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Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce (2012)

Chapter: 3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall

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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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3

The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall

INTRODUCTION

This chapter highlights trends in the overall STEM workforce; discusses the current STEM talent base and the anticipated growth of STEM jobs; examines the current STEM workforce in the defense industrial base; and describes, to the extent that data permit, the DOD STEM workforce.

No single, official definition of STEM is used by DOD or the federal government. Recent studies of the U.S. STEM workforce by various government agencies differ along three key dimensions: (1) the occupations included in STEM (e.g., inclusion or exclusion of social scientists, among others), (2) the minimum stated education requirement (e.g., bachelor’s degree and above versus no degree requirement), and (3) the data source used to generate the estimates (e.g., Census Bureau’s American Community Survey versus Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics). Table 3-1 (which, along with the other tables in this chapter, is given in the annex at the end of the chapter) illustrates the diverse approaches to estimating STEM employment used by three government agency units—the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department of Labor, the Economics and Statistics Administration in the Department of Commerce, and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics in the National Science Foundation. These estimates indicate that STEM employment in the United States ranges from as low as 4.75 million to as high as 8 million,1 a difference of almost a factor of two.

No two estimates in Table 3-1 rely on the same occupation definition, education requirement, and data source! As expected, smaller estimates of the size of the STEM workforce (less than 5 million) are found in the two studies that include only those with at least a bachelor’s degree. In terms of occupations, all of the estimates in Table 3-1 include biological, agricultural, and environmental life scientists; computer and mathematical scientists; engineers; and physical scientists.2 Architects, social scientists, STEM managers, STEM postsecondary teachers, STEM sales

1 Measures of the STEM workforce presented in this chapter are based on those working in occupations defined as STEM. However, there are other possible approaches. For example, a different approach uses educational credentials as the basis, such that the pool of STEM workers includes all those in the labor force with a STEM degree, regardless of occupation. Yet another definition is based on the level of STEM expertise workers report that their jobs require. See National Science Board (2012, Chapter 3) for additional discussion of these alternative measures of the STEM workforce.

2 Note that the detailed occupations included in these occupational groups may differ by study. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics study includes actuaries in its computer and mathematical scientist category, whereas the Economics and Statistics Administration study excludes actuaries.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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occupations,3 and STEM technicians are included in one or more of the estimates. The largest estimate of approximately 8 million is found in the Bureau of Labor Statistics study, which includes the broadest set of occupations defined as STEM and imposes no education requirement.

Observation 3-1. Estimates of STEM employment in the United States vary across studies due to differences in the definitions, assumptions, and data sources utilized.

HISTORICAL TRENDS IN THE OVERALL STEM WORKFORCE

This discussion of historical trends in the overall STEM workforce relies on information available in a 2006 study released by the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST) that examined the U.S. STEM workforce from 1950 to 2000 (CPST, 2006a). The benefit of using a single study is that it applies the same methodology over time. However, since the estimated size of the STEM workforce varies substantially across studies, the focus here is on identifying general trends in the historical STEM workforce.

The CPST study takes a broad view of the STEM workforce and includes the following occupational groups in its examination: life sciences; physical sciences; engineering; mathematics and information technology; social sciences; and science and engineering technicians. The study utilizes the decennial U.S. census to estimate the size of the STEM workforce in each decade from 1950 to 2000. These estimates are provided in Table 3-2 in the annex and illustrated in Figure 3-1. For comparison purposes, the first row of Table 3-2 provides information on the size of the overall U.S. workforce in each decade. Over the period 1950-2000, the U.S. workforce grew at an annual rate of 1.7 percent. In comparison, the overall STEM workforce grew at a considerably larger annual rate of 4.2 percent. By 2000, the overall STEM workforce was 7.7 times larger than it was in 1950 (the comparable figure for the overall U.S. workforce was 2.3). Moreover, in 1950 the STEM workforce accounted for 1.5 percent of the U.S. workforce; by 2000 this figure had increased to 5 percent.

The STEM occupational group with the largest growth during this 50 year period was mathematics and information technology, which grew at an annual rate of 10.1 percent. In 1950, mathematics and information technology constituted only a small percentage of the overall STEM workforce (2.9 percent); this figure increased to 47.5 percent by 2000. Another notable change is the steady decline in the share of the STEM workforce in engineering occupations (from close to 63 percent in 1950 to less than 27 percent in 2000). The dramatic changes in the mathematics and information technology workforce and the engineering workforce are not unrelated. These changes may be due in part to an increase in the demand for software developers relative to hardware engineers, most notably in the 1980s. Albert Endres, in an essay on the history of software engineering, notes that with the arrival of the personal computer the “traditional dominance of hardware over software ended” (Endres, 1996).

Moreover, CPST (2006a) suggests that the observed changes in STEM occupational employment over the period 1950-2000 may be due in part to changes in the way the census defined occupations. For example, according to another CPST study, computer-related occupations were added to the census in 1970 and were expanded in the 2000 Census by reclassifying a large number of electrical and electronics engineers as computer scientists (CPST, 2006b). The CPST (2006a) also notes that changes in the representation of technicians may be due to changes over time in the way these occupations are defined in the census. These occupational changes are illustrated in Figure 3-2, which shows the distribution of the STEM workforce by occupational group from 1950 to 2000.

Observation 3-2. STEM employment in the United States over the period 1950-2000 saw dramatic shifts in the distribution of the workforce across occupational groups, most notably the shift away from engineering occupations and into mathematics and information technology occupations; these changes were likely due to a combination of changes in the demand for software developers relative to hardware engineers and changes over time in the way occupations in the census were defined.

3 Includes sales engineers and sales representatives for technical and scientific products.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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FIGURE 3-1 STEM workforce by occupational group, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 (in thousands).
SOURCE: CPST (2006a, p. 3).

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FIGURE 3-2 Distribution of STEM workforce by occupational group, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000. SOURCE: Data are from CPST (2006a). Tabulations by the National Research Council.

CURRENT AND ANTICIPATED STEM LABOR MARKET

Data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections Program is used to examine the current STEM labor market in the United States and the anticipated growth of STEM jobs. This program makes ten-year employment projections every 2 years. The most recent projections estimate the number of job openings that are expected to arise between 2010 and 2020. Expected job openings in a given occupation are due to two sources: (1) job openings that are the result of expected growth in employment in an occupation (i.e., new jobs) and (2) job openings that arise from the need to replace people who are expected to leave an occupation (for example, due to

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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retirement or career change).4 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings from replacement needs exceed the number of job openings from growth in roughly 80 percent of occupations (Lockard and Wolf, 2012).

It is important to note that projecting changes in employment is a difficult task. As discussed in a 2000 National Research Council workshop report on the demand and supply of doctoral scientists and engineers (National Research Council, 2000), “[a] short-term forecast, a one- or two-year forecast using annual data, can do a good job of forecasting point estimates.” Long-term forecasts, such as the 10-year projections created by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “are more complex than short-term forecasts and are more vulnerable to unanticipated changes in the economic environment” (National Research Council, 2000). In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that because “employment for many industries still had not recovered to pre-recessionary levels when the 2010-20 projections were developed,” this resulted in “faster growth rates and more numerous openings than might have been expected … had the recession not occurred” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics assesses its projections periodically. In its most recent assessment of the 1996-2006 occupational projections, Wyatt (2010) asserts that the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ occupational projections did better than “naïve” models (which assume that all prior trends and relationships continue). Moreover, Wyatt notes that “BLS was off by only 4.2 percent in projecting the distribution of employment among occupations”(Wyatt, 2010, p. 59). However, if one looks at the performance of the projections for specific STEM occupations, a somewhat different pattern emerges. Wyatt provides projected and actual growth between 1996 and 2006 for 18 STEM occupations. In one-third of the occupations (6 of the 18), there was either an increase in employment for the occupation when the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected a decline (2 occupations) or a decrease in employment for the occupation when the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected an increase (4 occupations). For 11 of the other 12 occupations, the ratio of the actual percentage change to the projected percentage change was at least 1.7; in the remaining case, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that employment would increase by 25 percent, but it increased by only 5 percent. These results suggest that the Bureau of Labor Statistics underestimated growth in many STEM occupations over the period 1996-2006. Thus, the employment projections presented here should be interpreted with caution.

One way to help mitigate concerns about the accuracy of long-term forecasts is to examine groups of occupations rather than individual occupations. According to National Research Council (2000), aggregating “typically increases forecast accuracy because random errors and movements between the occupations in the aggregate are averaged out.” Using information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections Program, Table 3-3 in the annex, and Figure 3-3 show 2010 estimated employment and projections to 2020 for the following STEM occupational groups—life sciences, physical sciences, engineering, mathematics and information technology, social sciences, STEM managers, and STEM technicians.5,6 STEM managers “[p]lan, direct, or coordinate activities” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, undated) in their field of specialization and include computer and information systems managers, architectural and engineering managers, and natural science managers. Table 3-3 also includes the 2010-2020 employment growth rate, which equals the number of new jobs expected over the 10-year period as a percentage of 2010 employment; the 2010-2020 replacement rate, which equals the number of job openings due to replacement needs expected over the 10-year period as a percentage of 2010 employment; and the number of projected job openings from the combination of growth and replacement needs. For comparison purposes, the top row of Table 3-3 provides information for all occupations across the nation.

Across all occupations in the United States, employment is projected to grow from approximately 143 mil-

4 A job opening from replacement does not include instances in which an individual moves from one company to another without changing occupation.

5 Occupational groups are based on the following Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes: 19-1000 (Life Scientists); 19-2000 (Physical Scientists); 17-2000 (Engineers); 15-0000, excluding 15-2091 (Computer and Mathematical Occupations); 19-3000 (Social Scientists); 11-3021, 11-9041, 11-9121 (STEM Managers); and 15-2091, 17-3020, 17-3031, 19-4000 (STEM Technicians). Postsecondary STEM teachers are excluded since the information available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections Program does not distinguish teaching field. Note that the STEM Managers category includes architectural managers since they are included in SOC code 11-9041 (Architectural and Engineering Managers) and cannot be disentangled from engineering managers.

6 Since the definitions and data source used in this section differ from those used in CPST (2006a), care must be taken in making direct comparisons of STEM employment across the two reports.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

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FIGURE 3-3 Employment by STEM occupational group, 2010 and 2020 (projected).
SOURCE: Data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Projections Program (www.bls.gov/emp/). Projected job openings are due to growth and replacement needs. An asterisk (*) indicates that the information presented has been computed by the National Research Council.

lion in 2010 to more than 163 million in 2020. This increase in employment of 20 million represents a projected growth rate of 14.3 percent over this 10-year period. In addition, the estimated replacement rate over this 10-year period is 23.6 percent. Taken together, these changes are expected to result in roughly 55 million job openings during this 10-year period. Across all of the STEM occupational groups examined, employment is expected to grow by 16.9 percent over the period 2010-2020, which is slightly higher than the overall U.S. growth rate. On the other hand, the replacement rate of 21.7 percent is slightly lower than the rate for the nation. Based on these estimates, more than 2.8 million STEM job openings are expected by 2020. Roughly half of these job openings are expected to be in math and information technology occupations, with an additional 526,000 expected to be in engineering occupations.7 It’s interesting to note that the source of job openings varies by occupational group. For example, the job openings in math and information technology occupations are from a mix of employment growth and replacements, while job openings in engineering occupations are predominantly from replacements. Moreover, replacement rates are notably high in physical science occupations (30.6 percent) and social science occupations (32.1 percent).

According to these employment estimates, more than 48 percent of the current STEM workforce is in math and information technology occupations, and this figure is projected to increase to more than 50 percent by 2020. The share of the STEM workforce in engineering occupations is expected to decline to less than 20 percent by 2020. Although less dramatic, these changes follow the same general pattern of 1950-2000 STEM employment changes as presented in CPST (2006a). The projected changes in the distribution of the STEM workforce by occupational group between 2010 and 2020 are illustrated in Figure 3-4.

7 Although a detailed comparison of the projected job openings in STEM occupations over the period 2010-2020 to projected degree production over this period is beyond the scope of this study, a rough calculation using degree completions data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) suggests that degree production will likely outpace projected job openings for all STEM occupations except mathematicians and information technology. For example, according to the projections in Table 3-3, approximately 53,000 job openings each year are expected in engineering occupations. In 2010, more than 70,000 bachelor’s degrees and more than 35,000 master’s degrees were awarded in the field of engineering. Moreover, there are projected to be more than 140,000 job openings each year in mathematics and information technology occupations. In 2010, however, the number of bachelor’s and master’s degrees awarded in math and computer sciences fields was approximately 81,000, with another 33,500 associate’s degrees awarded. Note that this rough calculation does not account for diversion of STEM talent into non-STEM occupations. See Lowell et al. (2009) and Carnevale et al. (2011) for examinations of retention and diversion.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

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FIGURE 3-4 Distribution of STEM workforce by occupational group, 2010 and 2020 (projected).
SOURCE: Data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Projections Program (www.bls.gov/emp/). Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Observation 3-3. More than 2.8 million STEM job openings in the United States are expected by 2020, with half of them expected to be in math and information technology occupations.

