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OCR for page 16
Utilization of Engineers
The utilization of engineers has several dimensions. Those discussed
in the following section include sector and field of employment, rates
of unemployment, primary activities, and mobility among primary
activities. Concentration ratios of engineers in the work force are dis-
cussed in the next major section, and, finally, efficiency the degree to
which the engineer's technical abilities are being used- is addressed.
Employment Characteristics
Sector and Field of Employment
According to National Science Foundation date, 8 of all employed
scientists and engineers in 1982, some 75 percent were employed in
business and industry. About 5 percent worked for educational institu-
tions, 7 percent for the federal government, and 10 percent for all other
employers.
On the whole, engineers tend to remain in technical work, although
wide variations are found within engineering disciplines. NSF data on
engineers in the labor force in 1982 show that 88 percent of them
reported that they were employed in the sciences and engineering. By
discipline, the percentages of those so employed ranged from 64 per-
cent for mining engineers to 95 percent for civil and nuclear engineers.8
A more accurate, if narrower, evaluation can be made by tracking
16
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UTILIZATION OF ENGINEERS
17
new graduates. Of the B.S. engineers graduated in 1978, more than 90
percent were employed in the sciences or engineering in 1980 Table 2J.
Only computer specialties showed a higher percentage. About 88 per-
cent of these B.S. engineers were employed in their degree fields.
Almost 90 percent of the M.S. engineers graduated in 1978 were
employed in their degree fields in 1980, and 96 percent of them were
employed in the sciences or engineering {Table 3J.
Rates of Unemployment
Unemployment rates for scientists and engineers traditionally have
been markedly lower than for the labor force as a whole. The rate for
engineers in 1982 was 1.9 percent, as contrasted with 9.7 percent for
the labor force as a whole, 2.5 percent for physical scientists, and 4.9
percent for social scientists Table 4J. According to NSF data, unem-
ployment for engineers exceeded 2 percent in only 3 of the 20 years from
1963 to 1982. It should be noted that unemployment rates for engineers
and other professionals may be understated somewhat, because profes-
sionals tend to be reluctant to report that they are out of work.
Primary Activities
The predominant primary activities among all employed engineers
in 1982 were development, management, and production/inspection
TABLE 2 1980 Utilization Rate of Scientific and Engineering
Training: 1978 B. achelor' s Degrees
Degree Field
Computer specialties
~ · .
cngmeermg
Life sciences
Mathematics
Physical sciences
Chemistry
Physics
Social sciences
(including psychology
Employed
in Other
Employed in Science and
Number of Field of Engineering
Bachelors Degree 1% ) Field ( %
6,800
51,600
46,400
10, 100
8,400
5, 600
1,800
Employed in
Field
Outside of
Science and
Engineering (%
7.0
8.1
47.1
37.7
26.2
21.4
20.4
85,400
88.1
87.8
38.9
10.9
40.5
47.9
20.4
4.9
4.1
14.0
51.4
33.3
30.7
59.2
8.5
80.9
SOURCE: National Science Foundation.
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18
ENGINEERING EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS
TABLE 3 1980 Utilization Rates of Scientific and Engineering
Degrees: 1978 Master's Degrees
Employed Employed in
in Other Field
Employed in Science and Outside of
Number of Field of Engineering Science and
Degree Field Masters Degree ~ % ~Field ~ % ~Engineering ( %
Computer specialties 2,700 84.7 11.1 4.2
Engineering 15,200 87.0 9.2 3.8
Life sciences 7,600 69.5 6.7 23.8
Mathematics 2,600 41.8 33.5 24.7
Physical sciences 2,300 56.5 34.8 8.7
Chemistry 1,300 76.7 16.3 7.0
Physics 800 35.7 60.7 3.6
Social sciences
{including psychology) 10,900 54.1 10.1 35.8
SOURCE: National Science Foundation.
