What Helps New Ph.D.s Land Jobs in Academia? A Passport

online.wsj.com

14 points·peter123··6 comments

See "Career Guide for Engineers and Computer Scientists" by Philip Greenspun at

http://philip.greenspun.com/careers/

Also read "Women in Science" by Philip Greenspun at

http://philip.greenspun.com/careers/women-in-science

The latter isn't limited to women's careers; in it Greenspun discusses working in science with an advanced degree.

There are a couple interesting things about this article but it is a bit too short and doesn't say anything about the situation for PhDs in the science, which is not as extreme.

Isn't the situation actually worse for PhDs in science? I.e. not only can't you get a job in the USA because of foreign competition, you can't get a job overseas either (because the grad students can just go home)?

Well, in Computer Science, I'm not seeing that at all really. I see graduate students finishing their PhDs and getting good jobs and the departments I'm familiar with have been hiring. Though, many universities are experiencing financial difficulties, some even cutting class and really scrounging for funds.

God I hope so. Although it'll be quite a few years before I finish/start my doctorate.

I think you'll be fine. The main thing is to choose your research area/field carefully. If you choose one that is very crowded then you won't have as many people banging down your down as if you were one of only a couple people in the field (believe me, there are many such problems).

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