Archive:Careers of doctorate holders
- Data from pilot CDH data collection 2006.
Holders of doctorate degrees or other research qualifications are crucial to the creation, commercialization and dissemination of knowledge and to innovation. Until now, however, there has been little information about their careers and labour market mobility.
This article explains the statistics resulting from the international 'Survey on the careers of doctorate holders (CDH)', jointly carried out Eurostat, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and UNESCO's Institute for Statistics (UIS). The survey covers most of the Member States of the European Union, of EFTA as well as some of the most important other members of the OECD, such as the United States and Australia.
Main statistical findings
(from the pilot CDH data collection 2006)
Personal characteristics of research qualification holders
In most countries, the percentage of men with research qualifications exceeds 60 % of the total. Italy has the highest share of women with research qualifications, and is actually the only country where women outnumber men in this category. Among younger age groups, there tends to be a higher share of women qualified to do research, as confirmed in the latest reports.
The age distribution varies considerably among countries. For several countries, the 35-44 age group is the largest; for others, the 35-44 and 45-54 groups are equally dominant. Overall, the population of 55 years or older accounts for only a small percentage in most countries.
Employment characteristics and work perception
Most identified doctorate holders were employed at the time of the survey. The share of unemployed and inactive doctorate holders is below 2 % in most countries. Exceptions to this low unemployment rate are found in Italy (2.7 %), Germany (2.5 %) and Austria (2.3 %). Significant percentages of inactive doctorates are noted in Austria (4.7 %) and the Netherlands (4.3 %).
A large share of the doctorate or research qualification holders work as teaching professionals. This is intuitive, as it is common to become either a researcher with teaching responsibilities or a lecturer in higher education (universities, etc.). In addition, many research qualification holders work in physical, mathematical and engineering science. Generally, only a smaller proportion has become policy-makers, senior officials and managers.
The distribution of doctorate holders among researchers and non-researchers is also noteworthy. More than half of the doctorate holders are employed as researchers in all countries, except for the Netherlands. In several countries, the percentage of doctorate holders employed as researchers is as high as 70 % or more.
Among employed researchers, the largest percentage is active in higher education. In almost all countries, the percentage exceeds 60%, most notably in Lithuania with 73.5 %. Government appears to be the second choice for researchers, followed by the corporate sector. In the private non-profit sector, the percentage of employed researchers is on average below 10 % for all countries, except for Estonia (23.9 %).
The data indicate that research qualification holders are liable to stay with each employer long term: the majority of research qualification holders stay with their employer for a decade or more, followed by those with the same employer for at least five years. The only exception is Denmark, where a considerable share of employed research qualification holders has been with their current employer for only one to two years.
Job satisfaction
In almost all countries, most research qualification holders purport to be ‘somewhat satisfied’ with their salary. This group is followed by those who are ‘somewhat dissatisfied’. The proportion of research qualification holders who are ‘very dissatisfied’ is rather low in the majority of countries, except for Bulgaria (19.4 %).
A closer look at the data reveals that salary is one of the main reasons for which most research qualification holders are dissatisfied with their work, along with the lack of benefits and opportunities for advancement.
Reverse international mobility
The share of research qualification holders, citizens of the reporting country, who have lived or stayed abroad in the past 10 years varies from 4.7 % to 30.5 % among European countries. Most of them move back to their country of residence because of family or personal reasons, the completion of their doctorate or due to other job-related or economic factors.
Data sources and availability
The Careers of Doctorate Holders survey for the reference year 2006 (CDH 2006) was the first international, coordinated round of this data collection, and thus had a certain pilot elements about it. In total, 26 countries participated in the initial CDH 2006 survey, i.e. most of the Member States of the European Union (EU), of EFTA and some of the most important other members of the OECD, such as the United States and Australia. Reference year for the CDH was 2006, although there were a few exceptions (three countries used 2005 and two countries 2007 as reference years).
Most of the countries carried out a dedicated survey on CDH, while others used data from the national Labour force survey or other register data. The outcome reveals that collection methods, other than dedicated surveys, have a negative impact on the availability of the requested information. In fact, countries that used either the LFS or administrative data or population census to derive CDH figures tend to supply limited data in the output tables. In contrast, data derived from dedicated surveys is very complete in respect to the requirements set by the three international organizations.