STEM WORKFORCE IN THE DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE

The first step in examining the STEM workforce in the defense industrial base is to define the industries that constitute the defense industrial base.8 According to the Department of Homeland Security, the defense industrial base includes the “private sector worldwide industrial complex with capabilities to perform research and development (R&D), design, produce, deliver, and maintain military weapon systems, subsystems, components, or parts to meet military requirements” and “includes hundreds of thousands of domestic and foreign entities and their subcontractors” (Department of Homeland Security, 2007). Due to the complexity of the defense industrial base and limitations associated with the various data sources used to estimate the size of the workforce, these estimates may, in some cases, underestimate the size of the defense industrial base STEM workforce and may, in other cases, overestimate the size.

In examining the defense industrial base, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) defines the aerospace and defense industry as (1) aerospace products and parts manufacturing (NAICS 3364), which consists of activities such as aircraft manufacturing, aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing, and guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing; and (2) search, detection, and navigation instruments manufacturing (NAICS 334511), which consists of activities such as the manufacturing of aircraft instruments (except engines), flight recorders, navigational instruments and systems, radar systems and equipment, and sonar systems and equipment.9,10 The AIA estimates aerospace and defense employment at 623,700 in 2010. A recent report prepared by Deloitte (and commissioned by the AIA) takes a broader view and also includes establishments engaged in operating a shipyard

8 The industries discussed in this section provide services not only to the U.S. Department of Defense, but also to other government agencies (e.g., NASA, NOAA) as well as to private sector enterprises (e.g., commercial airlines).

9 The NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) is the standard industrial classification system used by statistical agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A comprehensive list of the most recent version of the NAICS can be found at http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch?chart=2007.

10 Aerospace Industries Association, Aerospace Statistics, Series 12: Total and Production Worker Employment in the Aerospace Industry (Quarterly) (http://www.aia-aerospace.org/assets/stat12.pdf).

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

(NAICS 336611), ordnance manufacturing (NAICS 332995), and small arms ammunition manufacturing (NAICS 332992), among others (Deloitte, 2012). The Deloitte report estimates employment at slightly more than 1 million in 2010. These two reports suggest that employment in the defense industrial base represents a relatively modest fraction of total U.S. employment (less than 1 percent).

To provide a sense of how aerospace and defense employment has changed over time, Figure 3-5 shows employment from 2005 to 2010 based on estimates provided in these two sources. Both sources show an increase in employment from 2005 until 2008, followed by a gradual decline from 2008 until 2010. The Deloitte study speculates that the recent decrease in employment “can be partially attributed to several high profile reductions in force by several major defense contractors” (Deloitte, 2012, p. 13), such as Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, and United Space Alliance.

The AIA and Deloitte studies, however, do not specifically examine the STEM workforce in the defense industrial base. Information available from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey can be used to estimate STEM employment in the defense industrial base.11 To generate this estimate, a broad definition of the defense industrial base (in keeping with the Deloitte study discussed earlier) is utilized. The following industries are identified as part of the defense industrial base: aircraft and parts manufacturing; aerospace products and parts manufacturing; manufacturing of navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments; ship and boat building; and ordnance manufacturing.12 Due to the way in which industry is captured in the American Community Survey, some of these industries include activities that are not specific to the defense industrial base. For example, the definition used here includes the manufacturing of medical equipment such as pacemakers and ultrasound equipment. With this caveat in mind, total employment in the defense industrial base is estimated at 1 million in 2010, which coincides with the estimate in the Deloitte study. Of this, STEM employment is about 300,000, or 30 percent of total employment.13 These results suggest that STEM employment in the defense industrial base represents approximately 4 percent of total STEM employment.14 Within the defense industrial base STEM workforce, the largest occupational group is engineering (60 percent), followed by mathematics and information technology (23.4 percent). Physical sciences, STEM managers, and STEM technicians each constitute 1.1 percent, 7 percent, and 8.4 percent, respectively. Life sciences and social sciences collectively represent less than 0.2 percent of the defense industrial base STEM workforce.

Information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections Program can be used to examine the anticipated growth of STEM employment in the defense industrial base. However, this information is only available for a subset of the industries that constitute the defense industrial base. Specifically, information is available for aerospace products and parts manufacturing (NAICS 3364). This industry includes the manufacturing of aircraft, aircraft engines, guided missiles, space vehicles, and parts. Based on employment information provided in the AIA study, the aerospace products and parts industry accounts for approximately 77 percent of total employment in the aerospace and defense industry. This figure is a more modest 46 percent in the Deloitte study (and the estimates generated from the American Community Survey), due to the broader definition of the aerospace and defense industry used.

Table 3-4, in the annex, and Figure 3-6 present 2010 STEM employ-

11 The American Community Survey 2010 Public Use Microdata Sample Files were used to generate these employment estimates.

12 The following NAICS industry codes in the American Community Survey 2010 Public Use Microdata Sample Files were used to identify these industries: 33641M1, 33641M2, 3345, 3366, 33299M.

13 The following Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes in the American Community Survey 2010 Public Use Microdata Sample Files were used to identify STEM occupations: 191010, 191020, 191030, 1910XX (Life Scientists); 192010, 192021, 192030, 192040, 192099 (Physical Scientists); 172011, 172041, 172051, 172061, 172070, 172081, 1720XX, 172110, 172121, 172131, 172141, 1721XX, 1721YY (Engineers); 151111, 151121, 151122, 151131, 151134, 15113X, 151141, 151142, 151143, 151150, 151199, 152011, 152031, 1520XX (Computer and Mathematical Occupations), 193011, 193030, 193051, 1930XX (Social Scientists); 113021, 119041, 119121 (STEM Managers); and 173020, 173031, 194011, 194021, 194031, 1940XX, 1940YY (STEM Technicians). Note that Computer and Mathematical Occupations include Mathematical Technicians and these technicians are excluded from the STEM Technician category. Also, the STEM Managers category includes architectural managers since they are included in SOC code 119041 (Architectural and Engineering Managers) and cannot be disentangled from engineering managers.

14 The 4 percent figure equals the estimate of 2010 STEM employment in the defense industrial base divided by 2010 total U.S. STEM employment as detailed in Table 3-3.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

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FIGURE 3-5 Aerospace and defense industry employment, 2005-2010.
SOURCE: Aerospace Industries Association (2012) and Deloitte (2012).

ment and 2020 projected STEM employment for the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry, by occupational group. Table 3-5, in the annex, also contains employment information for specific occupations within an occupational group, when this information was available. Note that no employment information was available for two occupational groups—life sciences and social sciences. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ reporting standards for these estimates, these are instances in which the group has fewer than 50 jobs, the data are confidential, or the quality of the data is too poor to report. The “percent of industry” columns in Tables 3-4 and 3-5 show occupational employment as a percent of total industry employment and are useful for understanding which occupations are or are projected to be the most common in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry. The “percent of occupation” columns in the

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FIGURE 3-6 Aerospace products and parts manufacturing (NAICS 3364) STEM employment by occupational group, 2010 and 2020 (projected).
*A small number of Mathematical Technicians may be included in these figures.
**The information presented has been computed by the National Research Council.
SOURCE: Data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Projections Program (www.bls.gov/emp/). No employment information is available for life sciences and social sciences because the groups had fewer than 50 jobs, or the data were confidential or of poor quality.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

tables show occupational employment in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry as a percent of total occupational employment (across industries) and are useful for understanding how much of a specific occupation is concentrated in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry. As discussed earlier in the chapter, employment is very difficult to predict, so the projections presented here should be interpreted with caution.

Based on these Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates, 2010 employment in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry is approximately 477,000. Of this, STEM employment is 143,900, representing roughly 30 percent of total industry employment. Employment in the industry is projected to decline to approximately 462,000 by 2020, while STEM employment in the industry is projected to decline to 137,400. The projected decline in STEM employment is nearly proportional to the projected decline in industry employment such that STEM employment is expected to remain close to 30 percent of total industry employment. These results suggest that 3 out of every 10 jobs in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry is a STEM job, and this relationship is projected to remain until 2020. While STEM jobs are a major component of the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry, these jobs represent 2 percent of total 2010 STEM employment (across industries). This figure is projected to decline to 1.6 percent by 2020. These figures suggest that only a small fraction of STEM workers are employed in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry.

Across the seven STEM occupational groups in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry, the largest is engineering, which accounts for 57 percent of 2010 industry STEM employment. This is followed by mathematics and information technology, which constitutes close to 26 percent of 2010 industry STEM employment. Employment in these two occupational groups is projected to decline by 2020, although these groups are expected to remain the largest components of STEM in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry. Looking again at Table 3-5, in the annex, the largest STEM occupation in the industry is aerospace engineers, with 2010 employment of 28,500, which represents 6 percent of total industry employment. By 2020, employment in this occupation is expected to fall to 25,500, representing 5.5 percent of projected industry employment. As of 2010, the aerospace engineering jobs in this industry equal slightly more than 35 percent of all U.S. aerospace engineering jobs. This figure is expected to decline to 30 percent by 2020. These results illustrate that a substantial proportion of aerospace engineers are employed in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry. Thus, events that affect this industry can be expected to have a disproportionate impact on aerospace engineers. Other relatively large STEM occupations in the industry include industrial engineers (16,000); software developers, systems software (15,000); other engineers (11,400), which could include salvage engineers, photonics engineers, ordnance engineers, and optical engineers; and mechanical engineers (11,300). However, these occupations are less concentrated in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry than are aerospace engineers.

Observation 3-4. While STEM jobs are a major component of the defense industrial base (approximately 3 in 10 jobs), these jobs represent a small fraction of total U.S. STEM employment (2-4 percent). A notable exception is aerospace engineers, a substantial proportion of whom are employed in the aerospace and defense industry.

The aforementioned American Community Survey data can also be used to examine the educational attainment and age of the STEM workforce in the defense industrial base. Based on this data, more than 70 percent of the 2010 defense industrial base STEM workforce is estimated to have a bachelor’s degree (45 percent) or a master’s degree (26 percent). Approximately 25 percent have less than a bachelor’s degree, and relatively few have a doctoral degree (3.4 percent) or a professional degree (less 0.5 percent). The occupational group with the greatest proportion of the workforce with less than a bachelor’s degree is STEM technicians (86 percent), distantly followed by mathematics and information technology (26 percent). For those in the defense industrial base STEM workforce who have a bachelor’s degree or above, the most common fields of study are electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, general engineering, aerospace engineering, and computer science.15

Looking at the age distribution in the defense industrial base STEM workforce, Figure 3-7 shows the age distribution of this workforce in 2005 and 2011 (also see Table 3-6, in the annex). The defense industrial base STEM workforce has aged since 2005. The percentage of the workforce 55 and older increased from 18.6 percent

15 Field of study reflects the major associated with an individual’s bachelor’s degree.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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FIGURE 3-7 Age distribution of defense industrial base STEM workforce.
SOURCE: Data are from the American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample Files, 2005 and 2010. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

in 2005 to 22.8 percent in 2010. Moreover, the percentage of the workforce age 35-54 years old fell to 55.1 percent in 2010 from 61.4 percent in 2005. Despite an increase in the percentage of the workforce under the age of 35 from 20 percent in 2005 to 22.1 percent in 2010, this increase was not enough to prevent the median age from increasing from 45 in 2005 to 47 in 2010.

Observation 3-5. Approximately 75 percent of the defense industrial base STEM workforce has a bachelor’s degree or above. Those with less than a bachelor’s degree are concentrated in the STEM technician occupational group.

Observation 3-6. Despite an increase in the percentage of the defense industrial base STEM workforce that is under the age of 35, this increase has not been enough to prevent median age from increasing to 47 in 2010 (from 45 in 2005).

Additional information on the defense industrial base workforce is available in the 2011 edition of the annual Aviation Week Workforce Study (Hedden, 2011). The corporate study compiles demographic, hiring, and other information on the aerospace and defense industry workforce. According to the report, more than 30 aerospace and defense companies participated in the study, representing approximately 90 percent of the aerospace and defense workforce. Based on employment figures provided in the report, this 90 percent translates into employment of about 562,000 in 2010.

