Job satisfaction patterns of scientists and engineers by status of birth

The latest figures published by the Science and Engineering Indicators report reveals that in 2003, 33% of faculty in science and engineering departments at research universities were foreign-born, a number that has more than doubled in thirty years. Foreign-born faculty members comprise an important part of the scientific enterprise that has been understudied. The purpose of this study is to examine the job satisfaction patterns of scientists and engineers by status of birth using a very large and comprehensive National Science Foundation (NSF) dataset, the Survey of Doctoral Recipients (SDR). The results of the study indicate that foreign-born scientists and engineers are less satisfied in several areas of their work life as compared to their US-born peers.

► Job satisfaction of foreign-born scientists and engineers in academia is compared to US-born. ► Despite higher research productivity, foreign-born are less satisfied than their native-born peers. ► Understanding factors that impact work satisfaction leads to higher retention. ► Results are concerning given the international competition to attract and retain scientific talent.