The outcomes of the employment situation for science and engineering PhDs were assessed through a survey of college and university departments and faculty members who had accepted new academic jobs or who had left academic jobs for other positions within the last three years. Faculty members who had accepted their first job after receiving the doctorate were not included. A large sample of PhDs in 12 fields who were employed by the federal government and PhDs in many fields who were employed outside academe or government were also surveyed. The study analyzed the responses to an eight-page questionnaire, completed by 10,000 doctorate holders, which dealt with career outcomes, current job characteristics, personal and educational backgrounds, and career histories. Findings are reported on three important career outcomes: salary, job satisfaction, and publication rates. Detailed multivariate analyses were conducted on the three dependent variables and the following six categories of independent variables: background factors, educational experience, present job characteristics, employment history, satisfaction with life in general and with leisure activities, and mobility. It appears that salary, publication, and relationship of job to graduate study are important determinants of job satisfaction, although publication affects satisfaction only because it relates to salary. It is concluded that academic jobs are not the only desirable jobs for science and engineering PhDs, and that the decline in academic jobs does not warrant cutbacks in science and engineering. Maintenance of PhD production need not result in less satisfying or less productive jobs. (SW)