Figure 3-8 illustrates the age distribution of the aerospace and defense workforce in 2010. According to the chart, more than 50 percent of the workforce is between 36 and 55 years old, with roughly equal percentages younger than 36 and older than 55. The study also examined the age distribution by company size as measured by employee headcount. The age distributions by company size are similar to the age structure for the overall aerospace and defense workforce, with the exception of companies with fewer than 1,000 employees: these companies have more employees age 35 and under (33 percent) and fewer employees age 56 and older (17 percent). The study also notes that the “double-hump” in the industry’s age distribution that was seen 5 years ago appears to have been corrected, resulting in a “smoother curve that allows for more active management of workforce structure in the future versus the previous trend of managing to retirement alone” (Hedden, 2011, p. 14).

The Aviation Week study also captures information on retirements and retirement eligibility in the aerospace and defense industry.16Figure 3-9 shows 2010 retirement rates and retirement eligibility for the aerospace and

16 According to the Aviation Week study, all companies included in the study except two used an age threshold of 62 to identify those eligible to retire.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

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FIGURE 3-8 Age distribution in the aerospace and defense industry workforce.
SOURCE: Hedden (2011).

defense industry workforce by job category as well as projected retirement eligibility in 2014 (also see Table 3-7, in the annex). In 2010, 13.8 percent of employees were eligible to retire, but only a relatively small percentage of employees actually retired (1.2 percent). The results are similar across job categories such that only a small percentage of employees in a given job category retired relative to the percent in the job category who were eligible. The Aviation Week study notes that although “the economy had an impact on ability to retire, Human Resources leaders also believe employees are choosing to remain on the job longer” (Hedden, 2011, p. 12), suggesting that the low observed retirement rates may be due to a combination of the recent recession and other factors. The study further notes that the “real proof will come in the level of retirements as the economy rebounds” (Hedden, 2011, p. 12). The lowest retirement eligibility in 2010 was in the software development job category (5.9 percent), while the highest was in the non-exempt job category (15.4 percent). By 2014, overall retirement eligibility is expected to rise to 22.8 percent, with the test and evaluation and supply chain job categories expected to both reach 29.4 percent.

Looking at retirement eligibility by company size (see Table 3-8, in the annex) shows that current and projected eligibility rates are similar to the overall figures for companies of differing sizes, except for those with fewer than 1,000 employees, in which eligibility rates are considerably lower. For example, in 2010 only 2.8 percent of employees in these small companies were eligible to retire; this is expected to increase only to 3.2 percent by 2016.

Observation 3-7. As of 2010, about 15 percent of the aerospace and defense workforce was estimated to be eligible to retire, but less than 2 percent of employees actually retired. This low observed retirement rate, however, may be due (at least in part) to the recent recession, and retirements may increase as the economy improves.

In terms of hiring in the aerospace and defense industry, the companies included in the Aviation Week study reported that they planned to hire close to 32,000 people in 2011, which represents about 5.7 percent of the 2010 aerospace and defense workforce in these companies. The hiring estimates for 2012 and beyond are lower: approximately 22,000 in 2012 and in 2013 and roughly 14,000 in 2016. Companies in the study reported that the three most difficult to fill positions are in systems engineering, aerospace engineering, and mechanical engineering, although the most difficult to fill position varies by company size. Larger companies with 10,000 or more employees reported systems engineering positions as the most difficult to fill; medium-sized companies with fewer than 10,000 employees but more than 1,000 employees reported mechanical engineering positions; and small companies with fewer than 1,000 employees reported aerospace engineering positions as the most difficult to fill.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

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FIGURE 3-9 Retirements and retirement eligibility for the aerospace and defense industry workforce by job category, 2010 and 2014.
*Projected.
SOURCE: Data are from Hedden (2011). The projected percent eligible for retirement in 2014 is not available for software development and for sustainment.

Observation 3-8. Aerospace and defense companies report that the three most difficult to fill positions are in systems engineering, aerospace engineering, and mechanical engineering.

STEM WORKFORCE IN DOD

The length of time required for the committee to gain access to data on the DOD STEM workforce limited the scope of the analysis that was possible within the timeframe of the study. To examine the STEM workforce within DOD, the committee relied on information from two primary sources. The first source was individual-level personnel records provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC). The information provided included records for both civilian and military DOD personnel. The second source was FedScope, an online tool that enables users to generate information on the federal civilian workforce. This latter database was used to fill in gaps in the data received from DMDC.

In requesting DOD personnel records, the committee provided DMDC with a list of STEM occupations to include in the data files. This list was based on occupations used in a 2008 National Science Foundation study of federal civilian scientists and engineers (National Science Foundation and Division of Science Resources Statistics, 2008).17 The committee realizes this may not be an appropriate definition of STEM for DOD. However, creating a definition of STEM for DOD was outside the scope of the committee’s task and resources. Furthermore, the

17 Note that the National Science Foundation uses the term “scientists and engineers” (S&E) for its reporting of information related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

committee is aware that the Department of the Air Force has an official definition of STEM that can be found in Bright Horizons, the Air Force STEM Strategic Roadmap.

DOD Civilian STEM Workforce

For its study of the federal scientist and engineering workforce, NSF identified scientist and engineering occupations using 80+ Office of Personnel Management (OPM) occupational series codes. Based on this list, DMDC provided the committee with the following information:

• Records for DOD personnel employed in these OPM occupational series codes as of the end of each of the 2001-2011 fiscal years18 (i.e., annual snapshots);

• Records for DOD personnel entering these OPM occupational series codes during the 2001-2011 fiscal years from events such as appointments, transfers, conversions, realignments, and reassignments (i.e., annual entries);

• Records for DOD personnel exiting these OPM occupational series codes during the 2001-2011 fiscal years from events such as separations from the federal civil service, transfers, conversions, realignments, and reassignments (i.e., annual exits).

The NSF study groups these 80+ OPM occupational series codes into five major occupational groups—computer and mathematical scientist, engineer, life scientist, physical scientist, and social scientist—and these major occupational groups are broken down into 19 minor occupational groups.19Table 3-9, in the annex, shows the crosswalk between major and minor STEM occupational groups and OPM occupational series codes, as it has been applied to the study at hand.20

Using information provided by DMDC and supplemented by FedScope, the committee examined the size and composition of the DOD civilian STEM workforce.21 Over the past 5 years there has been a slight increase in the percent of total DOD civilian employment that is STEM, increasing from 18.4 percent in 2007 to 19.4 percent in 2011 (see Figure 3-10). These results suggest that roughly 1 in 5 DOD civilian employees is in a STEM occupation. Moreover, more than 46 percent of 2011 federal civilian STEM employees are in DOD, and this figure has increased modestly since 2007 (see Figure 3-11). Looking at STEM occupational groups, more than two-thirds of federal civilian engineers are in DOD and close to 50 percent of federal civilian computer and mathematical scientists are in DOD. Slightly more than a quarter of federal civilian physical scientists and social scientists are in DOD. On the other end of the spectrum, less than 15 percent of federal civilian life scientists are in DOD. These results suggest that a large fraction of STEM talent in the federal civilian workforce, most notably engineers and computer and mathematical scientists, is employed by DOD.

Observation 3-9. Roughly 1 in 5 DOD civilian employees is in a STEM occupation, and close to half of the federal civilian STEM workforce and more than two-thirds of federal civilian engineers are in the DOD.

Total DOD civilian STEM employment is roughly 151,000 (see Figure 3-12). This represents about 2.3 percent of total U.S. STEM employment (excluding technicians), suggesting that only a small fraction of U.S. STEM workers are employed by DOD.22 The largest occupational groups are engineers (71,123) and computer

18 The federal government’s fiscal year begins on October 1 and runs until September 30. For example, the 2011 fiscal year ran from October 1, 2010, to September 30, 2011.

19 NSF’s study of federal scientists and engineers excludes technicians in the federal civil service. In keeping with this definition, the current study also excludes DOD civilian STEM technicians. According to data available in FedScope, there are approximately 23,000 civilian STEM technicians in the DOD.

20 For a more detailed description of the OPM occupational series codes included in the analysis, see the Office of Personnel Management’s Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families, May 2009 (available at http://www.opm.gov/fedclass/gshbkocc.pdf).

21 Note that in conducting this examination, the committee did not impose any minimum education requirement (e.g., bachelor’s degree and above) in identifying STEM employees. Rather, STEM employees were identified solely based on their occupation.

22 The 2.3 percent figure equals 2011 DOD civilian STEM employment divided by 2010 total U.S. STEM employment (excluding technicians) as detailed in Table 3-3.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

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FIGURE 3-10 Department of Defense civilian STEM employment as a percent of total DOD civilian employment, 2007-2011.
NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (e.g., fiscal year 2011 is as of September 30, 2011).
SOURCE: Data are from FedScope. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

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FIGURE 3-11 Department of Defense civilian STEM employment as a percent of federal civilian STEM employment by major occupational group, 2007-2011.
NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (e.g., fiscal year 2011 is as of September 30, 2011). Federal civilian STEM employment is based on the agencies included in FedScope.
SOURCE: Data are from FedScope. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

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FIGURE 3-12 Department of Defense civilian STEM employment by major occupational group, 2011.
NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011).
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

and mathematical scientists (52,657). There are relatively few life and physical scientists (less than 5 percent each) and about 9 percent are social scientists. These results are similar to those for the STEM workforce in the defense industrial base discussed earlier. In fact, for both the civilian STEM workforce in the DOD and the STEM workforce in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry, more than 80 percent of the workforce is engineers and computer and mathematical scientists, illustrating the importance of these fields both inside DOD and in the organizations that support DOD. For 2011 DOD civilian STEM employment by OPM occupational series code, see Table 3-9, in the annex.

Across all occupational groups, DOD civilian STEM employment has increased since 2001 (Figure 3-13; see also Table 3-10, in the annex). The highest growth rate has been in the social scientist occupational group, which experienced an annual growth rate of 6.5 percent over the period 2001-2011. Physical scientists and engineers experienced the lowest annual growth rates over this period (0.9 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively). Due to these lower growth rates, the share of the DOD civilian STEM workforce that is engineers and physical scientists has declined slightly over the past 10 years. DOD representatives almost uniformly state that they foresee no shortage of STEM workers in the years ahead except in a few specialty fields (National Research Council, 2012).

Observation 3-10. Total DOD civilian STEM employment is approximately 150,000, where 47 percent are in engineering and 35 percent are in computer and mathematical scientist occupations; however, the DOD civilian STEM workforce represents only a small fraction of the total U.S. STEM workforce (approximately 2 percent).

For the analysis included in this chapter, there are more than 80 OPM occupational series included as STEM occupations. Of these, the 20 largest account for more than 90 percent of 2011 DOD civilian STEM employment, with the top 5 occupations accounting for more than 50 percent. Table 3-11, in the annex, lists these top 20 occupations. The largest occupation is 2210-Information Technology Management, which accounts for close to 24 percent of 2011 DOD civilian STEM employment. According to the OPM’s Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families, these positions “manage, supervise, lead, administer, develop, deliver, and support information technology (IT) systems and services … for which the paramount requirement is knowledge of IT principles, concepts, and methods; e.g., data storage, software applications, networking” (Office of Personnel Management, 2009, p. 120). The four next-largest occupations are all in engineering: 0855-Electronics Engineering, 0801-General Engineering, 0830-Mechanical Engineering, and 0810-Civil Engineering. The fifth largest is 0132-Intelligence, which is part of the social scientist occupational group. These positions “require a basic knowledge and understanding of one or

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FIGURE 3-13 Department of Defense civilian STEM employment by major occupational group, 2001-2011.
NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (e.g., fiscal year 2011 is as of September 30, 2011).
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

more of the natural or social sciences, engineering, or military science, but do not demand, as a primary qualification requirement, full knowledge of the current state of the art” (Office of Personnel Management, 2009, p. 26).

The OPM STEM occupational series with the highest growth rates over the period 2001-2011 are listed in Table 3-12, in the annex. The fastest growing occupation is 0130-Foreign Affairs with an annual growth rate of 11.3 percent, followed closely by 0150-Geography with an annual growth rate of 10.6 percent. Both of these occupations are in the social scientist occupational group. While social scientists make up less than 9 percent of the DOD civilian STEM workforce, 7 of the 20 fastest growing occupations are in the social scientist occupational group. Looking at the other occupational groups, the fastest growing occupation in the computer and mathematical scientist occupational group is 1550-Computer Science (6 percent annual growth); the fastest growing in the engineer occupational group is 0858-Bioengineering & Biomedical Engineering (6.6 percent annual growth); the fastest growing in the physical scientist occupational group is 1306-Health Physics (4.1 percent annual growth); and the fastest growing in the life scientist occupational group is 0401-General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences (7.9 percent annual growth). A complete list of employment over the period 2001-2011 and growth rates by OPM occupational series are provided in Table 3-13, in the annex.

