Characteristics of Recent Science and Engineering Graduates: 2001

Highlights

Characteristics of 1999 and 2000 Bachelor's and Master's Degree Recipients

In 1999 and 2000, about 758,000 persons earned bachelor's degrees in the sciences and engineering (S&E) from U.S. colleges and universities, and about 160,000 persons earned S&E master's degrees (tables A-1a and A-2a).
Among 1999 and 2000 bachelor's S&E degree recipients, slightly more than half were female. About 75 percent of computer and information science baccalaureates were male, and 79 percent of engineering baccalaureates were male. About 77 percent of psychology baccalaureates were female (table A-1a).
About 55 percent of S&E master's degree recipients were male and 45 percent were female (table A-2a). Again, males earned a much higher proportion of the master's degrees in computer and information sciences and engineering, while females earned a much higher proportion of the master's degrees in psychology.
Black and Hispanic graduates each represented about 8 percent of 1999 and 2000 S&E baccalaureates, and Asians and Pacific Islanders represented 10 percent. About 1 percent of S&E baccalaureates were American Indian or Alaskan Native (table A-1a).
Underrepresented minorities, including black, Hispanic, and American Indian or Alaskan Native graduates represented 12 percent of 1999 and 2000 master's degree recipients. Asians and Pacific Islanders represented 25 percent (over twice their representation among baccalaureates) (table A-2a).
In 2001, about 59 percent of recent S&E bachelor's degree recipients were less than 25 years old and 27 percent were age 25 to age 29. Only 14 percent were age 30 or over (table A-5a). Among master's graduates, the modal age group was age 25–29, representing 45 percent of 1999 and 2000 master's degree recipients. About 23 percent were age 30–34, and another 25 percent were age 35 or over (table A-6a).
About 95 percent of 1999 and 2000 S&E baccalaureates were U.S. citizens (table A-7a). However, among master's degree recipients, a smaller percentage, 75 percent, were U.S. citizens (table A-8a).

Educational Characteristics of 1999 and 2000 Bachelor's and Master's Degree Recipients

Over one-half of recent S&E bachelor's degree recipients (53 percent) and two-thirds of master's degree recipients (66 percent) reported undergraduate GPAs of 3.25 or higher (tables B-1a and B-2a).
About 347,000, or 46 percent, of the 758,000 recent baccalaureates in S&E reported that they had attended community colleges, and about 109,000, or 14 percent, had earned associate's degrees (table B-3a). Among master's degree recipients, 34 percent (55,000) reported attending community colleges, and about 10 percent (17,000) had associate's degrees (table B-4a).
Sources of financial support for recipients of 1999 and 2000 bachelor's degrees in S&E were quite varied (table B-5a). More than half of graduates reported using earnings from employment; gifts from parents or relatives; scholarships, grants, or fellowships; and loans from colleges, banks, or government. About 25 percent of baccalaureates reported assistantships or work-study as sources of college funds. About 8 percent reported employer assistance, 7 percent reported loans from parents or relatives, and 1 percent reported other sources of support.
About half of master's degree recipients reported earnings from employment and from scholarships, grants, or fellowships as sources of support, and nearly half (45 percent) reported assistantships or work-study (table B-6a). About 35 percent reported loans from colleges, banks, or government. Gifts from parents or relatives were reported by about 31 percent of master's graduates. Compared to baccalaureates, a much larger percentage of master's degree recipients reported employer support (24 percent).
Nearly half of all bachelor's degree recipients (48 percent) borrowed $10,000 or more for their undergraduate education, and 38 percent of all bachelor's degree recipients owed $10,000 or more as of April 15, 2001 for their undergraduate education (tables B-7a and B-9a).
Among master's graduates, 46 percent borrowed $10,000 or more for their completed undergraduate and graduate degrees, and 31 percent owed $10,000 or more for their completed degrees as of April 15, 2001 (tables B-8a and B-10a).
About 45 percent of 1999 and 2000 S&E bachelor's degree recipients reported that they had taken additional courses since earning their most recent degrees (that is, the most recent degree as of the survey reference week of April 15, 2001). About 22 percent of the bachelor's degree recipients were full-time students during the survey reference week (table B-11a).
About 36 percent of 1999 and 2000 master's degree recipients had taken courses since their most recent degrees. About 18 percent of master's degree recipients were full-time students during the survey reference week (table B-12a).
Among those baccalaureates who had not taken additional courses since their most recent degree, 66 percent reported that it was very likely that they would do so in the future (table B-13a). About 47 percent of master's graduates who had not taken courses reported that it was very likely they would do so (table B-14a).

