Private Sector Scientists and Engineers and the Transition to Management

The authors present and empirically test a self-selection/job matching model of a common transition in the careers of scientists and engineers-the move from technical to managerial jobs. Technical and managerial ability are assumed to be positively but not perfectly correlated, so that technical job performance provides information about both technical and managerial ability upon which to base the decision to become a manager. NSF panel data provides evidence that managerial and technical productivity are positively correlated, and that information received while on the job does influence the worker's selection of a managerial or a technical career path.