More than 10,000 people holding doctorate degrees in science and related fields left federal government positions last year, according to data from the White House Office of Personnel Management. The departures represent a substantial turnover among the government’s most highly trained technical staff.
Jeffrey Mervis, senior correspondent for Science magazine, joined CBS News to discuss the OPM figures and their implications. Mervis and other observers point to several factors that can drive senior technical staff out of government service: stronger pay and faster career pathways in industry, burnout and pandemic-related stresses, slow and complex federal hiring processes, and concerns about the independence and support for scientific work in some agencies. The result is a thinning of institutional expertise that agencies rely on for research, regulatory decisions and long-term programs.
Leaders and advocates say the OPM numbers underscore the need to improve recruitment and retention—by addressing pay and benefits, accelerating hiring and onboarding, protecting scientific integrity, and creating clearer career ladders—to ensure government agencies can attract and keep deep technical talent essential to policy, public health, national security and research.