Post Phd - Job Market

[victorias]

For all you PhD graduate students and post docs, how is the job market for securing employment (in academia and private sector) after completing the PhD? I am considering doing a PhD but some of the profs I have spoken to said that the job market is not great and its becoming more difficult to secure employment with a PhD. I would love to hear some personal experiences that you guys might have had.

[indefatigable]

There are a lot of variables, and I agree with most of malkynn's observations.  There are some rules of thumb, though:

i) the field and subfield can really matter - for example economics PhDs usually have great job markets with opportunities inside and outside of academia and some science fields are considered much hotter than others;

ii) prestige of institution (and advisor) also really matters - getting a job in academia is about reputation much of the time.  Big names like Harvard, MIT and Princeton carry a lot of weight  (to be fair these are fairly selective institutions);

iii) who supervisor is and relationship with supervisor is paramount.  In the vast majority of cases, PhD candidate will work on closely related area to supervisor's area of research.  Often PhD hiring in academia is done on 'potential' so having a great relationship (and well known supervisor) who can write very strong letters can really make a big difference.  

 

In lifesci (and most science fields) there is really a surplus of PhDs compared to academic positions, but you can still succeed (not only academically), if you're really passionate about it.  I agree with malkynn, the value in the PhD isn't the degree with your name on it, but what you get put in and get out of it.  

[Depression]

Absolutely dreadful from what I've seen. Not enough faculty positions for the amount of PhDs universities pump out. Many of the post docs (psych/life sciences) I've worked with worked several years before landing a secure position.

 

On the other hand, I've also seen PhDs/Post-docs go on to start their own companies in the genetics space. So I guess it depends where. Like what others above me have said.