Chronicle of Higher Education , September 2007. "[F]or many of today's graduate students, the future could not look much bleaker. They see long periods of training, a shortage of academic jobs, and intense competition for research grants looming ahead of them. 'They get a sense that this is a really frustrating career path,' says Thomas R. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health. So although the operating assumption among many academic leaders is that the nation needs more scientists, some of brightest students in the country are demoralized and bypassing scientific careers."

The stats are all for mathematicians, but the trends and ideas apply to all the sciences. A comprehensive overview of the job market for mathematicians, plus ideas on steps toward a solution. From the November 1997 issue of the Notices of the AMS.

by Eric Weinstein, Project on the Economics of Advanced Training, Harvard University / National Bureau for Economic Research. Working Draft.

"A new National Science Foundation report indicates that scientists and engineers in education work harder than those in industry and much harder than their counterparts in the government."

"A principal source of information on the production and employment of Ph.D.s and faculty in computer science and computer engineering in North America. Includes data on degree production, student enrollment and faculty with gender and ethnic breakdowns and salary information.

Faculty salary and unemployment numbers for Ph.D.s in the mathematical sciences from the Notices of the AMS. PDF file (requires Adobe Acrobat)

Peter D. Syverson, Council of Graduate Schools. "[P]rofessional societies are reporting double-digit unemployment figures at the same time that the NSF is reporting rates of less than 3 percent.... how can there be such a discrepancy?"

by Allyn Jackson, Notices of the AMS, March, 2000. "In the United States, shrinking student numbers in undergraduate mathematics programs have become commonplace. Figures from the AMS-IMS-MAA Annual Survey, showing that the number of juniors and seniors majoring in mathematics declined by about 20 percent between 1992 and 1998, will elicit little surprise. What is less well known in the U.S. is that similar declines are occurring elsewhere." Requires Adobe Acrobat.

The Economist, December 16, 2010. "One thing many PhD students have in common is dissatisfaction. Some describe their work as “slave labour”. Seven-day weeks, ten-hour days, low pay and uncertain prospects are widespread. You know you are a graduate student, goes one quip, when your office is better decorated than your home and you have a favourite flavour of instant noodle. 'It isn’t graduate school itself that is discouraging,' says one student, who confesses to rather enjoying the hunt for free pizza. 'What’s discouraging is realising the end point has been yanked out of reach.'"

"These reports highlight the qualitative changes and gradual improvements in the initial employment of recent degree recipients. They document the salaries earned by experienced physicists across employment sectors and degree levels, the size of the academic workforce as well as the availability of openings and profiles of new hires."

Charlotte Kuh, NRC. "I would say that the right question is not: Is there a Ph.D. glut and what should we do about it? Rather, the question is broader: how are research and education to be accomplished in a time of sharply constricted external resources and how do we treat students fairly in these times?"

Excellent collection of statistics on employment and enrollments in physics and astronomy.

"Between 2001 and 2003, higher education saw healthy increases in the number of faculty jobs, which grew to 1,173,556 from 1,113,183. But if you’re wondering why those 60,000 new jobs didn’t ease your job search, it may be because the growth was greatest for part-time positions."

Terry Costlow, Christian Science Monitor, December 26, 2002. "Dissatisfaction with the field is growing rapidly. Layoffs, the influx of foreign workers, and offshore outsourcing of jobs have caused the pocket-protector set to either leave the profession in large numbers or seek new careers after being laid off. And if that isn't enough to make engineers' neckties curl in Dilbert-style desperation, there's the nature of the work itself. In an era when high-tech gear becomes obsolete almost as fast as dairy products, many in the field feel they must advance at a steady pace or risk being cast aside."

BusinessWeek, October 26, 2007. "Forget the conventional wisdom. U.S. schools are turning out more capable science and engineering grads than the job market can support."

An interesting presentation by economist Paula Stephan showing a restructuring of careers for young life scientists.

"In a move designed to maintain its leadership role in California's economy, the University of California announced plans today (Nov. 16) to help meet the state's future workforce needs by adding 11,000 graduate students to the 10-campus UC system over the next decade."

An NSF study that compares where recent PhD's wanted to work with where they actually ended up working. "Overall, 39.5 percent of employed recent doctorate holders obtained employment in a sector different from what they most desired when they began their doctoral programs."

College Students Turning Away From Bits and Bytes, by Ellen McCarthy, Washington Post, Tuesday, August 27, 2002, Page E01. "The tech industry's financial problems are enough to bankrupt the dreams of some fair-weather students. But now there's another consequence of the tech bust: Enrollment growth in undergraduate computer science departments has come to a halt."

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is pleased to announce a new small grants program to support creative research on the U.S. workforce and labor markets in science and engineering. Depending on the number and quality of proposals received, this grant program will provide up to 10 research grants, selected on the basis of a peer review process. Grant budgets requested cannot exceed a total of $45,000, though we expect that most will be smaller than this ceiling. The first grant application deadline is April 7, 2008.

NSF Issue Brief 98-318. "This issue brief discusses the indebtedness of new doctoral recipients resulting from their undergraduate and/or graduate education." Indebtedness rates are increasing. Over half of US citizen S&E Ph.D.s report debt at graduation; 32% of new U.S. citizen Ph.D.s report having at least $10,000 in debt; 17% have over $20,000 in debt.

by Peter Brimelow, Forbes Magazine, May 31, 1999. "The people who manufacture doctorates should take a graduate course in supply and demand."

This fairly easy to use site provides a wealth of data on the American S&T enterprise. In particular, it tracks degree recipients and students in science and engineering, with breakdowns available by field, school, year, etc. It is a great resource for anyone who wants real data to support their policy arguments.

Slate Magazine, May 29, 2006. "Graduate students tend to be paranoid about aspects of their careers that are largely under their control: Will I ever finish my studies? Will I sufficiently impress my adviser? But if new research for academic economists holds up, students should also be freaked out by a factor they can do nothing about: the strength of the job market at the precise time they enter it."

Brian B. Schwartz, CUNY Brooklyn.

A study from the Computing Research Association "to improve the understanding of the supply of and demand for information technology (IT) workers in the United States, and the surrounding contextual issues." Contains many sensible recommendations.

at Harvard University / National Bureau of Economic Research. PEAT is an attempt to bring the tools of economic theory to bear on the labor markets for those with advanced technical training such as chemists, bio-medical researchers, physicists, mathematicians, economists, software engineers and other related professionals.

APS News, February 1998.

A National Academy study of where Ph.D.s end up after graduation. The data are relatively old (1991), but they show a rosy employment picture up to that time.

by Charles Goldman and William Massy. "Is it possible that the United States is producing too many PhDs even in light of rapid changes in science and technology? Based on new research exploring the training and employment of science and engineering PhDs, The PhD Factory predicts that academia will produce an average 20% to 24% annual excess of new PhDs."