David Schulker

Senior Policy Researcher

Washington Office

Education

Ph.D. in policy analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School; MPhil in policy analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School; BS in economics, U.S. Air Force Academy

One Page Bio

Overview

David Schulker is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. His research uses econometric and statistical techniques to analyze defense recruiting and career progression, with some additional work on topics involving education, military spouses and veterans. Much of Schulker's work is at the intersection of data technologies and talent management, focusing on how organizations can leverage machine learning-based software tools to make better human resource management decisions. Some examples of Schulker's recent work include multi-year efforts to help the Department of the Air Force use natural language processing to improve officer management and to develop staffing models for the US Secret Service. Schulker is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and a former Air Force officer, and he received his Ph.D. in Policy Analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School.

Research Focus

Publications

Report
Benchmarking Demographic Diversity in Air Force Functional Areas Against Near-Equivalent Civilians: The Air Force Occupational Diversity Benchmarking Workbooks
To allow decisionmakers to discover potential barriers to a diverse and inclusive workforce, the authors created a method to measure diversity in the Department of the Air Force occupations using near-equivalent civilian occupations as benchmarks.
Feb 22, 2023
Report
How the U.S. Air Force Can Incorporate New Data Technologies into Its Talent Management System: Framework and Use Cases for Technology-Enabled Talent Management
The U.S. Air Force and the other military services have a long history of innovation in human resource management (HRM). This report describes how adopting HRM practices that are technology-enabled could lead to more-effective talent management.
Dec 21, 2022
Report
Improving U.S. Air Force Training Investments: Putting Proficiency First
The U.S. Air Force needs to make near-term investments in its operational training infrastructure to ready airmen for high-end conflict. This Perspective explores which investments are most appropriate and which should receive priority.
Dec 15, 2022
Tool
The Military Demographic Equity Support Tool: A Tool for Helping Decisionmakers Address Disparities in Career Success
The Military Demographic Equity Support tool enables visualization of racial, ethnic, and gender disparities across military paygrades and examination of the effects of potential mitigation strategies.
Sep 6, 2022
Report
Air Force Operational Test and Training Infrastructure: Barriers to Full Implementation
This report offers stakeholders in Air Force training a framework for discerning the implications of different training infrastructure investments for assessing the readiness of individuals and aircrews.
Feb 28, 2022
Report
Perspectives on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of the Air Force
This Perspective summarizes organizational, managerial, and procedural insights that RAND Project AIR FORCE has provided to Department of the Air Force leaders in recent years on critical diversity and personnel challenges facing the department.
Nov 22, 2021
Report
Improving the Goal-Setting Process for U.S. Department of the Air Force Recruiters
This Perspective compares and contrasts the current goal-setting process for U.S. Department of the Air Force recruiters with a more comprehensive one that accounts for factors influencing contract production.
Nov 16, 2021
Report
Developing an Air Force Retention Early Warning System: Concept and Initial Prototype
The authors examine the development of an early warning system that alerts decisionmakers when a subgroup of U.S. Air Force military members is at risk for future shortages, thereby enabling policy adjustments before shortages occur.
Oct 14, 2021
Report
Improving the Representation of Women and Racial/Ethnic Minorities Among U.S. Coast Guard Active-Duty Members
Researchers sought to identify the root causes of underrepresentation for women and members of racial/ethnic minority groups in the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as facilitators of and barriers to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Aug 11, 2021
Report
Championing the Agile Air Force Officer Career: Examining the Potential Use of New Career Management Flexibilities
The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act introduced new options for officer career management for the military services. Researchers examine the potential utility of five of the new flexibilities for improving the management of Air Force officers.
Jul 30, 2021
Report
Natural Language Processing: Security- and Defense-Related Lessons Learned
This reference document presents a collection of lessons learned by practitioners from RAND Corporation defense and security projects that employed natural language processing tools and methods.
Jul 28, 2021
Report
Department of the Air Force Officer Talent Management Reforms: Implications for Career Field Health and Demographic Diversity
The Department of the Air Force is revamping the way it manages officer development and promotion. The Air Force Personnel Policy Simulation Tool models the effects of personnel policy changes to identify potentially adverse consequences.
Jul 27, 2021
Report
Can Artificial Intelligence Help Improve Air Force Talent Management? An Exploratory Application
In this report, RAND researchers explore an application of artificial intelligence that would enable the U.S. Air Force to leverage existing data for improved human resource management policies and practices.
Jan 19, 2021
Report
Growing Teachers from Within: Implementation, Impact, and Cost of an Alternative Teacher Preparation Program in Three Urban School Districts
The authors investigated implementation and costs of the Teacher Effectiveness and Certification (TEACh) initiative in three urban school districts, as well as the program's impact on teacher recruitment, job performance, and retention.
Sep 29, 2020
Report
Improving Strategic Resource Management in the Air Force Recruiting Enterprise: Challenges and Next Steps for Policymakers
The Air Force applies multiple recruiting resources to meet its goal of roughly 30,000 new enlistment contracts annually. The authors describe the data needed to determine how these recruiting resources affect enlistments.
Sep 17, 2020
Report
Advancement and Retention Barriers in the U.S. Air Force Civilian White Collar Workforce: Implications for Demographic Diversity
This report documents results of a study examining challenges that Air Force civilian women, racial/ethnic minorities, and individuals with disabilities may face in advancing to higher pay grades as well as factors influencing retention decisions.
Sep 3, 2020
Report
Determining Staffing Needs for Administrative, Professional, and Technical Workers in the U.S. Secret Service: Methods and Lessons Learned
