I have selected out the physicians and surgeons, using OCC=3060. Also selected out people who are born in the U.S. Some have EDUCD as Bachelor’s degree as their highest degree. Some have only Master’s. How can a physician/surgeon who is born in this country have the highest degree of Bachelors? Please answer. Thanks.
I am not certain what sample you are looking at, but after looking into a few recent ACS samples, a few details may be helpful. The incidence of those with a bachelors or masters degree and reporting being a physician or surgeon is quite low; about 2% of the sample in 2015 and 2016. These observations could be caused by a number of different scenarios. It is important to remember that Census data is self-reported and the quality of the data, in part, relies on respondent accuracy. Some of these responses, therefore, could be due to reporting error by the respondent not answering the Census questionnaire as designed. For example, it could be the case that some of these individuals are resident physicians or surgeons and, don’t consider themselves finished with their degree but work as a physician or surgeon.