TABLE 4 Unemployment Rate Among Scientific and Engineering
Manpower, 1974-1982
Field 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982a
Computer specialists 0.5% 1.3% 0.5% 0.6% 1.1%
Engineers 1.3 1.9 0.8 1.0 1.9
Aeronautical NA 2.8 1.2 1.1 1.8
Chemical NA 1.0 1.1 1.1 3.0
Civil NA 2.0 1.1 1.2 2.0
Electrical NA 1.5 0.7 0.8 1.2
Mechanical NA 1.9 0.5 0.7 2.1
Other NA 2.1 0.9 1.0 2.0
Life scientists 2.0 1.4 1.2 1.1 2.4
Mathematicians 2.1 2.7 0.8 0.9 2.1
Physical scientists NA 2.4 1.7 1.8 2.5
Social scientists 2.4 1.7 1.5 1.6 4.9
Professional, techni
cal,andkindredb NA 3.2 2.6 2.5 3.0
Total labor force NA 7.7 6.1 7.1 9.7
NOTE: NA = not available.
aData for 1982 are not precisely comparable with data for earlier years.
bCategory revised by BLS and now called "professional workers. "
SOURCES: National Science Foundation, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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UTILIZATION OF ENGINEERS
TABLE 5 Primary Activities of Employed Engineers,
1982 ;percentJ
Activity All Engineers Women Engineers
Research
Basic 0.9 4.1
Applied 3.8 6.8
Development 27.9 15.2
R&D management 8.7 3.4
Other management 19.3 16.6
Teaching 2.1 7.3
Production/inspection 16.6 13.6
Othera 20.7 33.0
aConsulting, reporting, statistical work, computing, other, no
report.
SOURCE: Unpublished National Science Foundation tabulations,
based on 1982 Post-Census Survey of Scientists and Engineers-
July 1984.
19
Table 5J. NSF data for 1976-1980 indicate that, compared with other
scientists, engineers were less likely to be involved in research, analy-
sis, and teaching; more likely to be involved in development and pro-
duction; and slightly more likely to be involved in management [see
Figures A-8 and Am. During the same period, engineers themselves
became increasingly involved in production and analysis and some-
what less involved in management. The proportion of engineers
involved in teaching showed little change during 1976-1980, but was
relatively low, about 2.3 percent, compared with 15.7 percent for all
scientists Only about half of the engineers employed by educational
institutions are actually engaged in teaching).
The pattern of primary activities differs somewhat among male and
female engineers Table 5J. The percentage of women engineers
engaged in research in 1982 was 10.9 percent, or more than twice the
percentage of all engineers. Women were less represented in manage-
rial jobs, reflecting both their more recent entry into engineering and,
to some unknown extent, their lower level of acceptance by the profes-
sion. A lower percentage of women than of all engineers was in produc-
tion/inspection and other tasks, but a large percentage of women, as
with all engineers, was employed in development.
Doctoral engineers also differ from " all engineers" in primary activi-
ties Table 6~. As one would suspect, the highest percentage of doctoral
engineers `23.7 percent in 1981) was involved in research, with teach
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20
ENGINEERING EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS
TABLE 6 Primary Activities of Doctoral Engineers, 1973 and 1981
1973 1981
Activity Number % Number %
Research 8,300 23.2 13,500 23.7
Development 5,000 14.0 9,900 17.4
R&D management 8,300 23.2 10,300 18.1
Other management 2,200 6.1 4,900 8.6
Teaching 8,800 24.6 10,600 18.6
Othera 3,600 8.9 7,500 13.6
Total 35,800 57,000
aConsulting; production/inspection; sales and professional services; reporting, statis-
tical work, and computing; other; no report.
SOURCE: ScienceIndicators, 1982 (Washington,D.C.:NationalScienceBoard,1983~.
ing the second largest activity for Ph.D.s. As the table shows, in the
period 1973- 1981, the percentage of doctoral engineers in development
increased from 14.0 percent to 17.4 percent, and the percentage in
teaching declined from 24.6 percent to 18.6 percent, although the abso-
lute numbers in teaching increased. The percentage doing research
remained essentially constant.
Mobility Among Primary Activities
Engineers move regularly among primary work activities; they also
move entirely out of engineering and sometimes return. NSF data on
the mobility of a specific cohort of experienced engineers show a net
flow into management during 1972-1978, a net flow out of production
and R&D, and a small net flow out of teaching Tables A- 1 through A-4) .
Later data show a small net flow out of teaching during 1980- 1981 and a
small net flow into teaching during 1981-1982.9 The data also show a
net flow of 24 percent out of engineering during the period 1972-1978
{Table 7~. This outflow was slightly higher than for life and physical
scientists and computer specialists but much lower than for mathema
. .
tlclans.
