Are you considering a career in academia? Have you wondered about the current state of the job market for Ph.D.s?
Karen Kelsky explores the challenges facing Ph.D. job seekers in today’s academic landscape in her book The Professor Is In. She lays out the shift toward temporary positions and the increasing competition for tenure-track roles.
Keep reading to discover what lies ahead for aspiring academics.
The Job Market for Ph.D.s
The job market for Ph.D.s has contracted significantly, resulting in a noticeable reduction in the availability of tenure-track positions.
Institutions of higher education are progressively opting for short-term and provisional roles rather than the traditional long-term academic positions. From 1975 to 2011, there was a modest 23 percent rise in the availability of stable, full-time academic positions that could lead to tenure, whereas the non-tenured and part-time roles expanded to almost three times their original number. The heightened expectations placed on today’s full-time faculty have created a more challenging environment for Ph.D. graduates in pursuit of employment.
The academic sector is becoming more tolerant of precarious employment situations, characterized by an increase in temporary and supplementary roles. Numerous part-time roles are frequently combined by adjunct faculty to secure adequate earnings, leading to inconsistent employment circumstances and financial uncertainty. The allure and practicality of an academic career are diminishing for many because of limited resources, demanding timetables, and inadequate pay.
The competition for academic positions is intense, often resulting in feelings of discouragement among applicants who face a scarcity of tenure-track roles and grapple with burdensome application procedures, and those in adjunct teaching positions experience tough circumstances with little opportunity for advancement. Many early-career academics navigate a treacherous path toward stable employment, finding themselves in an environment where even assiduous efforts don’t guarantee a secure job.
