6 percent, master’s: 59.3 percent), many more work

in jobs they say are related to the field of their

highest degree. Table 1 shows the occu pational

distribution of individuals categorized by the Field of degree

Any Degree

Bachelors

Masters/Prof. Deg.

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

 (In millions)

Any degree

Bachelor's

Field of high 

degree

Same 

field

Other 

S&E

Closely 

related 

non-S&E

Somewhat 

related nonS&EUnrelated 

non-S&E

Bachelor's

Engineering............. 52.8 5.9 8.7 13.2 19.4

Life sciences........... 10.0 7.1 25.6 20.8 37.0

Math/computer

 science................ 35.3 3.9 12.9 16.5 31.4

Physical sciences.... 22.1 17.7 20.8 22.3 25.2

Social sciences....... 1.5 4.2 32.1 27.4 34.9

Masters/professional degree

Engineering............. 57.8 10.5 5.3 10.8 15.6

Life sciences............ 28.4 8.3 11.3 12.7 39.3

Math/computer 

 sciences............... 44.8 7.2 5.2 13.0 29.8

Physical sciences.......... 43.2 18.5 9.3 9.0 20.0

Social sciences........ 19.3 4.0 13.1 16.9 46.7

SOURCE: NSF/SRS, National Survey of College Graduates, 1993

Table 1. Percent distribution of S&E bachelor's

and master's degree holders by occupational

characteristics: 1993

Chart 1. Individuals with science or

 engineering degrees: 1993

Master's/prof.

degree
Chart 2. 1993 median bachelor's degree

salaries, by year and field of degree

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE $300

RETURN THIS COVER SHEET TO ROOM P35 IF YOU DO

NOT WISH TO RECEIVE THIS MATERIAL , OR IF

CHANGE OF ADDRESS IS NEEDED , INDICATE

CHANGE INCLUDING ZIP CODE ON THE LABEL (DO NOT

REMOVE LABEL).

NSF 95-340

BULK RATE

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

National Science Foundation

Permit No. G-69

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

ARLINGTON, VA 22230

field and level of their highest degree.

Only 29.6 percent of those with S&E

bachelor’s degrees and 31.5 percent of

S&E master’s degrees work in non-S&E

jobs unrelated to their highest degree.

The median annual salary of those

with bachelor’s degrees in science and

engineering is 17.6 percent greater

than the median salary of those with

bachelor’s degrees in non-S&E fields

(table 2). At the master’s/professional

degree level, the S&E advantage in

median salary is 6.1 percent—lower in

part because of the inclusion of

medical doctors in the non-S&E

category at this educational level. The

highest median salaries are in engineering (bachelor’s: $51,000, master’s:

$58,200) and the lowest in the social

sciences (bachelor’s: $35,400,

master’s: $40,000) and life sciences

(bachelor’s: $36,000, master’s:

$40,000).

The salary advantage for S&E

bachelor’s degree graduates increases

over the course of a career. Chart 2

shows median salaries for bachelor’s

degree graduates by field of degree and

graduation year. For 1988-92 graduates, there is a 12.3-percent salary

advantage for S&E graduates over

non-S&E ($32,700 to $28,600). This

advantage grows to 30.8 percent for

1963-67 graduates ($51,000 to

$39,000) after 26 to 30 years in the

labor market. Again, the lowest S&E

salaries are in the social and life

sciences. For master’s/professional

degree graduates, the salary advantages over non-S&E graduates are

more constant, rising to only 8.8

percent 26 to 30 years after graduation.

This Data Brief was prepared by

Mark C. Regets, Division of Science

Resources Studies, National Science

Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard,

Suite 965, Arlington VA 22230. For

free printed copies of SRS Data

Briefs, write to the above address, call

703-306-1773, or send e-mail to

pubs@nsf.gov.

SOURCE:NSF/SRS, National Survey of College

Graduates, 1993

$25K

$35K

$45K

$55K

$65K

1988-92 1983-87 1978-82 1973-77 1968-72 1963-67

Engineering

Life sciences

Math/comp. sci.

Physical sciences

Social sciences

Non-S&E

All S&E

Academic year of degree

Table 2. Distribution of annual salaries of bachelor's and master's degree recipients, 

by field and level of highest degree, as of April 1993

Percentile All S&E Engineering Life 

sciences

Math/computer 

science

Physical 

science

Social 

science Non-S&E

Bachelor's

25th percentile......... $30,000 $40,000 $27,000 $33,000 $32,000 $26,000 $26,000

Median................... 42,000 51,000 36,000 44,100 43,700 35,400 35,700

75th percentile.......... 57,200 65,000 48,000 57,600 60,000 50,000 52,000

Master's/professional degree

25th percentile......... $35,500 $46,200 $30,000 $41,000 $37,000 $30,000 $33,000

Median................... 48,800 58,200 40,000 52,200 50,300 40,000 46,000

75th percentile......... 65,000 72,000 51,700 70,000 69,800 54,000 68,400

SOURCE: NSF/SRS, National Survey of College Graduates, 1993