To contribute to the conversation of the difficulty of obtaining non-academic employment, I offer an abridged version of my personal experience.
I have over 11 years experience as a field biologist, mainly working as a seasonal tech doing field work for universities, graduate students and government agencies. I went to grad school for a master's degree because I was tired of just being the grunt labor and wanted to be involved in the rest of the process. Since getting my master's in Aug 2010, I have gone back to seasonal work for 2 field seasons, been a project hire biologist for a consulting company for 1.5 years, and been largely unemployed for the remaining 1.5 years. I am currently on the payroll as an on-call biologist at 6, yes 6, different consulting companies and 1 national park. I have applied to upwards of 100 positions throughout the west with government agencies, non-profits and consulting companies. In my experience, with the plethora of biologists to chose from, environmental consulting companies are hiring less permanent, full-time biologists for their staff and instead stocking up on on-call biologists since they don't have to provide benefits to them and those positions will always be billable to a client (no overhead costs). When there is a dearth of jobs in one arena, this transfers over to other employers in the same field. On Mon, Feb 10, 2014 at 6:31 AM, Christopher Blair <blair....@gmail.com>wrote: > There are obviously non-academic jobs for people, with the quantities and > opportunities depending on the field in which the PhD was obtained. > However, people need to realize that it is usually just as difficult, if > not more so, to get some of these non-academic jobs as it is a tt job. For > example, many environmental consulting firms only require a BS or MS > degree. However, nearly all require previous consulting experience and > substantial familiarity with state and federal regulations. These are NOT > skills we are likely to acquire when pursuing a PhD in the life sciences. > Second, in contrast to tt academic jobs, many companies tend to hire > locally. Why hire a PhD from out of state and pay them more versus hire > someone locally with a BS who has previous consulting experience? State and > federal jobs can also be just as competitive as tt jobs. I recently applied > for a curator position at the Smithsonian and am guessing that they > received >500 applications. > > In sum, there are other opportunities for PhDs besides academia, but we > cannot kid ourselves into thinking that pursing alternate careers will be > much easier. > > Chris > > > On Mon, Feb 10, 2014 at 9:00 AM, Judith S. Weis < > jw...@andromeda.rutgers.edu > > wrote: > > > The existence of many good and rewarding jobs outside academia - in > > federal agencies (EPA, NOAA, FWS, USGS, FDA etc.) as well as in state > > agencies, the private sector (e.g. consulting firms) and non-profits > > (environmental groups) or for those who love teaching, teaching in K-12 > > seems to be ignored in this discussion. > > > > > > > > > If we agree that jobs for ecologists are resource limited, and > > > If we agree that resources are not increasing, > > > then it follows that ecologists who wish to produce intellectual > > offspring > > > (MS and PhD) should produce such offspring in a way that maximizes the > > > probability that they will be represented in the next generation's > career > > > 'gene pool'. > > > > > > If ecologists believe the current job market is competitive, they > should > > > reproduce like albatrosses, maximizing their investment in a very few > > > highly competitive offspring with a wide array of attractive skills > > > (K-slection). > > > If they believe the current job market is essentially a crap shoot, > then > > > they should spawn like salmon, investing little or nothing, with > > > subsequent > > > massive mortality, and only a few offspring surviving (r-selection) > > > > > > The present situation seems to be more salmonid in an albatross > > > environment > > > with considerable human carnage. What can be done? > > > > > > Individuals can look into other fields but that means giving up a dream > > > and > > > acquiring more debt if they go back to school to retrain. If they stay, > > > they risk remaining on the outside of academic/professional leks, > > > opportunistically exploiting irregular and marginal rewards. They can > > > teach, becoming contingent faculty, a growing national scandal where > > > untenured faculty with precarious teaching positions may rely on food > > > stamps to get by. If they have a large debt from student loans, they > will > > > end up taking just about any job that allows them to make their monthly > > > repayments. > > > > > > The long term solution is a ZPG for ecologists: professors should > > > essentially only reproduce themselves. Some may reply that they need > > > 'excess' grad students as teaching assistants. In reality these > positions > > > could be filled and better taught by what are now contingent faculty. > > Make > > > these better paid, give them a heavier load than one or two classes a > > > semester and provide five-year contracts that would give them with more > > > security. Faculty should not admit grad students unless they can be > > fully > > > supported by fellowships. > > > > > > With fewer degrees each year, agencies might consider increasing the > > > number > > > of independent post docs that are long enough to be useful (5 years?) > to > > > allow people to develop. Funders should be prepared, if they fund > > projects > > > with interns, to fund them at a living wage. Funding agencies should > also > > > support programs that support those in overcrowded fields who wish to > > > retrain for teaching or health fields. We make a big point of wanting > > more > > > people to enter the STEM fields, maybe we need to think more about how > to > > > retain them. > > > > > > > > > > > > David Duffy > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Sun, Feb 9, 2014 at 10:57 AM, David L. McNeely <mcnee...@cox.net> > > > wrote: > > > > > >> ---- Kevin Klein <kkl...@mail.ic.edu> wrote: > > >> > I haven't been able to follow the entire thread but one thing I draw > > >> from > > >> > what I have read is that it is incumbent on those of us who work > with > > >> > students at all stages in their academic careers to also advise them > > >> to > > >> > consider the job market in their chosen disciplines. In so doing, > > >> they > > >> > make more informed decision and they study with eyes open wide on > the > > >> > possibilities open to them at the next stage in their life and > career > > >> > journey. Much easier said than done. It reminds me of two PhD > > >> markets > > >> in > > >> > recent years. One, where hundreds of applicants vied for the > reported > > >> 2 > > >> or > > >> > 3 job openings that year and second the hundreds of positions open > for > > >> the > > >> > 2 or 3 PhD candidates graduating each year. Hopefully we advise our > > >> > students of the job market realities. One place a student might > look > > >> for > > >> > this information can be found here. > > >> > http://www.bls.gov/ooh/occupation-finder.htm > > >> > > > >> > > > >> Hmmm.... . I was an academic biologist for 35+ years, after the time > > >> spent preparing. I cannot recall a time when there were "hundreds of > > >> positions open for 2 or 3 Ph.D. candidates graduating each year." I > do > > >> recall a good many times when the opposite was true. > > >> > > >> David McNeely > > >> > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit > > > Botany > > > University of Hawaii > > > 3190 Maile Way > > > Honolulu Hawaii 96822 USA > > > 1-808-956-8218 > > > > > > > > > -- > Christopher Blair, Ph.D. > Postdoctoral Associate > Department of Biology > Duke University, Box 90338 > BioSci 130 Science Drive > Durham, NC 27708 > ph: 919-613-8727 > christopher.bl...@duke.edu <peter.lar...@duke.edu> > <http://individual.utoronto.ca/chrisblair/index.html> > Website: https://sites.google.com/site/christopherblairphd/home > -- Karen Weber 843-991-5768 "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." -Henry David Thoreau
