The Shrinking PH. D job influence (Article)

[valet]

Spend 70 bands and can't get a job breh.
New data show tightening Ph.D. job market across disciplines

American universities awarded 54,070 research doctorates in 2014, the highest total in the 58 years that the National Science Foundation has sponsored the Survey of Earned Doctorates, a new edition of which was released Friday.

But while more doctorates are being awarded, the figures also point to transitions and concerns in graduate education.

Increasingly, the pool of doctoral degrees coming out of American universities is dominated by science and engineering Ph.D.s. Their numbers were up 2 percent in 2014, compared to the prior year, while all other research doctorates were down by 2 percent. With those changes, science and engineering Ph.D.s make up 75 percent of all doctorates awarded in 2014. In 1974, they made up only 58 percent of the total. And science and engineering doctoral education remains dependent on non-American talent -- which many view as a sign of success for American higher education but others worry leaves American universities vulnerable if students opt to enroll elsewhere.

The job market for new Ph.D.s is ever tighter. While this attracts the most attention and debate within academe about humanities graduates, there are signs of a tightening job market across disciplines.

The NSF analysis -- based on research by NORC at the University of Chicago -- encourages examining shifts over several-year periods rather than just a single year, for a better understanding of the trends.

Here are figures for the number of doctorates awarded by broad field for three years over a 10-year period:

Number of Doctorate Recipients by Field of Study

Field 2004 2009 2014
All 42,123 49,553 54,070
Life sciences 8,813 11,403 12,504
Physical sciences 6,047 8,324 9,859
Social sciences 7,043 7,829 8,657
Engineering 5,777 7,642 9,568
Education 6,635 6,528 4,793
Humanities 5,210 4,891 5,486
The figures show growth across fields, with the exception of education. While the number of humanities doctorates fell about five years ago, it is now higher than it was 10 years ago. The growth in engineering has been particularly high in the last five years.

Education, which 10 years ago made up 15.8 percent of new doctorates, now makes up only 8.9 percent of new doctorates. And while humanities doctorates are up, their share of new doctorates has dropped in 10 years from 12.4 to 10.1 percent.

The humanities figures tend to draw particular attention because of gloomy reports about the humanities job market. Consider the latest figures from the Modern Language Association and the American Historical Association.

But the data in the report on the postdoctorate plans of new Ph.D.s show that the tightening job market for doctorate holders is by no means unique to the humanities. Across the board, including STEM disciplines, the percentage of new Ph.D.s with job commitments (including postdocs) after they earn their doctorates is dropping.

Percent of Doctorate Recipients With Job or Postdoc Commitments, by Field of Study

Field 2004 2009 2014
All 70.0% 69.5% 61.4%
Life sciences 71.2% 66.8% 57.9%
Physical sciences 71.5% 72.1% 63.8%
Social sciences 71.3% 72.9% 68.8%
Engineering 63.6% 66.8% 57.0%
Education 74.6% 71.6% 64.6%
Humanities 63.4% 63.3% 54.3%
The disciplines vary widely in terms of the career aspirations and jobs attained by Ph.D.s. While many humanities disciplines are promoting nonacademic careers, the vast majority of those entering Ph.D. programs want academic careers, and that goal leads many of them -- if unable to obtain a tenure-track position -- to work off the tenure track, frequently in positions at relatively low pay and with minimal if any benefits. This also adds to job market competitiveness, as new Ph.D.s are competing with not only their own cohort but also those from several years before who still haven't landed a good position.

In science and technology fields, and some of the social sciences, many doctoral students aspire to corporate or government jobs, and many get those jobs, yet these disciplines also are seeing fewer people earn Ph.D.s with a firm commitment for employment or postdoc. (Postdocs are much more common in the physical and life sciences than in the humanities and social sciences, although they are becoming more common in those fields as well.)

But a key difference among disciplines explains much of the urgency about this issue in the humanities and social sciences. Not only do humanities and some social sciences graduate students take longer to earn their doctorates than those in many STEM fields, but they are graduating with much more debt -- much of it from their time as doctoral students. This makes the need to find employment with adequate compensation more urgent than for those graduating without such large debt levels.