Companies encourage internal movement of engineers to broaden
their experience. The most common move is from one assignment to
another at the same location. Engineers may also be moved geographi-
cally to provide experience at different facilities, for example but for
a variety of reasons such moves are being less readily made. One of the
reasons is the expense of moving; another is the growing number of
two-career couples.
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UTILIZATION OF ENGINEERS
TABLE 7 Occupational Mobility of Experienced Scientists and
Engineers: 1972-1978 ithousandsJ
21
1972 Net Flow
OccupationTotal Inflow Outflow 1972-1978
Computer specialists66.5 8.6 (12.9%) 23.4135.2%) -14.8 (22.3%)
Engineers393.5 12.8 ( 3.2%) 107 (27.2%) -94.2 (24%)
Life scientists67.8 4.3 ( 6.3% ~19.2 (28.3% ~- 14.9 (22% )
Mathematicians27.6 2.3 ( 8.3% ~11.5 (41.7% ) - 9.2 (33.3% )
Physical scientists80.3 7.6 ( 9.5 % ) 23.4 (29.1 % ~- 15.8 (19.6% )
SOURCE: National Science Foundation.
The Dual Ladder Although engineers can benefit from periodic
reassignment, some prefer to stay in purely technical work as opposed
to, say, administration, marketing, or plant operations. Such people
comprise a valuable technical asset. Traditionally, however, the choice
of purely technical work meant a sacrifice in salary and status, because
progress in one's company normally entailed assignments to other
kinds of work. To ease this problem, larger companies have set up dual-
ladder arrangements which are designed to permit engineers to move
up a technical ladder, in terms of salary and status, in parallel with their
counterparts on the management ladder. Emerging after World War II,
the dual-ladder approach has since proved very useful to both individ-
ual engineers and management. The panel members, however, believe
that people with broader capabilities and interests will continue to
receive greater economic rewards.
Concentration Ratios
A broad measure of the utilization of engineers is their percentage in
the total work force of an economic sector or industry. This percent-
age the concentration ratio-is a crude indicator of the technological
intensity of the sector or industry. Concentration ratios for technicians
and computer specialists also are indicators of technological intensity.
This section outlines concentration ratios for engineers, technicians,
and computer specialists in major economic sectors and industries.
Engineers
Of the major economic sectors, the federal government, excluding
the Postal Service, has the highest concentration ratio for engineers.
The ratio rose from about 3.25 percent in 1960 to about 5 percent in
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22
ENGINEERING EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS
TABLE 8 Concentration Ratios {percent of total employment) of
Engineers, Technicians, and Computer Specialists in Major Sectors
andIndustries, 1960, 1970, and 1980
Manufacturing Industry
All Durable Nondurable Public
Year Industry Total Goods Goods Administration
... .
Engineers 1960 1.33% 2.69% 4.05% 0.97% 2.66%
1970 1.58 3.28 4.65 1.29 3.00
1980 1.42 3.29 4.56 1.35 1.92
Techniciansa 1960 0.96 2.11 2.75 1.29 1.73
1970 1.05 2.08 2.55 1.39 1.91
1980 1.13 2.32 2.74 1.74 1.60
Computer
specialists 1960 ~
1970 0.44 0.70 0.93 0.37 1.18
1980 0.61 0.84 1.13 0.41 1.34
aIncludes both engineering and science technicians.
SOURCE: Bureau of the Census.
1978, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other data, from the
Bureau of the Census, indicate that the ratio for engineers in public
administration- all government, including state and local-rose from
2.7 percent in 1960 to 3.0 percent in 1970, but then declined to 1.9
percent in 1980 {Table 8J.
Engineers employed in all industry far outnumber employees in
other technical disciplines. The concentration ratio grew rapidly
through 1970, but then, as shown in Table 8, declined slightly through
1980 to about 1.42 percent. The decline was due in part to the advent of
computer specialists as a separate occupational category. In manufac-
turing industries, the concentration ratio is more than twice as high as
. . . .
it is in al. . sync .ustr~es.
Concentration ratios for engineers vary widely across industries
{Table 9J. The ratios for the primary metals, fabricated metals, and
motor vehicle industries were considerably below the mean {4.56 per-
cent) for durable goods industries in 1980. In electronic computing,
aircraft, and commercial R&D, increases in the ratios for computer
specialists may have occurred at the expense of the ratios for engineers.
