Physics GRE Discussion Forums

The Real Science Gap

America’s schools, it turns out, consistently produce large numbers of world-class science and math students, according to studies by Harold Salzman of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University and his co-author, B. Lindsay Lowell, director of policy studies for the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University. But the incentives that once reliably delivered many of those high scorers into scientific and technical careers have gone seriously awry.

If the nation truly wants its ablest students to become scientists, Salzman says, it must undertake reforms — but not of the schools. Instead, it must reconstruct a career structure that will once again provide young Americans the reasonable hope that spending their youth preparing to do science will provide a satisfactory career.

I saw this article on the labor-market for science research, and though it worth sharing. I'm curious to hear what people think about it. It paints a rather glum picture of the phd job market, but that's a truth that I think every aspiring academic needs to confront. It also mentions the need for an overhaul of the science research labor market - anyone think this is realizable?

peglegjeff wrote:The Real Science Gap

America’s schools, it turns out, consistently produce large numbers of world-class science and math students, according to studies by Harold Salzman of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University and his co-author, B. Lindsay Lowell, director of policy studies for the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University. But the incentives that once reliably delivered many of those high scorers into scientific and technical careers have gone seriously awry.

If the nation truly wants its ablest students to become scientists, Salzman says, it must undertake reforms — but not of the schools. Instead, it must reconstruct a career structure that will once again provide young Americans the reasonable hope that spending their youth preparing to do science will provide a satisfactory career.

I saw this article on the labor-market for science research, and though it worth sharing. I'm curious to hear what people think about it. It paints a rather glum picture of the phd job market, but that's a truth that I think every aspiring academic needs to confront. It also mentions the need for an overhaul of the science research labor market - anyone think this is realizable?

I agree with the above. Most well educated people will find jobs somewhere, but many of them will not be in the field they were trained in.