| Abstract: |
Studies examining demographic composition and labor market condition have
mainly focused on the relatively vulnerable workforce in the labor market.
However, as the knowledge-based economy makes strides and skilled
professionals become more important, it has become necessary to systematically
analyze the composition of the skilled labor force as well as their
occupational activity. Accordingly, OECD and Eurostat launched a pioneering
global data project named ‘Careers and Mobility of Doctorate Holders.‘ In
2013, comprehensive surveys of Korean doctorate holders were carried out as a
part of the project. Based on the data produced by the project, this paper
analyzes the structural changes occurring in the career patterns of Korean
doctorate holders in the fields of science and engineering(S&E). This study
addresses the questions posed by Lee, Miozzo & Laredo (2010) who observed that
doctorate holders’ career patterns are becoming more diversified. However,
while they focused on the analysis of the relationships between the doctorate
holders’ working sectors and their job-related competencies based on surveys
of a small number of generations, this study presents the changes in career
patterns of different generations based on surveys of multiple generations.
Since the Korean data includes retrospective questions about the first and
previous careers of the whole population of doctorate holders, the data can be
used to compare the differences in career paths among different generations.
The results indicate that the career patterns of S&E doctorate holders are
undergoing noticeable changes in terms of various aspects including employment
sector, job security and major activities, and that the career differences
between fields of science and engineering are becoming more significant. |