Researchers conducted a study to determine staffing needs in the U.S. Secret Service's highest-priority administrative, professional, and technical functions. This report documents their methods and lessons learned for future workforce studies.
Aug 18, 2020
Report
Frameworks for Assessing USEUCOM Efforts to Inform, Influence, and Persuade
It can be challenging to assess the progress, performance, and effectiveness of efforts to inform, influence, and persuade in support of U.S. national security objectives. This report presents robust and flexible frameworks to enhance assessment.
Jul 2, 2020
Report
Air Force Manpower Determinants: Options for More-Responsive Processes
The authors examine the process the Air Force uses to determine manpower requirements, compare it with processes used in other services and organizations, and evaluate options for increasing the efficiency of the Air Force process.
Jun 25, 2020
Report
Attracting, Recruiting, and Retaining Successful Cyberspace Operations Officers: Cyber Workforce Interview Findings
Recruiting and retaining military cyberspace officers is critical to national security. Through interviews, the authors examine potential drivers of retention and recruiting among cyberspace operations officers, making recommendations for the future.
Jul 26, 2019
Report
Improving Gender Diversity in the U.S. Coast Guard: Identifying Barriers to Female Retention
This report documents the results of a study designed to help identify the root causes of female attrition in the active-duty Coast Guard and develop recommendations to help mitigate identified barriers to Coast Guard female retention.
Mar 29, 2019
Research Brief
Why Do Women Leave the Coast Guard, and What Can Be Done to Encourage Them to Stay?
For active-duty women, many complex factors influence the decision to stay in or separate from the Coast Guard. This brief summarizes research on these factors and makes recommendations for improving female retention in the Coast Guard.
Mar 29, 2019
Report
Representation of Persons with Targeted Disabilities: An Analysis of Barriers to Employment in the Department of Defense Civilian Workforce
This report identifies employment barriers within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) that persons with targeted disabilities (PWTD) may experience and recommends actions DoD can take to increase employment of PWTD in its civilian workforce.
Dec 13, 2018
Research Brief
Unequal Opportunity: Barriers to Employment in the Department of Defense Civilian Workforce
Summarizes results of research into representation of Hispanic people and people with targeted disabilities among the Department of Defense civilian workforce.
Dec 13, 2018
Report
Women's Representation in the U.S. Department of Defense Workforce: Addressing the Influence of Veterans' Employment
Researchers report findings from an analysis of differences in and potential barriers to representation of women in the U.S. Department of Defense workforce.
Nov 7, 2018
Report
Evaluating the Impact of a Total Force Service Commitment Policy on Air Force Pilot Manning: An Exploratory Application of Inventory Modeling
The authors examine whether a Total Force (rather than component-specific) service commitment with increased service commitment lengths could reduce or eliminate projected pilot shortages in the Air Force.
Sep 18, 2018
Report
Evaluation of the Strength Aptitude Test and Other Fitness Tests to Qualify Air Force Recruits for Physically Demanding Specialties
This report evaluates the Strength Aptitude Test and related fitness tests to identify strategies for ensuring airmen can meet job-related physical requirements.
Aug 10, 2018
Report
Understanding Demographic Differences in Undergraduate Pilot Training Attrition
This report looks at demographic differences in U.S. Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training completion and presents challenges that women and racial and ethnic minorities might face in entering and completing the training.
Jul 19, 2018
Report
Training Success for U.S. Air Force Special Operations and Combat Support Specialties: An Analysis of Recruiting, Screening, and Development Processes
This report addresses challenges for implementing new approaches to Air Force high-demand, high-attrition specialty recruiting, screening, and development processes, and takes a holistic approach to identifying methods to fill gaps in processes.
May 15, 2018
Report
Addressing Barriers to Female Officer Retention in the Air Force
This report documents the results of a qualitative study designed to better understand the factors that female Air Force officers consider when deciding whether to remain in the active duty Air Force.
Apr 10, 2018
Report
Building a Healthy MQ-1/9 RPA Pilot Community: Designing a Career Field Planning Tool
This report documents RAND's efforts to develop a long-term remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) career field planning model that addresses force health; it explains the model's main features, content, and data inputs and describes key technical aspects.
Jan 23, 2018
Journal Article
The Recent Occupation and Industry Employment Patterns of American Veterans
In examining the employment patterns of American veterans, this study finds a tendency for veterans to work in civilian fields that align with technical military functions..
Oct 4, 2017
Report
Hispanic Representation in the Department of Defense Civilian Workforce: Trend and Barrier Analysis
Hispanics are less represented in the Department of Defense civilian workforce than in the federal civilian workforce and the civilian labor force. This report assesses what factors might account for Hispanic underrepresentation in the department.
Aug 28, 2017
Report
Combining Entrepreneurship and Web Development for High School Students: A Pilot Evaluation of the Startup Tech Program and High School Students' College and Career Aspirations
This pilot evaluation of Startup Tech assesses whether 12th-grade students experienced either improved self-efficacy or changes in their college and career plans during the year in which they were in the program.
Jan 6, 2017
Report
Improving Demographic Diversity in the U.S. Air Force Officer Corps
Examines the relative scarcity of minorities and women among senior leaders (i.e., colonel and above) in the uniformed Air Force, with the goal of identifying contributing factors and potential policy responses.
May 20, 2014
Dissertation
Three Essays on Obstacles to Improving Demographic Representation in the Armed Forces
Presents three essays on obstacles to improving demographic representation in the armed forces.
Oct 11, 2010
Report
Measuring Underemployment Among Military Spouses
Military wives have a much greater tendency than similar civilian wives to be underemployed, although there does not seem to be a strong link between wives' labor force position and satisfaction with their life situation.
Feb 16, 2010
Report
Officer Classification and the Future of Diversity Among Senior Military Leaders: A Case Study of the Army ROTC
Examines the relationship between career field choice, race/ethnicity, and membership in the Army's senior officer corps.
Sep 28, 2009