Caren Arbeit

Caren Arbeit is a researcher in our Education and Workforce Development division with expertise in graduate education, postgraduate labor market outcomes (including postdocs), non-traditional postsecondary students and non-traditional forms of postsecondary education, such as bootcamps. She specializes in analytic work and data quality efforts for our clients. She writes reports, analyzes data, designs, and oversees production of data dissemination products such as tables, and runs quality control checks for several projects. These projects include the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, Survey of Earned Doctorates, and Early Career Doctorates Survey contracts with the National Science Foundation. She has also co-authored the Labor Force report for the National Science Board’s Science and Engineering Indicators. Previously, she developed report proposals, analyzed data, and co-authored reports / working papers for the Postsecondary Education Analysis Resources contract with the National Center for Education Statistics. For the National Center for Innovation in Career and Technical Education, she led a report on high school student career and technical education coursetaking with a focus on the types of courses completed.

Currently, Dr. Arbeit leads the Cybersecurity Workforce Data Initiative (CWDI) contract with the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. On CWDI, she leads a team of researchers who reviewed the academic and non-academic literature, interviewed cybersecurity and cybersecurity workforce experts, and analyzed federal and non-federal data on the cybersecurity workforce. These data gathering activities led to 5 published white papers authored by the team, including Dr. Arbeit. As part of this process, the CWDI team also led 3 webinars presenting what the CWDI was learning to gather feedback from the larger cybersecurity community. As a result of the data gathering phase and in consultation with the client, the team developed key research questions and a pilot questionnaire. The team is currently planning for a pilot data collection.

Dr. Arbeit also researches alternative credentials. She led the first independent analysis of bootcamp/coding academy programs. As part of this work, the teams she led defined the different types of bootcamp programs, examined the cost, admissions processes, and geographic availability of bootcamp programs in the U.S., Canada and online.

Her prior research focuses on education, social stratification and demography. This includes research on differences in labor market outcomes of college-educated individuals by demographic and educational characteristics, including where individuals earned their degrees; access to health insurance and healthcare for children from different family contexts; and how parental job loss impacts children’s educational attainment.