In Tough Economic Times, What's A New Science Grad To Do?

The current recession has not spared professionals, and 1991-92 has been a difficult year for young scientists attempting to leave university campuses for permanent positions, whether in industry or academia. As career advisers to young scientists for a combined total of 15 years, we have never seen a year in which so many scientists have expressed doubts about continuing in research as it has traditonally been conducted. On the other hand, we have also spoken with employers offering opportunities that did not exist 10 years ago. We have learned that many scientists tend to feel that successful careers inevitably follow successful research. In the present environment, such an attitude is a luxury that most candidates can ill afford. New scientists who take the time to understand the present market and future trends, and who position themselves intelligently, as suggested below, are much more likely to be the beneficiaries, rather than the victims, of change. In 1991-92, hiring was slow. When a company is in financial difficulty, it is always tempting to cut research expenditures, including salaries paid to staff scientists. As a result, on-campus recruiting has been curtailed across the United States this year, and companies have been making fewer offers. In addition, some of the corporate giants that regularly recruit new scientists have been downsizing. Thus, junior scientists who have lost their jobs have been added to the normal pool of new Ph.D.'s and recent postdocs who are seeking permanent positions. The resulting level of competition for positions is reflected in the comment of a corporate recruiter of doctoral-level scientists who recently told us that he had given up reading new applications after receiving 500 vitae in two weeks. The academic market has been, if anything, worse. This academic year was the first year in which total U.S. spending on higher education did not increase. Many academic positions advertised in the fall were frozen, owing to a rash of state budget cutbacks. With fewer jobs available at state institutions, the competition for jobs at private institutions increased as well. The typical reaction of young scientists to these conditions is to seek another postdoctoral position, but the pool of research dollars has not been increasing at the same rate as that of university graduates, so there are limits to the number of candidates who can benefit from this "Plan B." However, there are signs of improvement in the market. For example, the College Placement Council reports that salaries offered to Ph.D. chemists increased 5.6 percent between September 1991 and March 1992. While some of the industrial giants are downsizing, others are adding to their research capabilities. Smaller companies, while high-risk ventures for potential employees as well as for investors, continue to grow and multiply. Experts on the scientific job market describe both short- term problems and long-term opportunities. For example, Robert Weatherall, director of career services at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, describes this year's traditional job market for physical scientists as very tight, but stresses that long-term prospects are good and that interesting short-term options may also develop into long-term careers. With what Weatherall calls "marvelous fungibility," for example, physicists may mutate into electrical engineers, applied mathematicians, or corporate managers. Weatherall has worked with many candidates who have initially taken jobs outside of basic research through necessity and have come to find their new career paths so satisfying that they choose to remain in them even when the chance to return to research arises. Even in Boston's depressed economy, he says, many biotechnology firms remain strong and some environmental consulting firms have become large enough to recruit on campus. "They're no longer discussing what the rules ought to be; now they're trying to deal with the mess," he says. Authorities on the labor market view long-term prospects as good. Even the most pessimistic projection from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its Monthly Labor Review (February 1992, pages 28-41) suggests a growth in scientific occupations that at least matches the growth in the economy. Betty Vetter, executive director of the Washington, D.C.- based Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, sees the current situation as "a real paradox. The job market is very poor in everything because of the recession, but 10 years, or even five years, down the road it is expected to improve." Vetter finds that while some scientists are leaving the field altogether, others are waiting it out. Ph.D.'s take other kinds of jobs or do another postdoc. "Starting after 1995 the academic job market will improve slowly but steadily, and there will be shortages in some Ph.D. areas," says Vetter. Short- and long-term competition for the best scientific jobs will remain intense even if corporations expand their research base and university budget cuts are restored. The most productive research labs, in industry and academia, now make extensive efforts to look for and compensate "the best" scientists in a market that is becoming truly international and blurring traditional boundaries between industry and academia. For example, recent changes to the U.S. immigration law have altered the quota system to expand the number and percentage of green cards (which give permanent U.S. work permission) that may be issued based on occupational qualifications. Help-wanted advertisements for academic positions increasingly are posted by foreign universities. Corporate recruiters attend scientific meetings to scout young talent. Universities are beginning to hire search firms when they look for senior scientists. What should young scientists do, both to land positions in the recession and to plot a course for future years? In this changing landscape, how can you make the best effort at launching your professional scientific career? Evaluate Your Goals The recession provides you with an important opportunity to reevaluate your abilities, priorities, and goals. The tight market may give you a chance to admit to yourself that you want things that your current career path is unlikely to permit, such as more time for a family, a more interactive work setting, or more immediately visible results of your work. While you may not want to discuss reservations about your career direction with others in your lab, you should realize that you are hardly the only person who has them. Growing numbers of both men and women tell us they are unwilling to sacrifice an involved family life for the sake of a pressured, uncertain, and all-consuming scientific career. Many others tell us that, compared to their academic mentors, they want more interaction with others, or opportunity to see the social consequences of their work. This situation is not limited to the authors' University of Pennsylvania campus. MIT's Weatherall notes that he has recently spoken with "a flow" of Ph.D.'s who are interested in patent law. Graduate science students train in research-dominated universities, so you may have overlooked the wide range of institutions of higher