Doctoral candidates expect to get 'third degree' in job hunt

Most doctoral candidates expect to be teaching within a year of graduation, not building houses or making furniture. But School of Arts and Sciences Graduate School Dean Walter Licht recalls one of his own History doctoral students opting for a career in carpentry due to the lack of available teaching opportunities in national universities. According to many SAS faculty members, a drop in the current job market has left many doctorate holders unsuccessful in their search for suitable academic positions. English Department Chairperson Jim English said the job market has been "very tough" since the early 1970s and that today's estimates show "it is just as bad as it ever was." Licht had more optimism about the demand for doctorate holders. "My impression is that there is some improvement," he said. "Students are not suffering as much as they did three to four years ago." But despite current trends showing the difficulties doctorate holders face once they enter the job market, SAS faculty agree that competition for admission into the University's doctoral programs remains extremely high. And administrators have tried to help alleviate the over-abundance of doctoral holders by accepting fewer applicants. The English Department's graduate program, for example, accepted only 12 of its 400 applicants. But even the Mathematics and Chemistry departments -- whose students traditionally have an easier time finding employment -- have been affected by a competitive job market which has led doctoral candidates in the Chemistry Department to begin choosing industry-based careers over academic ones. Chemistry Department Chairperson Hai-Lung Dai said only 20 percent of the department's doctoral students end up teaching at universities because opportunities in industry are much more abundant. Dai himself considered a career at IBM before choosing academics, which he said has allowed him to research topics of interest to him, rather than to a large firm. Mathematics Department Chairperson Dennis DeTurck said the academic demand for students in his department "has not been great," but said Penn degree holders fared well in the job market. Only about 50 percent of those who obtain a doctorate in mathematics can expect to teach at a college or university, he noted. The remaining mathematics doctoral holders usually find jobs in industry or with computer technology. "It is still absolutely worth it to get a Ph.D. in mathematics," DeTurck added. "The demand in industry is always present." But English is not as optimistic. "I would never encourage an undergraduate to pursue a Ph.D.," he said. "In terms of a professional career, it's comparable to looking for a cliff to swan-dive off." Nine of Penn's approximately 20 English doctoral students found tenure-track jobs last year, a statistic comparable to the national average where close to 50 percent of doctorate holders found academic work, he added. And although many frustrated doctoral holders typically turn to alternative careers in publishing, advertising or computing firms, several officials stressed such students may be able to return to academia -- due to added experience and constant determination -- a few years after entering the work force.