As noted earlier, many computer specialists may be converted
engineers.
Examination of concentration ratios indicates that one engineering
discipline traditionally has tended to be dominant in each industry:
mechanical engineers in the machinery industry, electrical engineers
OCR for page 23
UTILIZATION OF ENGINEERS
TABLE 9 Concentration Ratios of Engineers, 1960 and 1980
23
Industry19601980 Trend
Primary metals2.19%2.16% Down
Fabricated metals4.102.33 Down
Chemicals3.794.03 Up
Communications4.003.88 Down
Machinery [except electrical)4.204.80 Up
Electrical machinery6.977.10 Up
Electronic computers10. 71 (1970)9.55 Down
Motor vehicles2.493.75 Up
Aircraft12.6415.68 Up
Engineering services27.0725.24 Down
Con~nercialR&D15.01 (1970J12.74 Down
Computer programming3.77 (1970)2.48 Downa
aThe result of rapidly growing numbers of computer specialists.
SOURCE: Bureau of the Census.
in electrical machinery, chemical engineers in the chemical industry,
and so on See Figures A-10 through A-14. This pattern suggests that
the balance among engineering disciplines in an industry should
change as its products change. When the automobile industry, for
example, -began- to reduce the weight of carsto improve fuel efficiency,
automobile manufacturers began to hire more civil engineers to do the
necessary structural analyses. Similarly, the percentages-of electrical
and computer engineers in the aerospace industry have been growing
steadily as the electronics and computer content of major aerospace
systems has grown.
Technicians and Computer Specialists
Concentration ratios for engineers, technicians, and computer spe-
cialists in all industries are compared in Table 8. Among major eco-
nomic sectors, the ratio for technicians exceeds that for engineers only
in nondurable goods. Among industrial~sectors, the technician ratio is
higher only in chemicals, computer programming, and commercial
R&D isee Table A-5 ~ . -The-concent~ation ratios for computer specialists
are low~r-~than those for engineers and technicians in all sectors but
electronic-~computers, computer programming' and business m~nage-
ment, where they exceed both. The ratios for-computer specialists are
growing steadily, however.
These concen-tration ratios are restated in terms of numbers of ~ec-h-
nicians an~omputer specialists per engineer in all industries in Figure
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24
o
a:
G
ENGINEERING EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS
2.0
1.5
1.0 _
0.5
o
. . .
1960 1970 1980
__
1960 1970 1980
Technician/Engineer Computer Specialist/Engineer Total/Engineer
FIGURE 8 Technicians and computer specialists per engineer, all industry. SOURCE:
Bureau of the Census.
8. The rationale is that both provide support for engineers. Technicians
are commonly viewed as working in support of engineers for scien-
tists), but the technician classification in industry, as reported in vari-
ous surveys, covers many tasks not in support of engineers. It is not
possible to separate engineering support tasks from the survey data.
Even so, the ratio of technicians to a given engineering work force
provides at least a crude measure of the degree to which they are freeing
engineers for tasks that require engineering qualifications. Computer
specialists may or may not support engineers directly or indirectly.
Efficiency of Utilization
Assessments of the efficiency of utilization of engineers-the extent
to which their technical abilities are being used are necessarily sub
OCR for page 25
UTILIZATION OF ENGINEERS
25
jective. Considerable research was done on the subject in the late 1960s
and early 1970s, but recent information is scarce.
To broaden its basis for judgment in this and related areas, the panel
conducted an informal survey of employers of engineers. The survey
solicited management's view of the efficiency of utilization of engi-
neers, the impact of new technology on engineering productivity, and
the difficulty of finding quality engineering graduates. The form
employed in the survey and a summary of the results appear in Appen-
dix D. The form was mailed to some 350 firms, and 107 responses were
received. The survey did not employ a scientific sampling procedure;
smaller consulting firms, for example, are overrepresented. For this
reason, and because of the relatively small number of responses, the
results should be viewed with caution.
The results of the panel's survey show in part that, in senior manage-
ment's opinion, computer hardware engineers, computer software
engineers, and civil engineers are the most fully utilized ;70 percent
and higherJ, while aeronautical, chemical, electronics, and industrial
engineers are somewhat underutilized {46 percent and lower). Neither
electronics nor electrical engineers were reported as being utilized as
fully as the panel had expected. It is not clear, however, what levels of
utilization ought to be considered acceptable. Also, in the panel's expe-
rience, management tends to estimate utilization higher than do indi-
vidual engineers.
