Describes the social, educational, and job-related characteristics of a highly select group of persons in eight major fields of science or engineering: Computer specialists, engineers, mathematical specialists, life scientists, physical scientists, environmental scientists, psychologists, and social scientists. The textual material is restricted to these major groups; tables 1through 5 present data for their detailed subgroupings.

Some of the topics covered are race; residence in 1976; degree levels and major field of study; supplemental training; employment status; occupation and industry; type of employer; job and occupational mobility; basic annual salary; years of professional experience; Federal support; and involvement in areas of critical national interest. The report also provides an extensive set of appendixes describing the background of the 1976 survey and presenting selected supplementary data.

These statistics are based on the 1976 National Survey of Natural and Social Scientists and Engineers, the third sponsored by the National Science Foundation and conducted by the Bureau of the Census. The series was in a longitudinal series of biennial surveys that began in 1972. The sample for the 1974 and 1976 surveys included only those persons from the 1972 survey who met the National Science Foundation's criteria for classification as scientists and engineers.