With regard to the data sources used for the CDH, countries used multiple sources to build their sampling frame. Where more than one source was used, there has been an effort to avoid overlap. These data sources cover special characteristics of the target population. For example, sources, such as R & D surveys or registers concerning employment/business/enterprises cover employed doctorate holders awarded either in the reporting country or abroad; sources such as databases of universities and national registers of doctorate holders cover doctorate holders awarded in the reporting country. The combination of sources complements the survey frames with recent doctorate holders that have not yet been noted in an official register.
Quality of data sources
The quality of the data sources and consequently the efficacy of the survey frame are vital for the complete coverage of the target population. According to the guidelines, the target population should include all doctorate holders (citizens of the reporting country or citizens of foreign countries) awarded within the country and abroad and being resident (permanent or non-permanent) in the country on the reference date. Departures from these recommendations mainly result from insufficient sources of data, which fail to cover (fully or partly) all the sub-groups of doctorate holders resident in the country. The sub-categories that were mostly under-covered were: ISCED six graduates whose doctorates were awarded abroad, unemployed and inactive graduates, non-permanent residents and foreign citizens.
The problems and limitations of the quality of CDH 2006 data have been discussed with the involved countries and organizations. Following analysis and discussions of the CDH 2006, countries were asked to update and complement some key characteristics, in order to improve completeness and comparability between countries. To present comparable data as far as possible, the three coordinating organisations - the OECD, UNESCO's UIS and Eurostat - are currently working on the analysis and preparation of data. Participating countries are also discussing how to overcome coverage and comparability problems.
Data harmonization and quality control
As the national methods for collecting the data may vary between countries, reflecting the diversity of the national statistical systems, the CDH statistics try to harmonize this information and impose quality controls. The aim is to obtain high-quality results through a harmonized list of variables and indicators, together with their related definitions. Different countries are at different stages of development of the CDH statistics, in particular in reaching the final aim of full coverage of the target population. In a transition phase where countries seek to fully implement the methodological guidelines, incomplete coverage will have to be accepted to support their effort. However, this comes at the expense of comparability of the data. A priority is to limit incomplete coverage as the project develops and national practices are harmonized.
In parallel with the work on analysis, quality control and publication of results from CDH 2006, the OECD's UIS and Eurostat are already preparing for the next round of the CDH survey. This next study will use 2009 as reference year but seek to improve the model questionnaire, the questionnaire manual and the methodological guidelines. These guidelines provide guidance on the target population , sampling frames , sampling design , etc., that should be respected in the national surveys in order to provide harmonised and comparable statistics.
Target population of CDH data
A common, harmonized definition of the target population is critical for the usefulness of the CDH data. The countries supplying the information often use different national sources and surveys for both the sampling frame (i.e. the overview of research qualification holders from which a sample for the survey is drawn) and the statistics.
The total target population of the CDH statistics consists of all people with an education at ISCED 6 level (i.e. research qualification holders, mainly doctorate holders). These can be divided into national populations, considered the target populations of national surveys in each country. Many highly skilled people tend to work and contribute to society with their skills and knowledge at advanced ages. However, one of the main aims of the CDH statistics, i.e. the measuring of mobility and career path, is targeting relatively young research qualification holders.
In summary, the national target populations for the CDH survey consist of people who in the reference year:
- have an education at ISCED 6 level, obtained anywhere in the world;
- live (permanently or non-permanently) in the survey country;
- are 69 or younger.
With these definitions and the assumption that all countries conduct the survey according to the common methodological guidelines and with the same year, the whole population of doctorate holders and other research qualification holders living in those countries is covered, without any overlaps. The resulting statistics should, thus, be complete and fully comparable between all participating countries.
Context
Human resources are fundamental to innovation and competitiveness. Doctorate holders and other research qualification holders are not only the most qualified individuals in terms of educational accomplishment, but also the only ones specifically trained to conduct research.
Not much is known, however, about their career and mobility patterns on the labour market. This is why the OECD, the UIS and Eurostat launched a collaborative project in 2004, aimed at developing internationally comparable indicators on the careers and mobility of research qualification holders. An expert group with representatives from national statistical bodies was formed to develop the technical components of the project and start compiling data at national level.