Substantial difference of opinion among engineers is found in the
preliminary results of a study of utilization being conducted by the
American Association of Engineering Societies. it The reported results,
when engineers were asked if their utilization was excellent, showed a
positive response range of 47 percent to 71 percent, depending on the
group surveyed.
Views of individual engineers that may be related to efficiency of
utilization were obtained in other surveys; the results are shown in
Tables 10, 11, and 12. In particular, the quite low levels of satisfaction
shown in Table 11 suggest correspondingly low levels of utilization.
Impact of New Technology
The efficiency of utilization of engineers is being affected by new
technologies, such as computer-aided design CAD) and drafting.
These and related technologies are still relatively new, however.
Although they are definitely increasing the productivity and quality of
engineering, their net effect on engineering and on industry as a whole
cannot be forecast with confidence.
Computer-aided design unquestionably provides the capability to
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26
ENGINEERING EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS
TABLE 10 Survey Results: Engineers' Views of
Their Work, According to National Engineering
Career Development Study
Respondents: Percent
Satisfied with choice of occupation
Satisfied with career progress
Satisfied with work in present job
72a
61
80
NOTE: Total sample = 2,852 experienced engineers.
a72% of responses fell into the two most positive categories of a
5-point scale.
SOURCE: W. K. LeBold, K. W. Linden, C. M. Jagacinski, and K. D.
Shell. "National Engineering Career Development Study: Engi
neers' Profiles of the Eighties. " Purdue University, West Lafayette,
Ind., June 1983.
TABLE 11 Survey Results: Engineers' Views of
Their Work {Civilian Engineers in Joint Logistics
Commands)
Respondents: Percent
Satisfied with work assignments
Job uses individual's potential
Working as engineer in federal government is
satisfying
37a
28
23
NOTE: Total sample = 1, 609 experienced engineers.
aIncludes always/often responses.
SOURCE: "Civilian Engineer Recruitment, Retention, and Use
Throughout the Joint Logistics Commands," prepared by Joint
Panel on Civilian Personnel Management established by Joint
Logistics Commanders, U.S. Department of Defense, Washington,
D.C., Oct. 30, 1981.
TABLE 12 Survey Results: Engineers' Views of Their Work
{Engineering Graduates, University of Illinois)
Respondents:
Consider engineering degree relevant to work
Personally satisfied with engineering work
10 Years After
Graduation ( %
69. la
82.9b
5 Years After
Graduation 1 %
85. 1a
87.2b
NOTE: Surveys started in 1977 and were conducted each year for those graduating 10
years and 5 years earlier.
aResponses of "most or all" and "some" on a 4-point scale. Scores averaged across six
surveys {1977-1982J.
b' 'Yes" response on yes or no question. Scores averaged across six surveys t 1977-1982J.
SOURCE: College of Engineering, University of Illinois.
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UTILIZATION OF ENGINEERS
27
increase the engineer's productivity in terms of hourly output. The
value of the increase cannot readily be assessed, however, because CAD
also changes the nature of the work. It may permit the engineer to
design a part with greater precision, for example, or to consider more
options, or, more importantly in many cases, to shorten development
lead time. But comparable tasks have seldom been carried out simulta-
neously with and without a computer-based system, so costs cannot be
compared directly. Further, a company engages in a good deal of analy-
sis before deciding to invest in a computer-aided system, but once the
system is installed, the emphasis is on making it work. Thus, after-the-
fact analysis is not done routinely.
The panel's informal survey of employers of engineers covered four
elements of new engineering technology: computer-aided drafting,
computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, and engineer-
ing information systems. Fewer than half of the respondents that had
such systems had formally evaluated them quantitatively, but, on aver-
age, productivity improvement was estimated in the range of 30 per
cent to 40 percent.
Because certain design programs can be incorporated into CAD sys-
tems and because of interactive graphics, designing with CAD in some
jobs may require less technical direction than designing without CAD.
Most importantly, these new computer-aided tools permit increasingly
sophisticated products to be designed in less time with substantially
greater accuracy and with greater cost-effectiveness.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
concentration ratios
