Comparison of Scientific and Technical Personnel Trends in the United States, France, West Germany, and the United Kingdom Since 1970

摘要

Comparative data on the number of natural scientists and engineers showed that in the early 1980's, the United States had 2.6 million natural scientists and engineers in the labor force compared with 621 thousand for West Germany, 633 thousand for France, and 592 thousand for the United Kingdom. Although the United States has more natural scientists and engineers in the labor force than these three countries combined, the U.S. proportion of natural scientists and engineers in the labor force in the early 1980's was about the same as that of other countries. Experts interviewed in the course of the study agree that scientists and engineers in the United States demonstrate a higher degree of mobility (geographic and occupational) than do their counterparts in the European countries. Engineers in France and West Germany more frequently move into top management positions than do those in the United States and the United Kingdom. Less attention is given in the United States to the systematic training of technicians and establishment of standards than in the European countries. Updating of skills of scientists and engineers is also more systematic in the European countries than in the United States with special tax-supported programs, notably in France. In the United States, larger firms often carry out such training for their staff and, more often than in Europe, it is up to the individual.