4 ms·

I've seen other stats that suggest PhDs (particularly in STEM) actually have the lowest unemployment rates (around 2.2%) compared to any other cohort arranged b

by beambot 12y ago

I've seen other stats that suggest PhDs (particularly in STEM) actually have the lowest unemployment rates (around 2.2%) compared to any other cohort arranged by degree attained: http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm

_delirium 12y ago
Yeah, the article is a bit misleading in its focus on "employment rates". It's using employment rates on the day of graduation, i.e. people who have an offer lined up before graduating. People who graduate and then interview, starting sometime later, aren't counted as "employed" in these numbers. Ultimately almost all STEM PhDs do end up with a job within a year or so, as the article later acknowledges. Later in the article they quote the unemployment rate for STEM-doctoral holders as ~2%, as you found. I don't think it's therefore a particularly useful analysis. There are a lot of issues with the STEM-PhD job market, but significant risk of unemployment isn't really one of them. Bigger issues are things like whether the opportunity cost is worth it, and the fact that people who go into a STEM PhD really wanting to do research are often disappointed (there are plenty of industry jobs, but many don't really involve scientific research).
- rlanday 12y ago
  The fact that Ph.D. holders have the lowest unemployment rate is not at all surprising, given that these people have all undergone extensive selection to be smart and hard-working. This would still be the case even if holding a Ph.D. were completely useless, so it’s not really clear how much the unemployment rate is decreased by actually holding the degree.
azakai 12y ago
The article mentions that 2% figure. The reasons the numbers are different is the article focuses on new PhDs, and the 2% figure is all PhDs in the market (new and not-new).

4 ms·

I've seen other stats that suggest PhDs (particularly in STEM) actually have the lowest unemployment rates (around 2.2%) compared to any other cohort arranged b

by beambot 12y ago

_delirium 12y ago
Yeah, the article is a bit misleading in its focus on "employment rates". It's using employment rates on the day of graduation, i.e. people who have an offer lined up before graduating. People who graduate and then interview, starting sometime later, aren't counted as "employed" in these numbers. Ultimately almost all STEM PhDs do end up with a job within a year or so, as the article later acknowledges. Later in the article they quote the unemployment rate for STEM-doctoral holders as ~2%, as you found. I don't think it's therefore a particularly useful analysis. There are a lot of issues with the STEM-PhD job market, but significant risk of unemployment isn't really one of them. Bigger issues are things like whether the opportunity cost is worth it, and the fact that people who go into a STEM PhD really wanting to do research are often disappointed (there are plenty of industry jobs, but many don't really involve scientific research).
- rlanday 12y ago
  The fact that Ph.D. holders have the lowest unemployment rate is not at all surprising, given that these people have all undergone extensive selection to be smart and hard-working. This would still be the case even if holding a Ph.D. were completely useless, so it’s not really clear how much the unemployment rate is decreased by actually holding the degree.
azakai 12y ago
The article mentions that 2% figure. The reasons the numbers are different is the article focuses on new PhDs, and the 2% figure is all PhDs in the market (new and not-new).