The Importance of Knowing Your Facts and Figures
As a scientist or engineer, you know the importance of not just making assumptions or listening to anecdotes when you're analyzing a situation in the laboratory or the field. The same is true when you are trying to understand graduate education or the job market.
For example, how many science and engineering PhDs do you think obtain employment in the academic employment market? 90%? 75%? The real answer, as shown in the graph on page 15 is less than 50% in 1991, and it is an illustration of a steadily declining trend. On the other hand, employment of science and engineering PhDs by business and industry is increasing in that same period. If you look at how many science and engineering PhDs are in tenure-track positions 5-8 years after receiving the PhD, you will find that it is less than one-third.
What is the employment marketplace like this year for those with bachelor's vs. master's vs. PhDs in different disciplines? How many people in different disciplines get master's vs. PhDs? How many years does it take to get a PhD in different disciplines? Is postdoctoral work in your discipline customary? How long does it usually take? What are the most common mechanisms being used for financial support of graduate students? There is no way of knowing the latest statistic in the ever-changing academic and employment market without taking some time to review the available information.
To find out information like this, make a stop at the National Research Council's Career Planning Center For Beginning Scientists and Engineers on the Internet ( http://www2.nas.edu/cpc .). One section of the center titled "Trends and Changes in the Job Market" analyzes such data from a student perspective. Another good source of information is your scientific or engineering disciplinary society. Many societies produce an annual employment guide that discusses the employment market for their disciplineespecially for recent graduates. In addition, the National Science Foundation issues each year a report titled Science and Engineering Indicators that also discusses these statistics.
So take the time to look at the available facts and figures about the job market and graduate education before taking that next big step.
