[Excerpt] Like most developed economies, the United States increasingly depends on a technically skilled workforce, including scientists and engineers. Workers for whom knowledge and skill in S&E are central to their jobs have an effect on the economy and the wider society that is disproportionate to their numbers: they contribute to research and development, increased knowledge, technological innovation, and economic growth. Moreover, the knowledge and skills associated with science and engineering have diffused across occupations and become more important in jobs that are not traditionally associated with S&E
