Print Email Font A A

Most Popular Resources in "The Big Picture"

» Most popular resources on the site
» Most popular resources in "The Big Picture"
» Return to "The Big Picture"

The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings
in Labor Market for PhDs
US Census, July, 2002. " This report illustrates the economic value of an education, that is, the added value of a high school diploma or college degree. It explores the relationship between educational attainment and earnings and demonstrates how the relationship has changed over the last 25 years. Additionally, it provides, by level of education, synthetic estimates of average total earnings adults are likely to accumulate over the course of their working lives. "
Salaries for new CalTech PhDs
in Labor Market for PhDs
Salaries offered to and accepted by CalTech PhDs in academia and industry by discipline. Very interesting info.
Out of Academia
in Required Reading
by Annalee Newitz, Salon Magazine, Nov 6, 1998. Why do we think that Ph.D.s are only good for making someone into a professor?
The Real Science Crisis: Bleak Prospects for Young Researchers
in Labor Market for PhDs
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."
Doctors Without Orders: Highlights of the Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey
in Required Reading
Results of Sigma Xi's survey of 7600 postdocs at 46 US institutions. Very interesting discussion of salaries, training, and administrative oversight.
Mathematicians and the Market
in Labor Market for PhDs
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.
Doctoral degrees: The disposable academic | The Economist
in Labor Market for PhDs
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 isnt graduate school itself that is discouraging,' says one student, who confesses to rather enjoying the hunt for free pizza. 'Whats discouraging is realising the end point has been yanked out of reach.'"
First-year Science & Engineering Graduate Enrollment Figures
in Enrollment Trends
Data from the NSF for 1990-1997. First-year S & E enrollments peaked in 1992 and have steadily declined ever since. 1997 enrollments are down 11.5% from 1992. Astronomy is down 22%, physics is down 25%, geosciences are down 10%, math is down 26%, chemistry is down 4%. Biology, on the other hand, is up 2%, with big increases in cell biology, genetics, and pathology. (Requires Microsoft Excel to read)
NIH to NRSA postdocs: Revise and Resubmit!
in Trends in Funding for R&D
NIH cuts NRSA postdocs?
Professor of Desperation
in The Adjunctification of Academia
" Bad pay, zero job security, no benefits, endless commutes. Is this any way to treat PhDs responsible for teaching a generation of college students? " Sunday Washington Post Magazine, July 21, 2002.
Are Graduate Admissions Fair?
in Immigration
An analysis of admissions and GRE scores suggesting that universities are running an affirmative action program for US citizens with preferences for citizenship that are an order of magnitude larger than those for gender or ethnicity.
Slaves to Science
in Required Reading
Salon Magazine , Feb. 28, 2000. An outsider's take on the working conditions of postdocs in science.
Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
in Labor Market for PhDs
Projections for prospects in a wide variety of careers.
Do we need more scientists?
in S&E PhD Shortage Predictions, 2002
by Michael S. Teitelbaum, The Public Interest, Fall 2003. "Despite the recent economic downturn, prominent scientific associations, business leaders, and academics continue to predict 'looming shortfalls' in America's science and engineering professions. Countering the prevailing view, Michael S. Teitelbaum reveals that few, if any, shortages exist in these fields and shows why proposed solutions to this illusory problem are profoundly misguided."
If We Need Immigrant PhDs, Why Are American PhDs Poor And Unemployed?
in Immigration
"There they go again. Another report on the (allegedly) vital role of immigrants in the U.S. science and engineering workforceimplicitly bemoaning the competence of native-born Americans."
The Postdoc's Plight
in Required Reading
by Joanne P. Cavanaugh, Johns Hopkins Magazine , February 1999. " Underpaid, overworked and often underappreciated, today's postdocs find themselves locked in a limbo that can stretch on for years. " An excellent article describing the grim working conditions of postdocs in general and at Johns Hopkins in particular. [HTML version]
Scientific Elites and Scientific Illiterates
in Required Reading
by David Goodstein, provost of CalTech. The best-written and most disturbing essay I have read on the future of academic science.
The Science Education Myth
in Labor Market for PhDs
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."
What Scientist Shortage?
in S&E PhD Shortage Predictions, 2002
Daniel S. Greenberg, Washington Post , May 19, 2004. " A scientist shortage? Again? The gloomy warnings are back. They're underpinned by declines in science studies by U.S. students and a post-Sept. 11 falloff in the enrollment of foreigners, who have traditionally filled as many as half the graduate slots in U.S. universities and have taken jobs here after graduation. A crisis is in the making, says a report by a pillar of the scientific establishment, the National Science Board, which warns that the 'trends threaten the economic welfare and security of our country.' "
The AAAS Leadership Seminar in Science and Technology Policy
in Science Policy Resources
"The AAAS Leadership Seminar in Science and Technology Policy is a 'crash course' in science and technology (S ) policy, designed for those who need to know how S policy works. It is modeled after the highly acclaimed orientation program that AAAS provides for its new S Policy Fellows each fall, but distills the key material into 4 1/2 days instead of two weeks."
What's Happening in the Labor Market for Recent Science and Engineering Ph.D. Recipients?
in Labor Market for PhDs
1997 NSF issue brief revealing low unemployment rates for Ph.D.s but high " Involuntary Out of Field " rates.
The U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce: An Unconventional Portrait
in S&E PhD Shortage Predictions, 2002
Michael Teitelbaum's presentation at the 2002 GUIRR Pan-Organizational Summit. " To state the message succinctly: those who are concerned about whether the production of US scientists and engineers is sufficient for national needs must pay serious attention to whether careers in science and engineering are attractive relative to other career opportunities available to US students. "
Doonesbury: Faculty Hiring at Walden College
in Required Reading
Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury (9/9/96-9/14/96) looks at the faculty hiring process at the fictitious Walden College.
The Tenure Chase Papers
in Required Reading
Dana Mackenzie's poignant tale of a tenure case gone awry.
Who Is Unemployed? Factors Affecting Unemployment Among Individuals with Doctoral Degrees in Science and Engineering
in Labor Market for PhDs
A 1998 special report from the NSF Division of Science Resource Studies.
Next 25 items » [1] 2 3 4 ... 15