Employment Status of 1999 and 2000 Bachelor's and Master's Degree Recipients

About 640,000 (84 percent) recent S&E bachelor's degree recipients were employed in April 2001. Of these, 547,000 were employed full time when all jobs are considered, and 534,000 were employed full time when only the principal job was considered (table C-1a). About 4 percent of bachelor's graduates were unemployed (that is, not working and looking for work or on layoff from a job). About 12 percent of recent bachelor's degree recipients were not in the labor force (that is, neither working nor looking for work) (table C-3a).
About 144,000 master's degree recipients (90 percent) were employed. When counting all jobs, 126,000 were employed full time; 123,000 were employed full time when only the principal job was considered (table C-2a). About 3 percent of master's graduates were unemployed, and about 7 percent were not in the labor force (table C-4a).
Among bachelor's degree recipients in science, males and females had similar labor force statuses, with employment rates of 84 percent for males and 82 percent for females. The unemployment rate was 4 percent for each group, and 12 percent of males and 13 percent of females were not in the labor force (table C-7a). Among engineering bachelor's degree recipients, males were somewhat more likely than females to be employed (94 percent compared to 89 percent). The unemployment rates were 3 percent for males and 5 percent for females, and about 4 percent of males and 6 percent of females were not in the labor force.
Among master's degree recipients, males and females had similar labor force statuses in both science and engineering (table C-8a). For science degree recipients, both males and females had an employment rate of 89 percent. For engineering master's degree recipients, both males and females had an employment rate of 94 percent.

Occupational Characteristics of 1999 and 2000 Bachelor's and Master's Degree Recipients

About 67 percent of employed 1999 and 2000 S&E bachelor's degree recipients had non-S&E jobs in April 2001 (table D-1a). Those with degrees in the sciences were far more likely than those with degrees in engineering to be employed in non-S&E fields (77 percent versus 16 percent). In contrast, only 35 percent of employed S&E master's degree recipients were in non-S&E jobs; 44 percent of those with degrees in the sciences and 11 percent of those with degrees in engineering (table D-2a).
Female recipients of S&E baccalaureates were more likely than males to hold non-S&E jobs (79 percent of employed females and 55 percent of employed males) (table D-7a). Similarly, higher percentages of employed female master's degree recipients held non-S&E jobs than did their male counterparts (47 percent versus 25 percent) (table D-8a). This may reflect the fact that women are more likely than men to earn psychology and social science degrees where the proportion of non-S&E jobs is very high (86 and 89 percent of employed baccalaureates, respectively; table D-1a). Men are more likely than women to earn engineering degrees where the proportion of non-S&E jobs is low (16 percent of employed bachelor's recipients).
About 45 percent of employed S&E bachelor's graduates reported that their jobs were closely related to the fields of their degrees, and another 31 percent reported that they were somewhat related (table D-5a). A greater proportion of master's degree recipients, 69 percent, reported holding jobs closely related to their degree fields, and another 22 percent reported jobs somewhat related to their degrees (table D-6a).
Among employed S&E bachelor's degree graduates, the most commonly reported primary work activity was management, sales, and administration, reported by 34 percent of baccalaureates (table D-11a). Research and development (R&D) was reported by 21 percent of graduates and computer applications by 15 percent. About 12 percent of baccalaureate graduates reported teaching as their primary activity.
The pattern of primary work activities was rather different for master's degree recipients (table D-12a). R&D was the most commonly reported primary work activity (32 percent of employed master's graduates); followed by computer applications (21 percent); and management, sales, and administration (20 percent). About 9 percent of master's graduates reported teaching as their primary activity.
Large percentages of employed bachelor's and master's degree recipients reported participating in work-related training in the past year. The most common form of training for both degree levels was training in the graduate's occupational field, reported by 56 percent of employed bachelor's graduates and 61 percent of employed master's graduates. Fewer graduates received management training, general professional training, or other training (tables D-13a and D-14a).

Employer Characteristics of 1999 and 2000 Bachelor's and Master's Degree Recipients

About 67 percent of employed recent S&E bachelor's degree recipients worked in the private sector (excluding educational institutions) in April 2001 (table E-1a). About 22 percent of the employed graduates worked in the education sector and 11 percent in government.
Among employed recent S&E master's degree recipients, about 61 percent were employed in the private sector (excluding educational institutions). About 27 percent of recent master's degree graduates who were employed worked in educational institutions, and 12 percent worked in government (table E-2a).

Salaries of 1999 and 2000 Bachelor's and Master's Degree Recipients

Recent bachelor's degree recipients in S&E fields who were employed full time and were not full-time students had a median annual salary of about $34,000 as of April 2001 (table F-1a). The median salary was higher for those with engineering degrees ($49,000) than for those with degrees in the sciences ($31,000).
The median annual salary for recent master's degree recipients who were employed full time and were not full-time students was $51,000 in April 2001 (table F-2a). Again, the median annual salary for those with engineering degrees was higher than for those in the sciences ($60,000 versus $45,000).
At both the bachelor's and master's levels, male graduates had higher median salaries than female graduates—$40,000 versus $30,000 at the bachelor's level and $58,000 versus $43,000 at the master's level (tables F-1a and F-2a). This overall difference reflects both disparities in salaries between males and females within fields, and a much higher proportion of males majoring in engineering, where the median salary was higher. Within engineering, males and females had more similar salaries, especially at the master's degree level.
Baccalaureate graduates employed in private industry earned more, on average ($38,000), than those in the education sector ($27,000) or those in government ($30,000) (table F-5a). This was also true for master's degree recipients, with those employed in private industry earning a median salary of $57,000, those in the education sector earning $35,000, and those in government earning $42,000 (table F-6a).