The following table shows the cumulative debt upon receiving a Ph.D., including undergraduate debt, and the percentage of new Ph.D.s with debt in excess of $70,000. Education and the social sciences not only have the highest average debts, but significant numbers with very high debt levels (more than $70,000).

 

[JahFocus CS]

Very unfortunate.

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Who pays for a PHD program?

 

[theworldismine13]

Another dumb thread trying to discourage black people, the least educated demographic group, and in turn least amount of PhDs, from pursuing Ph.Ds

 

[valet]

Who pays for a PHD program?

I know people who have student loans for phd and still paying it off.

 

[valet]

Another dumb thread trying to discourage black people, the least educated demographic group, and in turn least amount of PhDs, from pursuing Ph.Ds

 

[theworldismine13]

You heard me, this thread is dumb

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Another dumb thread trying to discourage black people, the least educated demographic group, and in turn least amount of PhDs, from pursuing Ph.Ds

How is this thread dumb? No offense, I'm trying to figure this out. There's no way somebody should be paying for a PHD program in 2016. If you have to pay for a PHD program, that PHD program is trash.

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

I know people who have student loans for phd and still paying it off.

Then they went to bad PHD programs. I've never heard of someone paying for a PHD program.

 

[valet]

You heard me, this thread is dumb

What this gotta do with discouraging black people? Where is that mentioned or implyed?

 

[wheywhey]

Thanks for posting OP. The article states that only a minor percentage pay over $70,000 and that includes undergraduate.

Debt of New Doctoral Degree Graduates, 2014

Field Mean Cumulative Debt % With Debt > $70,000
All $22,392 12.6%
Life sciences $19,605 9.8%
Physical sciences $12,365 5.1%
Social sciences $34,999 22.6%
Engineering $11,645 5.1%
Education $36,260 23.3%
Humanities $29,953 17.4%

However, about half of the PhDs earned by blacks are in education and they may (or may not) have a higher than normal debt load. I don't know how tight the job market is for them. I assume PhDs in education would be just as happy to work for schools as a university.

science and engineering Ph.D.s make up 75 percent of all doctorates awarded in 2014.

A large percentage of STEM PhDs are earned by foreigners.

 

[wheywhey]

I know people who have student loans for phd and still paying it off.

Do you mind saying what fields they got PhDs in? Are they working in those fields (not necessarily professors)? Do they make good money and are just letting the student loans limp along, missing payments, etc?

 

[valet]

Do you mind saying what fields they got PhDs in? Are they working in those fields (not necessarily professors)? Do they make good money and are just letting the student loans limp along, missing payments, etc?

Education. I work at a school and I know a number of "Dr.'s" who are still paying off student loan. I'm also in Masters of Counseling and I know PHD students who have taken out loans (of course they're still in the program so paying it back hasn't started yet). Not sure about the money, missing payment parts. just casual convo. hearing them talk about paying back student loans. I do know one person, a professor (and he may just a cynical person) who feels that unless you come from a Ivey league, it's not really worth it. Again, that's his view.

 

[DrBanneker]

Very unfortunate.

Yeah I have seen this accumulate over the years. When I was in school doing physics, my advisor warned me since the Cold War had ended 10 years prior, opportunities were drying up and the money wasn't too good anymore unfortunately.

The other reason for issues now is though that people are staying in school to avoid a shyt job market and hope that the higher degree gives them an edge. Looks like this strategy is failing now.

 

[CodeBlaMeVi]

Another dumb thread trying to discourage black people, the least educated demographic group, and in turn least amount of PhDs, from pursuing Ph.Ds

For real, with law too. Propaganda to discourage others from infiltrating their fields. Those reports costs me 3 years. I'd been 3L now. Ironically, the law field hasn't been kind to cacs since they make up 87% licensed attorneys and blacks come in second with 6%. 65k+ out of 1.3M. Some wars are won before they start.