When we organize career events for PhD students and postdocs locally or at the national level we realize on a regular basis that most young researchers envision an academic career. When we confront them with the fact that only 3-5% of them will actually end up as academic staff they are shocked.
ONLY 30% OF ALL DOCTORATE HOLDERS STAY IN ACADEMIA – MOSTLY AS POSTDOCS
The “Centre for R&D Monitoring” Research Group at Ghent University of ECOOM follows up the career paths of young researchers in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. Their data clearly indicate that about 30% of young researchers in natural sciences, engineering and life sciences continue their career in academia. This means that about 70% find a job outside academia – for example in industry, government or hospitals. In humanities and social sciences the percentage of PhD graduates who stay in academia three years after their PhD is about 50% (ECOOM-Belspo: CDH survey 2010).
10% OF ALL POSTDOCS STAY IN ACADEMIA BUT NEARLY 80% HOPE TO PURSUE AN ACADEMIC CAREER
Data from our own and other universities in Belgium indicate that most of the young researchers who stay in academia become postdoctoral researchers, only a few take over staff positions such as organizers of doctoral schools or specific study programs. Of these postdoctoral researchers only 1 in 10 finally reaches a long-term academic position as a professor.
Thus, about 90% of the postdoctoral researchers find a job in the industry or public sector – and NOT in academia! Surprisingly, this fact is not known by most young researchers!
To investigate the expectations and needs of postdoctoral researchers we performed a survey in entire Belgium (Belgian Postdoc Survey 2012). We received feedback from 413 postdoctoral researchers from all scientific domains at Belgian universities.
Surprisingly, nearly 80% of all postdocs hope to pursue a career in academia although only about 10% really end up in higher education.
3% OF ALL DOCTORATE HOLDERS BECOME PROFESSORS
If you are a PhD holder you have a 30% chance to become a postdoc and a 3% chance to become a professor.
In other words: there is a 97% chance that you are going to work in a non-academic environment.
SHOULD I WORRY ABOUT THIS?
No. You should make a conscious decision whether you want a career in academia, industry, government, NGOs, hospitals or somewhere else in the public sector. If you are not sure maybe this post may help: The 8 best tips to find your dream job in science and How to become a professor? After making a clear decision it is much easier to plan your career, get expertise and increase your market value.
SHOULD I TAKE THE RISK?
If you want to pursue an academic career you should know exactly what the advantages and disadvantages of the job are. Here are a few posts which may help you to develop an idea whether pursuing an academic career is the right choice for you:
* How to become a professor? – European perspective
* Three things you should know before deciding to become a professor – Canadian perspective
* Why Being a College Professor Isn’t Worth It: New Report Finds that Lack of Job Security and Low Pay is the Norm – US perspective
* Top 10 Reasons Being A University Professor Is A Stressful Job – US perspective
To be frank:
nobody should consider pursuing a career in academia given present terms and conditions
The job insecurity coupled with low pay coupled with virtually no career structure for the vast majority of persons is basically unacceptable, given the alternatives in most developed countries. I now find myself at my age trapped in this job so simply aquiesce and resign myself to my fate. If I had my time again I would pursue something with a scientific base but with real prospects, e.g. pharmacy. I delight in pushing young people I meet away from science
Mores the pity as the 21st century will become seen in part and in retrospect as the century dominated by discoveries linked to the life sciences. Its impact on medicine and personal health will be truly profound. However this is still no reason for persons with alternative and better prospects not to do something else. A big part of the problem I believe is the idealism linked to persons who enter science and the scant regard for terms and conditions by people who run science. Unfortunately people in science are faced with the same everyday problems as everybody else, principally raising a family and making roots and therefore need a good secure job with prospects and money to satisy these basic existential needs. Enough said
Hi Sven, very interesting article. It is important that PhDs and postdocs realize that in the end only 3-5% will become a professor. That does not imply that all the others are not profiting from their scientific training, nor that they will not stay closely attached to their scientific background in their current career path. I have recently been interviewing a number of ex scientists who are in various non-academic career paths (patent officer, public affairs specialist, marketing manager of medical devices) They were still considering themselves to ‘work in science’ because they need to follow up on publications in their field on a daily basis and give directions to R&D and management of the companies that they are working for. So ‘working in science’ can have a broad interpretation. As well the evaluation of the importance of a scientific training for a non-academic career.
Dear Lucia, thanks – a very good point. These numbers are only about pursuing an academic career as a professor. There is a big need for well-trained PhD graduates in the industry e.g. the pharmaceutical industry and these scientists are still working in a *research* environment. And I agree – working in *science* has an even broader meaning.
Very interesting. I’d love to know globally what the rate of PhD -> Prof is. Bet it’s pretty low!
Having a clear image of what you want to do and the path that will take you there is critical to being successful in this highly competitive field. Thanks for sharing!
The demands of teaching, publishing (+conferencing) work that is relevant and innovative (i.e., pushes primary concerns of a discourse forward) and doing service/admin work, are not for everyone, and, at this point, being a “triple threat” is imperative to long-term success.
Also, attending a PhD program without 1) full funding, 2) a clear professionalization program/infrastructure for graduate students, and 3) less than an 80% job placement rate within the first two years out of the program, is foolish.
Although PhD programs were tightening up admission standards/number of fully-funded candidates (while phasing out the GRE requirement), this process has been accelerated by the pandemic, i.e. it’s less likely to be accepted to a PhD program now, meaning one is less likely to be set up for failure.
If a person is able to keep up with the real demands of the job, as it’s currently defined, they have a real possibility of finding a tenured position. Of course, as public universities become increasingly corporatized, at some point these positions will be obsolete, unless there’s an actual revolution.
Many job placements are facilitated by a) having a previous working relationship with a search committee member, or b) being the spouse of a faculty member that is essential to the department (assuming one is appropriately credentialed, productive, and collegial). Having a terrible personality is no longer acceptable in most departments (thank god).