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Most Popular Resources in "The Big Picture"

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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.
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. "
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."
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?
Slaves to Science
in Required Reading
Salon Magazine , Feb. 28, 2000. An outsider's take on the working conditions of postdocs in science.
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.
NIH to NRSA postdocs: Revise and Resubmit!
in Trends in Funding for R&D
NIH cuts NRSA postdocs?
UCSD Graduate Student Data
in Graduate Outcome Data
Detailed information on how UCSD Ph.D.s have fared in the labor force, including breakdowns by department. An example that should be followed by all institutions!
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.
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.
Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering
in Labor Market for PhDs
National Science Foundation: "This site provides data on the participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering education and employment. The data are organized by topic and are presented in tables, graphics, and spreadsheets for downloading."
Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
in Labor Market for PhDs
Projections for prospects in a wide variety of careers.
The Ph.D. Glut Revisited
in Scientist Shortages?
by Gary North. "In the worldwide suckers' market, gamblers are the only people who are slower to learn than young adults with masters' degrees. Bright graduate students possess a pair of non-marketable skills: the ability to write term papers and the ability to take academic exams. They are also economic illiterates and incurably nave. So, they become the trusting victims of the professorial class." Reviewed in the NY Times, Feb 5, 2006.
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]
How and Why Government, Universities, and Industry Create Domestic Labor Shortages of Scientists and High-Tech Workers
in Labor Market for PhDs
by Eric Weinstein, Project on the Economics of Advanced Training, Harvard University / National Bureau for Economic Research. Working Draft.
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 Great Ph.D. Scam
in Required Reading
It's worse in the humanities. Much worse. Notes from the field on the annual meeting of the Modern Languages Association.
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."
S&E Ph.D. Unemployment Trends: Cause for Alarm?
in Labor Market for PhDs
1997 NSF Issue Brief. " Over the last two decades, the Ph.D. unemployment rate has remained below the general population rate and has exhibited less fluctuation than the rates for other educational levels. "
Uncertainty of short-term contracts is turning talent away from science
in Labor Market Trends
The proper balance between fixed-term employment and permanent positions has yet to be determined...
Ph.D.s in America on the decline
in Scientist Shortages?
"The number of Americans earning doctoral degrees has declined in recent years, renewing worries that the United States is losing its dominance in Ph.D.-level education to rapidly developing nations like China and India. The National Center for Education Statistics recently reported that 44,160 Ph.D.s were awarded by U.S. universities in 2002, down from the high-water mark of 46,010 doctorates awarded in 1998."
Another Study Raps Ph.D. Overproduction
in Scientist Shortages?
by Douglas Steinberg, The Scientist , October 2, 2000. NRC panel recommends a no-growth strategy
Addressing the Nation's Changing Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Scientists (2000)
in Labor Market for PhDs
The National Academy's report on the need for more biomedical and behavioral science Ph.D.s. In brief, no increase in Ph.D. production is seen as needed.
Is There a Science Crisis? Maybe Not
in Scientist Shortages?
The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 9, 2004. " Leaders warn of a labor shortage in the U.S., but indicators point to an oversupply. "
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