Observation 3-11. The largest DOD civilian STEM occupations are information technology management and electronics engineering, which together number more than 50,000 employees.

The size and composition of the DOD STEM civilian workforce vary across the three services—Department of the Air Force, Department of the Army, Department of the Navy—and the Department of Defense Agencies23 (Figure 3-14; see also Table 3-14, in the annex). Looking at 2011 employment, the Department of the Army has the largest number of civilian STEM employees (55,760), which represents about 37 percent of the total DOD STEM civilian workforce. The Department of the Navy is close behind with almost 53,000 employees, while the Department of the Air Force has slightly less than 30,000 STEM employees. The smallest STEM employment is in the Department of Defense Agencies (12,855). In the Departments of the Air Force, Army, and Navy, engineers constitute the largest STEM occupational group, while computer and mathematical scientists constitute the largest STEM occupational group in the Department of Defense Agencies.

Observation 3-12. The largest STEM occupational group in the Departments of the Air Force, Army, and Navy is engineers; however, in the Department of Defense Agencies, computer and mathematical scientists represent the largest STEM occupational group.

Since this committee’s study did not impose any minimum education requirement in identifying DOD STEM employees, the committee felt it was important to examine the educational attainment of the DOD civilian STEM workforce.24 One thing to keep in mind, however, is that educational attainment information is typically captured at the time of appointment and may not be updated in the human resource information system if an employee subsequently earns a higher-level degree.25 Thus, the educational attainment information presented here should be viewed with this caveat.

Figure 3-15 shows highest degree attained for the DOD civilian STEM workforce over the period 2001-2011. The results suggest that the distribution of educational attainment has been stable over the past 10 years. As of 2011, approximately 48 percent have a bachelor’s degree, close to a quarter have a master’s degree, and roughly 5 percent have a doctoral degree. Somewhat surprisingly, about 22 percent have less than a bachelor’s degree. Looking at Figure 3-16, however, shows that educational attainment varies by STEM occupational group. The relatively large percentage of people with less than a bachelor’s degree primarily reflects the large percentage of computer

23 Department of Defense Agencies includes agencies such as the Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Information Systems Agency, the Missile Defense Agency, and the Defense Contract Management Agency. Employees in the Marine Corps have been included with the Department of the Navy.

24 See Table 3-15, in the annex, for a crosswalk between highest degree attained and OPM’s classification of educational attainment.

25 FedScope, About Our Data (EHRI-SDM), Data Element Information (available at http://www.fedscope.opm.gov/datadefn/aehri_sdm.asp#cpdf6).

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

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FIGURE 3-14 Department of Defense civilian STEM employment by department and major occupational group, 2011.
NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011).
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

and mathematical scientists with less than a bachelor’s degree (49.4 percent). The life scientist and social scientist occupational groups also have a sizable percentage of employees with less than a bachelor’s degree (21.5 percent and 31.7 percent, respectively), although these groups also have a substantial proportion with a graduate degree (32.9 percent and 41.3 percent, respectively). Relatively few in the engineering and physical scientist occupational groups have less than a bachelor’s degree (2.2 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively), with a majority of those in engineering having a bachelor’s degree and a majority of those in the physical sciences having a graduate degree.

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FIGURE 3-15 Highest degree attained for Department of Defense civilian STEM workforce, 2001-2011.
NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011).
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

image

FIGURE 3-16 Highest degree attained for Department of Defense civilian STEM workforce by major occupational group, 2011.
NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011).
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Observation 3-13. Roughly half of the DOD civilian STEM workforce have at most a bachelor’s degree, and close to 30 percent have a graduate degree; the remaining one-fifth, with less than a bachelor’s degree, are concentrated in computer and mathematical scientist occupations.

The committee also examined fields of study for those with a postsecondary degree (i.e., those with an associate’s degree or higher). In the data provided to the committee by DMDC, degree field is captured using the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), a taxonomy of instructional programs developed and maintained by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The taxonomy has at its foundation a series of six-digit codes that represent specific programs of instruction. For example, the six-digit code for Computer Hardware Engineering is 14.0902; the six-digit code for Computer Software Engineering is 14.0903. Six-digit codes can be aggregated into four-digit codes representing groupings of six-digit programs that share similar content. Continuing on with the earlier example, programs 14.0902 and 14.0903 are in the four-digit CIP code 14.09, labeled Computer Engineering. In turn, four-digit codes can be rolled up into two-digits CIP codes, representing the broadest grouping of related programs. The 14.09 CIP code is part of the two-digit CIP code 14, labeled Engineering.

Table 3-16, in the annex, lists the most common fields of study (using four-digit CIP codes) as of 2011 for those in the DOD civilian STEM workforce with a postsecondary degree. The three most common fields of study are in engineering—electrical, electronics and communications engineering (CIP 14.10); mechanical engineering (CIP 14.19); and civil engineering (CIP 14.08)—and more than 30 percent of DOD civilian STEM employees with a postsecondary degree have their highest degree in one of these three fields. Moreover, more than 50 percent of DOD civilian STEM employees who have a postsecondary degree have a degree in an engineering (CIP 14) or engineering technologies/technician field (CIP 15) (see Table 3-17, in the annex). After engineering, the most common degree field is in the area of computer and information sciences and support services (CIP 11), most notably computer and information sciences, general (CIP 11.01); computer science (CIP 11.07); and information science/studies (CIP 11.04). Interestingly, almost 10 percent of those with a postsecondary degree have their highest degree in the area of business, management, marketing, and related support services (CIP 52). Looking at field of study by major occupational group (see Table 3-18, in the annex) shows that close to 22 percent of employees in the computer and mathematical scientist occupational group with a postsecondary degree, and more than 13 percent of employees in the social scientist occupational group with a postsecondary degree, have a degree in this field.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

Observation 3-14. More than 50 percent of the DOD civilian STEM workforce with a postsecondary degree has a degree in an engineering or engineering technologies/technician field, the most common being electrical, electronics, and communications engineering; mechanical engineering; and civil engineering.

To examine concerns about the prospect of looming retirements among the DOD civilian STEM workforce, the committee examined the age distribution of the workforce. Over the past 10 years median age has increased from 45 in 2001 to 47 in 2011 (Figure 3-17; see also Table 3-19, in the annex). However, average age has remained stable over this period and stands at 45.3 as of 2011, compared to 45.6 in 2001. The stability in average age is due to the relatively large number of people in the workforce under age 36 in 2011 (24.4 percent) as compared to 2001 (14.0 percent). Over time, as older employees retire, this younger cohort will become more dominant and will likely result in a more desirable age profile for the DOD civilian STEM workforce. Comparing Figure 3-17 to Figure 3-8, the most recent age distribution in the STEM civilian workforce is strikingly similar to the age distribution in the aerospace and defense industry.

Examining the most recent age distribution of the DOD civilian STEM workforce by occupational group shows that the oldest group is physical scientists, while the youngest group is engineers (Figure 3-18; see also Table 3-20, in the annex). Less than 20 percent of the physical scientist workforce is 35 and under, compared to 30 percent of engineers. Moreover, more than 27 percent of the physical scientist workforce is older than 55, compared to 16.5 percent of engineers.

Observation 3-15. Although the DOD civilian STEM workforce has aged over the past 10 years (in terms of median age), there is a relatively large cohort of people under age 36, which may result in an improvement in the workforce’s age profile as older employees retire. Moreover, those in physical scientist occupations are generally the oldest and those in engineering occupations are generally the youngest.

A more direct indicator of the possibility of retirement among the DOD civilian STEM workforce is the percentage of the workforce that is eligible to retire. The retirement eligibility of a civilian government employee

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FIGURE 3-17 Age distribution of Department of Defense civilian STEM workforce, selected years: 2001, 2006, and 2011.
NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (e.g., September 30, 2011).
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

image

FIGURE 3-18 Age distribution of Department of Defense civilian STEM workforce by major occupational group, 2011.
NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (e.g., September 30, 2011).
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

is determined by the retirement system the employee is subject to—the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Under both systems, an employee can qualify for regular retirement as young as age 55. For example, an employee subject to CSRS can qualify for regular retirement at age 55 if the employee has 30 or more years of creditable service. Under FERS, an employee can qualify for retirement at age 55 if the employee has 30 years or more of creditable service and was born prior to 1948 (Office of Personnel Management, 2012). The percent eligible for retirement has remained relatively stable over the past 10 years and stands at 32.3 percent as of 2011 (see Figure 3-19). This is down slightly from a high of 35.5 percent in 2007.

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FIGURE 3-19 Retirement eligibility of Department of Defense civilian STEM workforce, 2001-2011.
NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011).
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

image

FIGURE 3-20 Retirement eligibility of Department of Defense civilian STEM workforce by major occupational group, 2011.
NOTE: Percentages are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011).
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Looking at 2011 retirement eligibility by major occupational group (Figure 3-20) shows that the highest eligibility is in the physical scientist group (37.6 percent) and the lowest is in the social scientist group (22.6 percent).

Although close to a third of the DOD civilian STEM workforce is eligible to retire, retirement rates are relatively low (see Figure 3-21). The most recent retirement rate for the workforce is 2.8 percent, suggesting that relatively few of those eligible to retire in 2011 actually retired. Even in the physical scientist occupational group, which has the highest retirement rate, the rate is less than 4 percent. Moreover, separation rates, reflecting various personnel actions that result in the exit of an employee from DOD, are relatively low. The 2011 separation rate for the DOD civilian STEM workforce is 7.4 percent. This figure includes quits, retirements, reductions in force, termination/removals, transfers, death, and other separation reasons. The lowest separation rate is in the engineer occupational group (5.5 percent); the highest is in the social scientist group (12.5 percent). These figures are low compared to the 2011 separation rate for the federal government as a whole (13.1 percent) and for the private sector

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FIGURE 3-21 Department of Defense civilian STEM separation rates by type and major occupational group, 2011.
NOTE: Figures are for the 2011 fiscal year (October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011). A separation is a personnel action resulting in the loss of an employee from an agency’s staff. The separation rate equals the total number of separations of a given type during the 2011 fiscal year divided by average employment during the year. Average employment is defined as the average of employment at the end of the 2011 fiscal year and employment at the end of the 2010 fiscal year.
SOURCE: Data are from FedScope. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

(41 percent), both calculated from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.26 This latter finding that the separation rate for the federal workforce is substantially lower than the separation rate for the private sector does not appear to be an artifact of the recent recession. A similar pattern emerges from an examination of historical separation rates. For example, over the period 2002-2011, the average annual separation rate in the private sector was 2.4 times larger than the average annual separation rate in the federal government. Looking by type of separation shows that the largest difference is for voluntary turnover whereby the average annual voluntary turnover rate in the private sector over the period 2002-2011 was 3.8 times larger than the average annual voluntary turnover rate in the federal government over this same period.

Observation 3-16. Roughly one-third of the DOD civilian STEM workforce is eligible to retire; however, the actual rate of retirement is less than 4 percent.

DOD Military STEM Workforce

Compared to the DOD civilian data, the data the committee received on the DOD military workforce was considerably more problematic. The primary issue was the identification of military STEM occupations. In compiling the data, DMDC identified for the committee military STEM occupations using the DOD classification of occupations. The DOD classification is designed to group similar occupations across the military services into a single, consistent taxonomy for analytical purpose (Department of Defense Office of the Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness, 2001). Some examples include Analysis; Chemical; Construction and Utilities; Data Processing; Intelligence, General; Physical Scientists; and Social Scientists (see Table 3-21, in the annex for a complete list of the DOD occupation codes identified as STEM by DMDC).

However, examining the service-specific occupations that fall into the DOD occupations identified as STEM, suggests that (1) some of the DOD occupations identified as STEM may not be STEM and (2) some of the DOD occupations identified as STEM contain a combination of STEM and non-STEM jobs. As an example of the former, it was not clear to the committee why those in the Manpower and Personnel DOD occupation code were considered to be STEM. A review of the service-specific occupations within this DOD occupation shows that the largest occupations are human resource officers. Another example is the Administrators, General DOD occupation, which contains primarily adjutants, executive officers, and administrative officers. Other DOD occupations appear to contain a combination of STEM and non-STEM jobs. For example, the Analysis DOD occupation contains a large number of signals intelligence analysts, which appears to be a STEM job, but also contains a large number of translator jobs, which is not a STEM job group. Moreover, the Educators and Instructors DOD occupation contains professors in STEM fields (e.g., engineering, physical science) and non-STEM fields (e.g., history, English).