Innovation, as a motor for economic progress, is a key element of the European Union’s Lisbon Strategy. The Lisbon Strategy is an action and development plan, broadly aiming to make the EU the most competitive and the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010. The main fields are economic, social, and environmental renewal and sustainability. In particular, the European Commission has stated that making growth and jobs the immediate target goes hand in hand with promoting social or environmental objectives.
European research area
The European research area (ERA) is a central pillar of the Lisbon strategy, together with the completion of the single market for goods and services, the European 'broad-based innovation strategy' and the creation of a European higher education area. In fact, the ERA can be likened to a research and innovation equivalent of the single market. The ERA aims to increase the competitiveness of European research institutions by bringing them together and encouraging a more inclusive way of work. Increased mobility of knowledge workers and deeper co-operation among research institutions in the EU are central goals of the ERA.
Within the ERA, researchers should be able to move and interact seamlessly, benefit from world-class infrastructures and work with excellent networks of research institutions. The ERA should inspire the best talents to enter research careers in Europe and stimulate industry to invest more in European research. It should enable European researchers to develop strong links with partners around the world, so that Europe benefits from the worldwide progress of knowledge, contributes to global development and takes a leading role in international initiatives to solve global issues. The European Commission prepares implementation reports to the European Council on the 'Mobility of researchers and career development'.
Thus, in recent years the need to measure the career development and mobility of the highest-skilled segment of the labour force has increased, both within the EU and internationally. The 'Availability and characteristics of surveys on the destination of doctorate recipients in OECD countries' inventory in 2003 showed that many national surveys existed and provided valuable information for the understanding of career patterns and mobility of doctorate holders and other research qualification holders. However, such surveys were initially conceived to fulfill only national statistical needs.
Careers and mobility workshops for doctorate holders
The OECD secretariat, together with the UIS and Eurostat, has organized several workshops on careers and mobility of doctorate holders since 2003. These workshops have brought together statisticians, academics and policy makers interested i monitoring of employment, career outcomes and mobility of scientists and engineers with advanced research degrees. The user community has consistently repeated its interest in the project, as well as underlined the need to repeat the CDH data collections regularly to follow trends and draw comparisons over time.
In the workshops, links were defined between research questions and data needs in order to set objectives for collecting statistics on CDH .
The policy questions observed at the national and international level are summarized under the following four headings:
- Role of doctorate holders in innovation and the knowledge economy
- Where do doctorate holders work, as compared to other tertiary graduates? Do they follow research careers and in which sector and field?
- Labour market supply and demand
- Do we train too many or too few research qualification holders? Are there mismatches in the labour market? Why do doctorate holders choose research careers in the public sector, in the private sector or leave research altogether? What is their perception of career opportunities and the employment situation in the public versus the private sector? Do they earn more than the average citizen? Which sectors of employment are the most profitable for them?
- Education to work
- How long is the time of transition to employment or post-doctoral experience? How related is the job to the doctoral degree?
- Mobility
- How mobile are research qualification holders between sectors? When do research qualification holders leave research for a career in management? How big are the flows of research qualification holders between countries? How common it is for research qualification holders to reside in a country on a non-permanent basis? What are the reasons for doctorate holders to return to country of origin?
The CDH statistics try to answer questions about the international mobility of highly skilled workers, as frequently discussed under the headings of ‘brain drain’ / ‘brain gain’ / ‘brain circulation’. In addition, these statistics address whether the quality and the number of research qualification holders educated correspond to labor market needs. Furthermore, the issue of whether the national labour markets remain the main frame for this highly skilled group is addressed. Other issues are how well the skills of the highest educated are used by society, as well as how attractive different careers are to the research qualification holders. The CDH statistics give policy makers a much stronger basis for addressing these issues.
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- Doctorate holders - Statistics in focus 131/2007 (available in English, French and German)
- Science, technology and innovation in Europe - statistical book 2009
- Science, technology and innovation in Europe - pocketbook 2008
Database
The Eurostat database does not yet contain the data shown in this article.
Dedicated section
Other information
- Decision (EC) 1608/2003 concerning the production and development of EU statistics on science and technology (legal text)
- Regulation (EC) 753/2004 implementing Decision 1608/2003/EC as regards statistics on science and technology (legal text)