Engineering Job Mismatch Spurs Study

More than 40 percent of people trained as scientists and engineers indicate they are either working outside their field of study or working in a field only somewhat related, according to a recent study. Findings reveal that the majority of those working outside their academic major choose to do so voluntarily, and they are more likely to become entrepreneurs. Less than 25 percent of educational mismatches occur because of labor market conditions. Instead, workers are choosing different jobs due to changing career interests or family obligations.

Briana Sell Stenard and Henry Sauermann used survey data collected by the National Science Foundation from more than 25,000 scientists and engineers in their research on educational mismatch and subsequent transitions into entrepreneurship. The authors of the study, which appeared in Organization Science and was featured recently in the Harvard Business Review, found that those who voluntarily chose a different field did so because of better working conditions, higher salaries, more flexibility, career advancement, family reasons or because they preferred a specific location.

The authors highlight the importance of hiring employees whose educational backgrounds fit the job. Those who are mismatched have less job satisfaction and may move to other firms or start their own business. The authors recommend expanding curricula to teach STEM students nontechnical skills that are more suited to entrepreneurship.

Lastly, in looking at those workers who cannot find a job in their chosen field due to market conditions, the authors suggest that prospective STEM students carefully consider labor market conditions and understand the demand in a field as they choose their area of training. Those that make the “right” choice are more likely to have better outcomes, they state.