After examining the data, the committee decided it did not have confidence in the usefulness of the DOD classification system to identify military STEM occupations. Thus, the committee did not feel justified in drawing any conclusions about the military STEM workforce from the data provided by DMDC.

Observation 3-17. Due to difficulties associated with defining military STEM occupations, the committee was not able to assess the military STEM workforce using the data provided by DMDC.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Finding 3-1. The defense industrial base has made good strides toward creating a process for generating and sharing information on the defense industrial base workforce, most notably through the annual Aviation Week Workforce Study, which is in association with the Aerospace Industries Association, the American Institute of Aeronautics and

26 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (www.bls.gov/jlt/). For the survey, a separation includes quits, layoffs and discharges, retirements, transfers to other locations, deaths, or separations due to employee disability. It does not include transfers within a given establishment, employees on strike, employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, outside contractors, and consultants working at the sampled establishment (see www.bls.gov/jlt/jltdef.htm#4).

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

Astronautics, and the National Defense Industries Association. However, a comprehensive source of information on the defense industrial base workforce is not available. For example, the Aviation Week study excludes some key areas of the industry, such as ship building and repairing. While the Deloitte (2012) study (commissioned by the Aerospace Industries Association) uses a broader measure of the industry, the focus of the study is not on the workforce per se, but rather, the economic impact of the defense industrial base on the U.S. economy. Moreover, these studies do not specifically address the STEM workforce in the defense industrial base.

Recommendation 3-1. The DOD should form a working group with the defense industrial base, perhaps as an activity of the DOD’s STEM Board of Directors, to develop a definitive, comprehensive survey of the defense industrial base workforce to facilitate the management of this workforce, forecast critical needs, and respond to workforce challenges as they relate to matters of national defense. Special consideration should be given to identifying and tracking the STEM workforce in this industry.

Finding 3-2. The Department of Defense has not defined a STEM taxonomy for both its DOD military members and civil service STEM personnel. Having an approved STEM taxonomy is an important first step in addressing the challenges facing the DOD in the management of its STEM workforce. Moreover, a single approved STEM definition would provide the basis for identifying, comparing, and tracking STEM expertise.

Recommendation 3-2a. The Department of Defense needs officially to define a STEM taxonomy that spans the military and civilian workforce in a manner that meets its requirements and accommodates the mission-driven needs of the services within the department. When determining whether to define STEM narrowly or more broadly, DOD needs to take into consideration the purposes for which this definition will be used and the funding issues addressed in Finding 4-1, giving due consideration to non-traditional STEM fields such as social sciences. Within the current budget environment the committee advises using a more narrowly defined STEM taxonomy for making training and education investment decisions for critical STEM skills.

Recommendation 3-2b. Premised on an officially defined DOD STEM taxonomy, the department needs to develop an analytical capability to manage this workforce, manage STEM workforce historical data, forecast critical needs, and respond to workforce challenges.

REFERENCES

Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2012. Employment Projections, Frequently Asked Questions. Available at http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_faq_001.htm#account (accessed June 6, 2012).

Bureau of Labor Statistics. Undated. Standard Occupational Classification System.

Carnevale, A.P., N. Smith, and M. Melton. 2011. STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University.

Cover, B., J.I. Jones, and A. Watson. 2011. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations: A visual essay. Monthly Labor Review 134(May):3-15.

CPST. 2006a. A Half-Century Snapshot of the STEM Workforce, 1950 to 2000. New York: Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology.

CPST. 2006b. STEM Workforce Data Project: Report No. 5, Science and Technology Salaries: Trends and Details, 1995-2005. New York: Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology.

Deloitte. 2012. The Aerospace and Defense Industry in the U.S.—A Financial and Economic Impact Study. New York: Deloitte Development LLC.

Department of Defense Office of the Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness. 2001. Occupational Conversion Index. Arlington, Va.: U.S. Department of Defense.

Department of Homeland Security. 2007. Defense Industrial Base Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources Sector-Specific Plan as Input to the National Infrastructure Protection Plan. Washington, D.C.: Department of Homeland Security.

Endres, A. 1996. A synopsis of software engineering history: The industrial perspective. Position Papers for Dagstuhl Seminar 9635 on History of Software Engineering, edited by A. Brennecke and R. Keil-Slawik. Available at www.dagstuhl.de/Reports/96/9635.pdf.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

Hedden, C.R. 2011. Aviation Week Workforce Study 2011. Arlington, Va.: Aerospace Industries Association, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and National Defense Industries Association.

Lockard, C.B., and M. Wolf. 2012. Occupational Employment Projections to 2020. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Lowell, B.L., H. Salzman, H. Bernstein, and E. Henderson. 2009. Steady as She Goes? Three Generations of Students Through the Science and Engineering Pipeline. Paper presented at Annual Meetings of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Washington, D.C., October 9.

National Research Council. 2000. Forecasting Demand and Supply of Doctoral Scientists and Engineers: Report of a Workshop on Methodology. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

National Research Council. 2012. Report of a Workshop on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce Needs for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Defense Industrial Base. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.

National Science Board. 2012. Science and Engineering Indicators 2012. Arlington Va.: National Science Foundation.

National Science Foundation and Division of Science Resources Statistics. 2008. Federal Scientists and Engineers: 2003-2005 (NSF 09-302). Available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf09302/. Arlington, Va.: National Science Foundation. Office of Personnel Management. 2009. Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families. Washington, D.C.: Office of Personnel Management.

Office of Personnel Management. 2012. Retirement Information and Services, FAQs. Avilable at http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/pre/faq11.asp (accessed June 6, 2012).

Wyatt, I.D. 2010. Evaluating the 1996-2006 employment projections. Monthly Labor Review 133(September):33-69.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

ANNEX—CHAPTER 3 TABLES

TABLE 3-1 Approaches Used to Estimate STEM Employment in Recent Reports by U.S. Government Agencies

Agency Occupational Groups Included* Education Coverage Data Source(s) Year of Estimate STEM** Employment Estimate
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor
  • Architects
  • Biological, agricultural, and environmental life scientists
  • Computer and mathematical scientists
  • Engineers
  • Physical scientists
  • STEM managers
  • STEM postsecondary teachers
  • STEM sales occupations
  • STEM technicians
No education requirement Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) 2009 ~8,000,000
Economics and Statistics Administration, Department of Commerce
  • Biological, agricultural, and environmental life scientists
  • Computer and mathematical scientists
  • Engineers
  • Physical scientists
  • STEM managers
  • STEM sales occupations
  • STEM technicians
No education requirement Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS); Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey (CPS) 2010 ~7,600,000
National Science Foundation
  • Biological, agricultural, and environmental life scientists
  • Computer and mathematical scientists
  • Engineers
  • Physical scientists
  • Social scientists
Minimum of a bachelor’s degree Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) 2009 4,750,000
National Science Foundation
  • Biological, agricultural, and environmental life scientists
  • Computer and mathematical scientists
  • Engineers
  • Physical scientists
  • Social scientists
  • S&E postsecondary teachers
Minimum of a bachelor’s degree National Science Foundation’s Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT) 2008 4,874,000
National Science Foundation
  • Biological, agricultural, and environmental life scientists
  • Computer and mathematical scientists
  • Engineers
  • Physical scientists
  • Social scientists
  • S&E postsecondary teachers
No education requirement Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) 2009 5,786,000
National Science Foundation
  • Biological, agricultural, and environmental life scientists
  • Computer and mathematical scientists
  • Engineers
  • Physical scientists
  • Social scientists
No education requirement Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) 2009 6,416,000

*Occupational groups that are included in all of the STEM employment estimates are highlighted in boldface. However, the specific occupations within an occupational group that are included in a STEM estimate vary by study.

**The National Science Foundation uses the term “scientists and engineers” (S&E) for its reporting of information related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

SOURCE: Compiled from information in Cover et al. (2011) and Chapter 3 of National Science Board (2012).

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-2 Employment by STEM Occupational Group, Selected Years: 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 (figures in thousands)

Occupational Group 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 Annual Growth Rate, 1950-2000
All workers in U.S. reporting an occupation 60,288 69,053 81,540 105,665 124,773 138,754 1.7%
Life sciences 43 55 86 126 159 222 3.3%
Physical sciences 100 119 167 188 251 372 2.7%
Engineering 562 869 1,250 1,470 1,781 1,820 2.4%
Mathematics and information technology 26 28 377 646 1,457 3,267 10.1%
Social sciences 18 34 107 220 398 351 6.1%
Science technicians 116 255 516 190 215 299 1.9%
Engineering technicians 28 143 262 618 785 540 6.1%
ALL STEM GROUPS 894 1,503 2,764 3,459 5,046 6,871 4.2%

SOURCE: Adapted from CPST (2006a). Annual growth rates were calculated by the National Research Council using the following compound annual growth rate formula: (Ending value ÷ Beginning value)1/N - 1, where N is the number of periods that have elapsed between the beginning and ending values.

TABLE 3-3 Employment by STEM Occupational Group, 2010 and 2020 (projected)

    Projections, 2010-2020
Occupational Group Employment 2010 (000s) Employment 2020 (000s) Employment Growth Rate (%) Replacement Rate (%) Job Openings (000s)
Total, All Occupations 143,068 163,537 14.3 23.6 54,787
Life sciences 286 344 20.4 16.7 106
Physical sciences 282 318 12.7 30.6 122
Engineering 1,519 1,679 10.6 24.1 526
Mathematics and information technology* 3,542 4,320 22.0 18.6 1,437
Social sciences 306 363 18.4 32.1 155
STEM managers* 534 609 14.0 20.8 186
STEM technicians* 865 939 8.5 25.5 295
ALL STEM GROUPS* 7,333 8,571 16.9 21.7 2,827

SOURCE: Data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Projections Program (www.bls.gov/emp/). The employment growth rate equals the number of new jobs expected over the 10-year period as a percentage of 2010 employment. The replacement rate equals the number of job openings due to replacement needs expected over the 10-year period as a percentage of 2010 employment. Projected job openings are due to the combination of growth and replacement needs. An asterisk (*) indicates that the information presented has been computed by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-4 Aerospace Products and Parts Manufacturing (NAICS 3364) STEM Employment by Occupational Group, 2010 and 2020 (projected)

  2010 2020 (Projected)
Occupational Group Employment (000s) Percent of Industry Percent of Occupation Employment (000s) Percent of Industry Percent of Occupation
Life sciences N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Physical sciences 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.1
Engineering 82.2 17.2 5.4 78.4 17.0 4.7
Mathematics and information iechnology* 37.0 7.7 1.0 35.7 7.7 0.8
Social sciences N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
STEM managers** 9.0 1.8 1.7 8.3 1.8 1.4
STEM technicians** 15.2 3.2 1.8 14.6 3.1 1.6
ALL STEM GROUPS** 143.9 30.2 2.0 137.4 29.7 1.6
ALL OCCUPATIONS 477.1 100.0 0.3 462.4 100.0 0.3

*A small number of Mathematical Technicians may be included in these figures.

**The information presented has been computed by the National Research Council. In these cases, percent of occupation has been computed as a percent of occupational employment as provided in Table 3-3.

SOURCE: Data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Projections Program (www.bls.gov/emp/). In some instances (indicated by “N/A”) no employment counts were provided in the raw data for an entire occupational group because the group has fewer than 50 jobs, confidential data, or poor quality data.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-5 Aerospace Products and Parts Manufacturing (NAICS 3364) STEM Employment by Occupational Group and Occupation, 2010 and 2020 (projected)

  2010     2020 (Projected)    
Occupational Group Employment (000s) Percent of Industry Percent of Occupation Employment (000s) Percent of Industry Percent of Occupation
Life sciences N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Physical sciences 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.1
Engineering 82.2 17.2 5.4 78.4 17.0 4.7
  Aerospace Engineers 28.5 6.0 35.2 25.5 5.5 30.0
  Civil Engineers 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1
  Electrical Engineers 5.7 1.2 3.7 5.7 1.2 3.5
  Electronics Engineers, Except Computer 4.1 0.8 2.9 3.8 0.8 2.6
  Environmental Engineers 0.3 0.1 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.4
  Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors 0.4 0.1 1.6 0.3 0.1 1.3
  Industrial Engineers 16.0 3.3 7.8 17.2 3.7 7.9
  Materials Engineers 3.8 0.8 17.2 4.9 1.0 20.0
  Mechanical Engineers 11.3 2.4 4.6 10.5 2.3 4.0
  Engineers, All Other 11.4 2.4 7.3 9.5 2.1 5.7
Mathematics and information technology* 37.0 7.7 1.0 35.7 7.7 0.8
  Computer Systems Analysts 3.5 0.7 0.6 3.2 0.7 0.5
  Computer Programmers 2.0 0.4 0.5 1.6 0.4 0.4
  Software Developers, Applications 6.3 1.3 1.2 5.9 1.3 0.9
  Software Developers, Systems Software 15.0 3.1 3.8 15.3 3.3 2.9
  Database Administrators 1.1 0.2 1.0 1.1 0.2 0.8
  Network and Computer Systems Administrators 1.1 0.2 0.3 1.1 0.2 0.2
  Computer Support Specialists 1.4 0.3 0.2 1.3 0.3 0.2
  Information Security Analysts, Web Developers, and Computer Network Architects 2.7 0.6 0.9 2.5 0.5 0.7
  Computer Occupations, All Other 2.9 0.6 1.4 2.7 0.6 1.2
  Mathematical Science Occupations 1.0 0.2 0.9 0.9 0.2 0.7
  Operations Research Analysts 1.0 0.2 1.5 0.9 0.2 1.2
Social sciences N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
STEM managers** 9.0 1.8 1.7 8.3 1.8 1.4
  Computer and Information Systems Managers 2.0 0.4 0.6 1.8 0.4 0.5
  Architectural and Engineering Managers 6.9 1.4 3.9 6.4 1.4 3.3
  Natural Sciences Managers 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1
STEM technicians** 15.2 3.2 1.8 14.6 3.1 1.6
  Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technicians 3.0 0.6 34.4 2.5 0.5 29.1
  Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technicians 2.7 0.6 1.8 2.5 0.5 1.6
  Electro-Mechanical Technicians 0.3 0.1 2.1 0.3 0.1 1.9
  Industrial Engineering Technicians 4.4 0.9 7.0 5.0 1.1 7.7
  Mechanical Engineering Technicians 1.9 0.4 4.3 1.6 0.3 3.4
  Engineering Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other 2.8 0.6 4.0 2.6 0.6 3.5
  Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0
ALL STEM GROUPS** 143.9 30.2 2.0 137.4 29.7 1.6

*A small number of Mathematical Technicians may be included in these figures.

**The information presented has been computed by the National Research Council. In these cases, percent of occupation has been computed as a percent of occupational employment as provided in Table 3-3.

SOURCE: Data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Projections Program (www.bls.gov/emp/). Total employment for an occupational group and the sum of employment across the occupations within the occupational group may differ due to (1) rounding in the raw data and (2) the exclusion from the raw data of employment counts for occupations with fewer than 50 jobs, confidential data, or poor quality data. In some instances (indicated by “N/A”) no employment counts were provided in the raw data for an entire occupational group, because the group has fewer than 50 jobs, confidential data, or poor quality data.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-6 Age Distribution of the Defense Industrial Base STEM Workforce


Year image35 Years Old 35-54 Years Old 55+ Years Old Median Age

2005 20.0% 61.4% 18.6% 45.0
2010 22.1% 55.1% 22.8% 47.0

SOURCE: Data are from the American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample Files, 2005 and 2010. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

TABLE 3-7 Retirements and Retirement Eligibility for the Aerospace and Defense Industry Workforce by Job Category, 2010-2014

    Percent Eligible to Retire        
Job Category Percent Retiring, 2010 2010 2011* 2012* 2013* 2014*
Overall 1.2 13.8 14.7 17.1 13.8 22.8
Engineering 0.9 11.0 12.5 15.0 17.4 18.3
Software Dev 0.4 5.9 7.9 8.9 NA NA
R&D 0.9 13.7 15.7 7.7 24.8 26.5
Test & Eval 0.9 12.4 14.5 16.6 NA 29.4
Enterprise IT 0.8 9.0 9.4 11.2 16.4 19.9
Eng Tech Aides 1.3 12.2 13.8 16.2 22.9 25.0
Program Mgt 1.5 13.0 14.5 16.7 25.3 22.7
Finance 0.9 9.8 10.9 12.9 19.7 20.2
Bus Dev 1.5 14.2 15.1 17.5 26.4 26.4
Supply Ch 1.1 12.1 13.8 15.4 NA 29.4
Sustainment 1.3 13.1 14.3 17.6 NA NA
Non-Exempt 2.0 15.4 16.5 19.4 20.2 25.1

*Projected.

SOURCE: Data from Hedden (2011). Figures have been rounded to the first decimal place by the National Research Council.

TABLE 3-8 Retirements and Retirement Eligibility of the Aerospace and Defense Industry Workforce by Company Size for 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2016

  2010   2011 2012 2016
Company Size Percent Retiring Eligible to Retire Projected Percent Eligible to Retire  
50,000+ 1.6 14.5 17.2 20.1 32.3
10,000-49,999 1.3 14.2 16.7 19.6 33.0
1,000-9,999 1.1 16.4 16.7 19.1 29.1
Under 1,000 1.2 2.8 1.4 1.7 3.2

SOURCE: Data from Hedden (2011). Figures have been rounded to the first decimal place by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-9 Crosswalk Between STEM Major and Minor Occupational Groups and OPM Occupational Series and Department of Defense Civilian STEM Employment by OPM Occupational Series, 2011


STEM Occupational Group OPM Occupational Series 2011 Employment Percent of 2011 Employment

Computer and mathematical scientist: 52,657
Computer/information scientist 1550-COMPUTER SCIENCE 5,384 3.6%
1670-EQUIPMENT SERVICES 6,418 4.2%
2210-INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT 35,946 23.8%
Mathematical scientist 1515-OPERATIONS RESEARCH 3,879 2.6%
1520-MATHEMATICS 836 0.6%
1529-MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS 64 0.0%
1530-STATISTICS 130 0.1%
1541-CRYPTANALYSIS 0 0.0%
Engineer: 71,123
Aerospace engineer 0861-AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 4,090 2.7%
Chemical engineer 0893-CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 834 0.6%
Civil engineer 0810-CIVIL ENGINEERING 8,187 5.4%
Electrical/electronics/computer engineer 0850-ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 3,349 2.2%
0854-COMPUTER ENGINEERING 3,366 2.2%
0855-ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING 17,238 11.4%
Industrial engineer 0803-SAFETY ENGINEERING 324 0.2%
0804-FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEERING 102 0.1%
0896-INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING 1,167 0.8%
Mechanical engineer 0830-MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 10,920 7.2%
Other engineer 0801-GENERAL ENGINEERING 15,470 10.2%
0806-MATERIALS ENGINEERING 819 0.5%
0819-ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING 2,186 1.4%
0840-NUCLEAR ENGINEERING 2,136 1.4%
0858-BIOENGINEERING & BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING 76 0.1%
0871-NAVAL ARCHITECTURE 815 0.5%
0880-MINING ENGINEERING 1 0.0%
0881-PETROLEUM ENGINEERING 1 0.0%
0890-AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 6 0.0%
0892-CERAMIC ENGINEERING* 0 0.0%
0894-WELDING ENGINEERING* 0 0.0%
1321-METALLURGY 36 0.0%
Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

STEM Occupational Group OPM Occupational Series 2011 Employment Percent of 2011 Employment

Life scientist: 6,944
Agricultural/food scientist 0028-ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SPECIALIST 2,005 1.3%
0406-AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION* 0 0.0%
0437-HORTICULTURE 1 0.0%
0454-RANGELAND MANAGEMENT 6 0.0%
0457-SOIL CONSERVATION 4 0.0%
0470-SOIL SCIENCE 4 0.0%
0471-AGRONOMY 19 0.0%
0487-ANIMAL SCIENCE 1 0.0%
Biological scientist 0401-GENERAL NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 3,943 2.6%
0403-MICROBIOLOGY 318 0.2%
0405-PHARMACOLOGY 29 0.0%
0408-ECOLOGY 124 0.1%
0410-ZOOLOGY 2 0.0%
0413-PHYSIOLOGY 119 0.1%
0414-ENTOMOLOGY 42 0.0%
0415-TOXICOLOGY 50 0.0%
0430-BOTANY 18 0.0%
0434-PLANT PATHOLOGY 1 0.0%
0435-PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 1 0.0%
0440-GENETICS 1 0.0%
0482-FISH BIOLOGY 94 0.1%
0486-WILDLIFE BIOLOGY 162 0.1%
Physical scientist: 7,381
Chemist, except biochemist 1320-CHEMISTRY 1,580 1.0%
Earth/atmospheric/ocean scientist 1310-PHYSICS 1,680 1.1%
1313-GEOPHYSICS 80 0.1%
1315-HYDROLOGY 68 0.0%
1330-ASTRONOMY AND SPACE SCIENCE 96 0.1%
1340-METEOROLOGY 318 0.2%
1350-GEOLOGY 367 0.2%
1360-OCEANOGRAPHY 279 0.2%
1372-GEODESY 10 0.0%
Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

STEM Occupational Group OPM Occupational Series 2011 Employment Percent of 2011 Employment

Other physical scientist 1301-GENERAL PHYSICAL SCIENCE 2,410 1.6%
1306-HEALTH PHYSICS 493 0.3%
Social scientist: 13,172
Economics/business 0110-ECONOMIST 247 0.2%
0135-FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS 0 0.0%
1140-TRADE SPECIALIST 0 0.0%
1146-AGRICULTURAL MARKETING 0 0.0%
1147-AGRICULTURAL MARKET REPORTING 0 0.0%
2110-TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 1 0.0%
Political scientist 0130-FOREIGN AFFAIRS 518 0.3%
0131-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 157 0.1%
Psychologist 0180-PSYCHOLOGY 1,589 1.1%
Sociologist/anthropologist 0184-SOCIOLOGY 12 0.0%
0190-GENERAL ANTHROPOLOGY 40 0.0%
Other social scientist 0101-SOCIAL SCIENCE 3,503 2.3%
0106-UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE 0 0.0%
0132-INTELLIGENCE 6,619 4.4%
0136-INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 1 0.0%
0140-WORKFORCE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS 0 0.0%
0150-GEOGRAPHY 228 0.2%
0160-CIVIL RIGHTS ANALYSIS 0 0.0%
0193-ARCHEOLOGY 242 0.2%
1730-EDUCATION RESEARCH 15 0.0%
Total DOD civilian STEM employment: 151,277

NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011). OPM occupations with 1 percent or more of DOD STEM employment are highlighted in boldface.
*Series has been cancelled as of the 2011 fiscal year.
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.
Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-10 Department of Defense Civilian STEM Employment by Major Occupational Group, 2001-2011

STEM Occupational Group 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Annual Growth Rate, 2001-2011
Computer and mathematical scientist 37,604 40,624 41,025 41,284 41,968 41,915 41,202 42,771 46,082 50,693 52,657 3.4%
Engineer 57,449 59,296 60,586 60,970 60,643 60,433 60,182 61,386 66,104 70,462 71,123 2.2%
Life scientist 4,847 5,033 5,160 5,271 5,411 5,538 5,752 6,208 6,742 6,979 6,944 3.7%
Physical scientist 6,729 6,771 6,803 6,806 6,686 6,615 6,543 6,715 7,141 7,452 7,381 0.9%
Social scientist 6,996 7,279 7,715 7,924 8,454 8,822 9,104 9,759 10,447 11,533 13,172 6.5%
Total DOD civilian STEM employment 113,625 119,003 121,289 122,255 123,162 123,323 122,783 126,839 136,516 147,119 151,277 2.9%

NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (e.g., fiscal year 2011 is as of September 30, 2011). Growth rates are calculated using the compound annual growth rate formula: (Ending value ÷ Beginning value)1/N - 1, where N is the number of periods that have elapsed between the beginning and ending values.

SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-11 Department of Defense 20 Largest Civilian STEM Occupations, 2011


OPM Occupational Series 2011 Employment Percent of 2011 Employment

2210-INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT 35,946 23.8
0855-ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING 17,238 11.4
0801-GENERAL ENGINEERING 15,470 10.2
0830-MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 10,920 7.2
0810-CIVIL ENGINEERING 8,187 5.4
0132-INTELLIGENCE 6,619 4.4
1670-EQUIPMENT SERVICES 6,418 4.2
1550-COMPUTER SCIENCE 5,384 3.6
0861-AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 4,090 2.7
0401-GENERAL NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 3,943 2.6
1515-OPERATIONS RESEARCH 3,879 2.6
0101-SOCIAL SCIENCE 3,503 2.3
0854-COMPUTER ENGINEERING 3,366 2.2
0850-ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 3,349 2.2
1301-GENERAL PHYSICAL SCIENCE 2,410 1.6
0819-ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING 2,186 1.4
0840-NUCLEAR ENGINEERING 2,136 1.4
0028-ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SPECIALIST 2,005 1.3
1310-PHYSICS 1,680 1.1
0180-PSYCHOLOGY 1,589 1.1

NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011).
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

TABLE 3-12 Department of Defense 20 Fastest-Growing Civilian STEM Occupations, 2001-2011


OPM Occupational Series Annual Growth Rate, 2001-2011

0130-FOREIGN AFFAIRS 11.3%
0150-GEOGRAPHY 10.6%
0401-GENERAL NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 7.9%
0132-INTELLIGENCE 7.6%
0858-BIOENGINEERING & BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING 6.6%
1550-COMPUTER SCIENCE 6.0%
0180-PSYCHOLOGY 5.6%
0854-COMPUTER ENGINEERING 5.6%
0131-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 5.4%
0101-SOCIAL SCIENCE 5.3%
0804-FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEERING 4.8%
0850-ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 4.7%
0801-GENERAL ENGINEERING 4.3%
0193-ARCHEOLOGY 4.1%
1306-HEALTH PHYSICS 4.1%
2210-INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT 3.7%
1515-OPERATIONS RESEARCH 3.5%
0840-NUCLEAR ENGINEERING 3.5%
0482-FISH BIOLOGY 3.4%
0830-MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 3.0%

NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011). The table excludes OPM occupations with less than 0.05% of 2011 Department of Defense civilian STEM employment. Growth rates are calculated using the compound annual growth rate formula: (Ending value ÷ Beginning value)1/N – 1, where N is the number of periods that have elapsed between the beginning and ending values.
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.
Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-13 Department of Defense Civilian STEM Employment by OPM Occupational Series, 2001-2011

STEM Occupational Group OPM Occupational Series 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Annual Growth Rate, 2001-2011
Computer and mathematical scientist
Computer/information scientist 1550-COMPUTER SCIENCE 3,012 3,442 3,734 3,907 4,025 4,150 4,266 4,452 4,815 5,176 5,384 6.0%
  1670-EQUIPMENT SERVICES 5,771 5,791 5,612 5,473 5,725 5,656 5,701 5,914 6,212 6,427 6,418 1.1%
  2210-INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT 24,897 27,487 27,745 27,952 28,261 28,162 27,247 28,225 30,567 34,283 35,946 3.7%
Mathematical scientist 1515-OPERATIONS RESEARCH 2,745 2,756 2,813 2,868 2,927 2,966 3,020 3,200 3,465 3,770 3,879 3.5%
  1520-MATHEMATICS 1,010 981 955 917 876 826 807 811 834 835 836 -1.9%
  1529-MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS 60 56 56 53 50 49 47 50 50 59 64 0.6%
  1530-STATISTICS 109 111 110 114 104 106 114 119 139 143 130 1.8%
  1541-CRYPTANALYSIS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0%
Engineer
Aerospace engineer 0861-AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 3,421 3,536 3,631 3,621 3,559 3,520 3,543 3,644 3,865 4,052 4,090 1.8%
Chemical engineer 0893-CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 674 731 770 788 785 769 765 803 843 845 834 2.2%
Civil engineer 0810-CIVIL ENGINEERING 6,836 6,914 6,984 6,787 6,522 6,384 6,314 6,554 7,621 8,174 8,187 1.8%
Electrical/electronics/computer engineer 0850-ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 2,113 2,276 2,405 2,447 2,441 2,478 2,514 2,633 2,949 3,266 3,349 4.7%
  0854-COMPUTER ENGINEERING 1,961 2,285 2,518 2,804 2,916 2,919 2,981 3,059 3,212 3,361 3,366 5.6%
  0855-ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING 17,060 17,293 17,484 17,386 17,167 16,994 16,687 16,614 17,011 17,513 17,238 0.1%
Industrial engineer 0803-SAFETY ENGINEERING 284 277 299 294 293 303 295 300 303 324 324 1.3%
  0804-FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEERING 64 76 87 81 75 73 72 68 83 96 102 4.8%
  0896-INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING 1,053 1,072 1,043 1,016 1,012 1,004 984 959 1,045 1,173 1,167 1.0%
Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×
STEM Occupational Group OPM Occupational Series 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Annual Growth Rate, 2001-2011
Mechanical engineer 0830-MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 8,134 8,599 8,943 9,097 9,031 9,069 9,045 9,260 10,192 10,902 10,920 3.0%
Other engineer 0801-GENERAL ENGINEERING 10,133 10,324 10,456 10,662 10,924 11,158 11,428 11,963 13,209 14,776 15,470 4.3%
  0806-MATERIALS ENGINEERING 732 762 783 792 792 759 751 757 783 788 819 1.1%
  0819-ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING 2,582 2,588 2,587 2,542 2,498 2,366 2,239 2,111 2,154 2,212 2,186 -1.7%
  0840-NUCLEAR ENGINEERING 1,514 1,656 1,708 1,773 1,777 1,778 1,713 1,791 1,921 2,034 2,136 3.5%
  0858-BIOENGINEERING & BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING 40 45 46 52 54 53 56 63 66 71 76 6.6%
  0871-NAVAL ARCHITECTURE 725 744 724 711 688 698 699 710 758 813 815 1.2%
  0880-MINING ENGINEERING 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
  0881-PETROLEUM ENGINEERING 4 2 2 1 1 1 . 1 1 1 1 -12.9%
  0890-AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 2 2 3 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 6 11.6%
  0892-CERAMIC ENGINEERING* 13 14 13 14 14 12 11 11 9 5 0
  0894-WELDING ENGINEERING* 39 38 39 45 43 44 42 46 37 15 0
  1321-METALLURGY 65 62 61 55 49 48 40 36 38 37 36 -5.7%
Life scientist
Agricultural/food scientist 0028-ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SPECIALIST 2,120 2,136 2,149 2,110 2,063 2,001 1,934 1,966 2,038 2,094 2,005 -0.6%
  0406-AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  0437-HORTICULTURE 3 3 3 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 1 -10.4%
  0454-RANGELAND MANAGEMENT 11 6 7 7 7 4 5 5 7 6 6 -5.9%
  0457-SOIL CONSERVATION 9 10 10 10 10 8 7 8 5 4 4 -7.8%
Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×
  0470-SOIL SCIENCE 6 7 8 8 6 5 4 5 4 4 4 -4.0%
  0471-AGRONOMY 31 28 28 26 25 21 21 20 20 18 19 -4.8%
  0487-ANIMAL SCIENCE 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0.0%
Biological scientist 0401-GENERAL NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 1,843 1,992 2,107 2,226 2,402 2,615 2,908 3,313 3,727 3,889 3,943 7.9%
  0403-MICROBIOLOGY 258 275 266 287 297 300 297 303 323 316 318 2.1%
  0405-PHARMACOLOGY 25 26 21 23 25 26 25 25 26 29 29 1.5%
  0408-ECOLOGY 126 115 121 124 122 117 111 113 125 124 124 -0.2%
  0410-ZOOLOGY 5 6 5 5 5 4 3 3 2 2 2 -8.8%
  0413-PHYSIOLOGY 106 109 106 114 114 117 112 117 120 120 119 1.2%
  0414-ENTOMOLOGY 48 51 56 51 48 44 43 37 35 41 42 -1.3%
  0415-TOXICOLOGY 38 42 45 50 47 48 52 52 51 54 50 2.8%
  0430-BOTANY 20 20 20 18 18 18 17 17 20 20 18 -1.0%
  0434-PLANT PATHOLOGY 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.0%
  0435-PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.0%
  0440-GENETICS 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 -6.7%
  0482-FISH BIOLOGY 67 70 72 73 77 73 70 74 84 89 94 3.4%
  0486-WILDLIFE BIOLOGY 126 132 131 133 139 131 136 144 149 162 162 2.5%
Physical scientist
Chemist, except biochemist 1,320-CHEMISTRY 1,529 1,514 1,502 1,511 1,499 1,475 1,467 1,510 1,553 1,586 1,580 0.3%
Earth/atmospheric/ocean scientist 1310-PHYSICS 1,824 1,841 1,811 1,768 1,711 1,671 1,661 1,647 1,700 1,751 1,680 -0.8%
  1313-GEOPHYSICS 101 105 102 98 97 97 91 86 85 83 80 -2.3%
  1315-HYDROLOGY 74 77 75 82 77 74 70 67 72 72 68 -0.8%
  1330-ASTRONOMY AND SPACE SCIENCE 117 115 109 107 101 100 99 93 95 97 96 -2.0%
  1340-METEOROLOGY 280 273 281 284 284 286 284 288 293 314 318 1.3%
  1350-GEOLOGY 316 323 329 320 304 293 288 309 352 360 367 1.5%
  1360-OCEANOGRAPHY 322 317 317 301 302 288 277 283 288 300 279 -1.4%
  1372-GEODESY 7 7 7 7 7 6 7 8 8 8 10 3.6%
Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×
STEM Occupational Group OPM Occupational Series 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Annual Growth Rate, 2001-2011
Other physical scientist 1301-GENERAL PHYSICAL SCIENCE 1,828 1,870 1,923 1,987 1,950 1,956 1,921 2,015 2,255 2,406 2,410 2.8%
  1306-HEALTH PHYSICS 331 329 347 341 354 369 378 409 440 475 493 4.1%
Social scientist
Economics/business 0110-ECONOMIST 252 255 254 249 240 226 210 225 236 241 247 -0.2%
  0135-FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  1140-TRADE SPECIALIST 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  1146-AGRICULTURAL MARKETING 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  1147-AGRICULTURAL MARKET REPORTING 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  2110-TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Political scientist 0130-FOREIGN AFFAIRS 178 195 195 208 215 241 280 329 390 439 518 11.3%
  0131-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 93 100 109 108 112 114 112 129 135 148 157 5.4%
Psychologist 0180-PSYCHOLOGY 923 917 915 938 968 1,011 1,006 1,062 1,201 1,425 1,589 5.6%
Sociologist/anthropologist 0184-SOCIOLOGY 6 7 8 7 4 6 5 5 9 14 12 7.2%
  0190-GENERAL ANTHROPOLOGY 30 29 33 34 37 40 39 37 37 43 40 2.9%
Other social scientist 0101-SOCIAL SCIENCE 2,085 2,146 2,198 2,176 2,376 2,446 2,389 2,693 2,879 3,286 3,503 5.3%
  0106-UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE                    
  0132-INTELLIGENCE 3,181 3,363 3,712 3,900 4,191 4,417 4,735 4,940 5,148 5,477 6,619 7.6%
  0136-INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 1
Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×
  0140-WORKFORCE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  0150-GEOGRAPHY 83 94 109 120 126 141 145 159 194 214 228 10.6%
  0160-CIVIL RIGHTS ANALYSIS 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  0193-ARCHEOLOGY 162 167 178 183 183 180 182 178 216 234 242 4.1%
  1730-EDUCATION RESEARCH 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 10 15
Total DOD civilian STEM employment 113,625 119,003 121,289 122,255 123,162 123,323 122,783 126,839 136,516 147,119 151,277 2.9%

NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (e.g., fiscal year 2011 is as of September 30, 2011). Growth rates are calculated using the compound annual growth rate formula: (Ending value t Beginning value)1/N - 1, where N is the number of periods that have elapsed between the beginning and ending values.

*Series has been cancelled as of the 2011 fiscal year.

SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-14 Department of Defense Civilian STEM Employment by Department and Major Occupational Group, 2011

  Department of the Air Force Department of the Army Department of the Navy Department of Defense Agencies
STEM Occupational Group 2011 Empl Percent of 2011 Empl 2011 Empl Percent of 2011 Empl 2011 Empl Percent of 2011 Empl 2011 Empl Percent of 2011 Empl
Computer and mathematical scientist 11,409 38.40% 18,136 32.50% 15,287 28.90% 7,825 60.9%
Engineer 13,216 44.40% 23,795 42.70% 30,763 58.10% 3,349 26.1%
Life scientist 506 1.70% 4,824 8.70% 1,209 2.30% 405 3.2%
Physical scientist 1173 3.90% 2,783 5.00% 3,172 6.00% 253 2.0%
Social scientist 3,433 11.50% 6,222 11.20% 2,494 4.70% 1,023 8.0%
Total DOD civilian STEM employment 29,737 100.00% 55,760 100.00% 52,925 100.00% 12,855 100.0%

NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011).

SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

TABLE 3-15 Crosswalk Between Highest Degree Attained and OPM’s Classification of Educational Attainment


Highest Degree Attained OPM’s Classification of Educational Attainment

Degree unknown Invalid
Less than bachelor’s degree No formal education or did not complete elementary school
Elementary school completed–no high school
Some high school
High School or certificate of equivalency
Terminal occupational program–did not complete
Terminal occupational program
Less than one year college
One year college
Two years college
Associate Degree
Three year college
Four years college
Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree
Post-Bachelor’s
Professional degree First professional
Post-first professional degree
Master’s degree Master’s degree
Post-Master’s
Sixth-year degree
Post-sixth year
Doctoral degree Doctoral degree
Post-Doctorate

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-16 Most Common Fields of Study (4-digit CIP code) for Department of Defense Civilian STEM Workforce with a Postsecondary Degree, 2011


Field of Study (4-digit CIP code and CIP title) 2011 Employment Percent of 2011 Employment

14.10 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering 17,202       14.1
14.19 Mechanical Engineering 13,852       11.4
14.08 Civil Engineering 8,290       6.8
52.02 Business Administration, Management and Operations 7,206       5.9
11.01 Computer and Information Sciences, General 5,400       4.4
11.07 Computer Science 4,631       3.8
14.02 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering 3,543       2.9
14.01 Engineering, General 3,125       2.6
40.08 Physics 2,291       1.9
14.09 Computer Engineering, General 2,184       1.8
14.35 Industrial Engineering 2,171       1.8
15.03 Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians 2,110       1.7
27.01 Mathematics 1,947       1.6
14.07 Chemical Engineering 1,942       1.6
24.01 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies, and Humanities 1,712       1.4
40.05 Chemistry 1,711       1.4
26.01 Biology, General 1,521       1.2
14.99 Engineering, Other 1,370       1.1
11.04 Information Science/Studies 1,301       1.1
40.06 Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences 1,208       1.0
14.27 Systems Engineering 1,164       1.0

NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011). The table includes those with a highest degree of associate’s degree or higher. Instructional programs are based on an individual’s highest educational attainment from an accredited institution.
SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.
Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-17 Field of Study (2-digit CIP code) for Department of Defense Civilian STEM Workforce with a Postsecondary Degree, 2011


Field of study (2-digit CIP code and CIP title) 2011 Employment Percent of 2011 Employment

Unknown Unknown 431       0.4
01 Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, & Related Sciences 330       0.3
03 Natural Resources And Conservation 1,792       1.5
04 Architecture And Related Services 391       0.3
05 Area, Ethnic, Cultural, And Gender Studies 191       0.2
09 Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs 380       0.3
10 Communications Technologies/Technicians And Support Services 116       0.1
11 Computer And Information Sciences And Support Services 13,444       11.0
12 Personal And Culinary Services 9       0.0
13 Education 1,494       1.2
14 Engineering 60,435       49.5
15 Engineering Technologies/Technicians 5,310       4.4
16 Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics 172       0.1
19 Family And Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences 112       0.1
22 Legal Professions And Studies 217       0.2
23 English Language And Literature/Letters. 167       0.1
24 Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies, And Humanities 1,712       1.4
25 Library Science 28       0.0
26 Biological And Biomedical Sciences 3,286       2.7
27 Mathematics And Statistics 2,601       2.1
29 Military Technologies 337       0.3
30 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 971       0.8
31 Parks, Recreation, Leisure And Fitness Studies 308       0.3
38 Philosophy And Religious Studies 298       0.2
39 Theology And Religious Vocations 111       0.1
40 Physical Sciences 6,242       5.1
41 Science Technologies/Technicians 193       0.2
42 Psychology 2,188       1.8
43 Security And Protective Services 567       0.5
44 Public Administration And Social Service Professions 1,198       1.0
45 Social Sciences 3,104       2.5
46 Construction Trades 42       0.0
47 Mechanic And Repair Technologies/Technicians 349       0.3
48 Precision Production 12       0.0
49 Transportation And Materials Moving 352       0.3
50 Visual And Performing Arts 304       0.2
51 Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences 674       0.6
52 Business, Management, Marketing, & Related Support Services 11,754       9.6
54 History 389       0.3
60 Residency Programs 7       0.0

NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011). The 2-digit CIP represents the most general groupings of related programs. The table includes those with a highest degree of associate’s degree or higher. Instructional programs are based on an individual’s highest educational attainment from an accredited institution.

SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-18 Field of Study (2-digit CIP code) by Major Occupational Group for Department of Defense Civilian STEM Workforce with a Postsecondary Degree, 2011

Field of Study (2-digit CIP code and CIP title) Computer and Mathematical Scientist Engineer Life Scientist Physical Scientist Social Scientist
Unknown Unknown 0.3% 0.1% 1.4% 0.4% 1.7%
1 Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, & Related Sciences 0.1% 0.0% 3.4% 0.8% 0.2%
3 Natural Resources And Conservation 0.2% 0.2% 22.2% 4.3% 0.3%
4 Architecture And Related Services 0.1% 0.4% 0.6% 0.2% 0.2%
5 Area, Ethnic, Cultural, And Gender Studies 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% 1.7%
9 Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs 0.8% 0.1% 0.2% 0.0% 1.0%
10 Communications Technologies/Technicians And Support Services 0.2% 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% 0.3%
11 Computer And Information Sciences And Support Services 38.8% 1.9% 0.5% 0.9% 2.4%
12 Personal And Culinary Services 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
13 Education 2.3% 0.2% 1.3% 0.7% 5.7%
14 Engineering 8.4% 81.7% 2.8% 10.1% 2.0%
15 Engineering Technologies/Technicians 3.4% 5.8% 1.0% 1.3% 0.8%
16 Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics 0.2% 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% 1.1%
19 Family And Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1% 0.5%
22 Legal Professions And Studies 0.2% 0.1% 0.5% 0.1% 0.8%
23 English Language And Literature/Letters. 0.3% 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% 0.4%
24 Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies, And Humanities 3.4% 0.2% 1.8% 0.6% 4.1%
25 Library Science 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1%
26 Biological And Biomedical Sciences 0.8% 0.2% 39.8% 8.2% 0.8%
27 Mathematics And Statistics 6.9% 0.5% 0.1% 1.2% 0.5%
29 Military Technologies 0.3% 0.1% 0.0% 0.2% 1.7%
30 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 1.0% 0.4% 1.7% 1.2% 1.9%
31 Parks, Recreation, Leisure And Fitness Studies 0.1% 0.0% 4.8% 0.0% 0.1%
38 Philosophy And Religious Studies 0.2% 0.1% 0.6% 0.6% 1.2%
39 Theology And Religious Vocations 0.2% 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% 0.4%
40 Physical Sciences 1.4% 1.8% 3.4% 60.8% 0.9%
41 Science Technologies/Technicians 0.2% 0.1% 0.3% 0.6% 0.2%
42 Psychology 1.0% 0.0% 0.9% 0.2% 19.3%
43 Security And Protective Services 0.6% 0.1% 0.7% 0.2% 2.8%
44 Public Administration And Social Service Professions 0.8% 0.3% 1.3% 0.2% 6.6%
45 Social Sciences 2.5% 0.1% 3.0% 2.0% 20.8%
46 Construction Trades 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
47 Mechanic And Repair Technologies/Technicians 1.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% 0.1%
48 Precision Production 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
49 Transportation And Materials Moving 0.5% 0.2% 0.6% 0.5% 0.3%
50 Visual And Performing Arts 0.7% 0.0% 0.3% 0.0% 0.6%
51 Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences 0.4% 0.1% 2.1% 1.6% 2.8%
52 Business, Management, Marketing, & Related Support Services 21.9% 4.9% 3.9% 2.7% 13.3%
54 History 0.4% 0.% 0.3% 0.1% 2.3%
60 Residency Programs 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0%

NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011). Fields of study that represent 3 percent or more of the degrees for a given occupational group are highlighted. The table includes those with a highest degree of associate’s degree or higher. Instructional programs are based on an individual’s highest educational attainment from an accredited institution.

SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-19 Age Distribution of Department of Defense Civilian STEM Workforce, 2001-2011

Year 22-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 61-65 66+ Median Age Average Age
2001 2.3% 3.9% 7.8% 17.0% 19.0% 17.1% 18.0% 9.8% 3.8% 1.3% 45 45.6
2002 3.4% 4.4% 7.2% 15.1% 19.5% 17.4% 17.5% 10.3% 3.9% 1.4% 46 45.5
2003 4.1% 5.0% 6.9% 13.5% 19.8% 17.8% 16.3% 11.1% 4.1% 1.5% 46 45.4
2004 4.3% 5.8% 6.7% 11.9% 20.0% 18.2% 16.1% 11.2% 4.3% 1.5% 46 45.5
2005 3.9% 6.7% 6.6% 10.6% 19.6% 19.1% 16.0% 11.5% 4.4% 1.6% 46 45.6
2006 3.5% 7.6% 6.6% 9.5% 18.6% 19.9% 16.2% 11.7% 4.6% 1.7% 46 45.7
2007 3.4% 8.2% 6.8% 9.0% 17.0% 20.8% 16.7% 11.5% 4.9% 1.8% 47 45.9
2008 3.8% 8.7% 7.4% 8.6% 15.4% 20.8% 16.9% 11.0% 5.3% 1.9% 47 45.7
2009 4.7% 9.3% 8.4% 8.5% 13.6% 20.2% 16.8% 10.9% 5.5% 2.1% 47 45.4
2010 4.9% 9.6% 9.4% 8.7% 12.2% 19.5% 17.1% 10.7% 5.6% 2.2% 47 45.2
2011 4.2% 9.6% 10.6% 8.9% 11.5% 18.7% 17.7% 10.9% 5.6% 2.2% 47 45.3

NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011). Age category percentages exclude employees under the age of 22 and those whose age is unknown.

SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

TABLE 3-20 Age Distribution of Department of Defense Civilian STEM Workforce by Major Occupational Group, 2011

Year 22-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 61-65 66 Age Age
Computer and mathematical scientist 2.2% 6.9% 9.6% 9.7% 13.1% 20.0% 19.3% 12.1% 5.5% 1.6% 48 46.3
Engineer 6.6% 12.3% 11.1% 7.6% 10.0% 18.8% 17.1% 9.3% 4.8% 2.3% 46 44.0
Life scientist 2.3% 7.4% 11.3% 11.6% 12.8% 14.9% 16.1% 14.0% 7.7% 1.9% 47 46.2
Physical scientist 2.3% 7.3% 9.6% 9.4% 10.2% 15.9% 18.1% 13.9% 8.1% 5.1% 49 47.7
Social scientist 1.7% 8.4% 12.0% 11.0% 13.5% 16.2% 15.4% 11.9% 7.2% 2.6% 47 45.9
Total DOD civilian STEM employment 4.2% 9.6% 10.6% 8.9% 11.5% 18.7% 17.7% 10.9% 5.6% 2.2% 47 45.3

NOTE: Figures are as of the fiscal year-end (September 30, 2011). Age category percentages exclude employees under the age of 22 and those whose age is unknown.

SOURCE: Data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center. Tabulations by the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×

TABLE 3-21 Department of Defense Occupation Codes Identified as STEM by DMDC


DOD Classification Code DOD Classification Code Description

123200 Analysis
169000 Other Mechanical and Electrical Equipment, General
230100 Intelligence, General
240100 Construction and Utilities
240200 Electrical/Electronic
240400 Aviation Maintenance and Allied
240700 Ship Construction and Maintenance
241000 Safety
241100 Chemical
241300 Surveying and Mapping
241400 Engineering and Maintenance Officers, Other
250100 Physical Scientists
250200 Meteorologists
250400 Social Scientists
251000 Mathematicians and Statisticians
251100 Educators and Instructors
260800 Biomedical Sciences and Allied Health Officers
260802 Biomedical Laboratory Services
260803 Environmental Health Services
260805 Pharmacy
260807 Psychology and Social Work
260814 Biochemistry
260829 Psychology, Clinical
270100 Administrators, General
270300 Manpower and Personnel
270500 Data Processing
280200 Supply
280300 Transportation

Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
×
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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Suggested Citation:"3 The STEM Workforce in the Defense Industrial Base, Within DOD, and Overall." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2012. Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13467.
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The ability of the nation's military to prevail during future conflicts, and to fulfill its humanitarian and other missions, depends on continued advances in the nation's technology base. A workforce with robust Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) capabilities is critical to sustaining U.S. preeminence. Today, however, the STEM activities of the Department of Defense (DOD) are a small and diminishing part of the nation's overall science and engineering enterprise.

Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce presents five principal recommendations for attracting, retaining, and managing highly qualified STEM talent within the department based on an examination of the current STEM workforce of DOD and the defense industrial base. As outlined in the report, DOD should focus its investments to ensure that STEM competencies in all potentially critical, emerging topical areas are maintained at least at a basic level within the department and its industrial and university bases.

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