education that emphasize teaching. The depression in this year's academic market, caused by an unexpected wave of government cutbacks, should be temporary. In fact, a major study of higher education, Prospects for Faculty in the Arts and Sciences: A Study of Factors Affecting Demand and Supply, 1987-2012 (Princeton University Press, 1989), conducted by William G. Bowen and Julie Ann Sosa, predicts faculty shortages by the end of the present decade. As higher education's emphasis upon research at the expense of teaching comes under national scrutiny, this may be an excellent time to go into teaching if you find your greatest satisfaction in communicating about science. Some options available to you now may not have existed when your adviser was a graduate student. If you are more interested in the business of developing scientific applications than in basic research, you may be attracted to emerging scientifically based firms, such as those in biotechnology or hazardous waste management. This option may be most attractive to you if you can tolerate risk and are willing to leave behind the basic research that can be done only in a very large, well-funded organization. Former scientists have successfully made careers in any number of fields, from securities analysis to consulting, and you may wish to follow their examples. Whether you decide to continue to pursue the best research position you can get or to change direction, your chances of reaching your goals will be greatest if you apply your research abilities to your own job search, strengthen a network of personal contacts through which you can learn of opportunities, and invest time in learning how to present yourself well. Do Your Research If you plan to make any change in your career direction, you must learn the conventions and career paths of a new field. Sources of general career information can include university career centers, public and university libraries, and, in many cities, not-for-profit career counseling services. You probably know the main scientific organizations in your field. Every occupation has similar ones, and they can be outstanding sources of information. A directory available in most libraries, National Trade and Professional Associations of the U.S. (Washington, D.C., Columbia Book Inc., 1991), will indicate organizations that you can contact. If you are pursuing scientific research opportunities, plan to spend substantial time investigating possibilities. Even if you need to make short-term compromises, look for long- term trends. Where will exciting discoveries be made? Which organizations will grow? Where will you be most competitive? Indications of the answers are likely to be found not only in scientific journals, but also in libraries with good collections on business, government, and higher education. For example, the Directory of American Research and Technology (New York, R.R. Bower, 1991) helps you identify not only companies, but also specific laboratories, on the basis of precise research interests. A proliferation of electronic databases helps you quickly zero in on information precise enough to help you identify prospects for exploratory interviews, write targeted letters, and be an informed candidate in an interview. Many directories are now available in electronic format. The Philadelphia-based Institute for Scientific Information's Science Citation Index helps you identify individuals whose research corresponds to your interests. You can look up their publication history, read some of their recent articles, and be well-informed when you contact them to explore current hiring prospects. The abstracts of business articles found in online sources such as ABI Inform (UMI/Data Courier of Louisville, Ky.) can alert you to the latest business conditions affecting a company before you go in for an interview. Network There are more ways to learn about jobs than you may realize. Be sure your adviser and dissertation committee or postdoc supervisor know you are looking and will speak on your behalf. Realize that if a potential employer knows one of your former supervisors or colleagues, the latter may be contacted, whether or not you have given their names as references. Therefore it is helpful to touch base with everyone as you begin a search. Scientific and professional associations provide outstanding opportunities to learn what is happening in a field. In addition to national conventions, many have active regional or local chapters, placement services, and job listings. Take full advantage of chances to attend meetings, present papers or poster sessions, read publications, and obtain membership directories. All of these are resources that will make it possible for you to contact individuals, rather than organizations, in pursuit of job leads. If you know whom to ask, you may learn about job opportunities that will never be advertised. Electronic bulletin boards and user groups are also means of disseminating job opportunities. If you have not learned to use them, you are missing the opportunity to communicate informally with researchers worldwide. As a graduate student or an employee of a large organization, you almost certainly can get free use of these networks. If you have no access through a university or employer, but have a home computer with a modem, you can get access to these resources through many of the low-cost consumer computer services. Present Yourself Well When you identify opportunities, you must present yourself in such a way that your qualifications are obvious to the employer. In the current market, when employers and search committees receive many vitae, it is easy to be screened out of consideration summarily. Misspelled words, a vita or resume that is organized incoherently, or a cover letter that betrays a total lack of knowledge of the organization to which you are applying can all doom a candidacy. Seek advice and feedback on vitae, resume, and cover letters. A campus career center often has a great deal to offer to students, postdocs, and alumni. So do professional associations, and books on the popular market. You should be aware, however, that many mass-market job- hunting materials are designed for nonresearch environments. Advice such as "Always have a one-page rsum" is not appropriate for a research position. If you do not have people at hand who can advise you on your job search, you may be tempted to respond to ads from firms that offer to make your search easier. While some commercial career services offer good services, many also proffer overpriced bad advice, so use caution. If you cannot already speak convincingly about your work, learn to do so. To obtain a good research position, you will have to give a presentation and handle questions about it. For a job that does not depend upon research, you will have to interpret what you have done to interviewers unfamiliar with your area, an even greater challenge. Practice presentations, even if you have to invite your friends to a "listen-to-my-talk" party. Work out an interesting way to tell nonscientists what you have done in the lab. (Trying to explain what you do to an intelligent sixth-grader is one outstanding way to learn to accomplish this). Practice with video or audio equipment to find out firsthand how you present your work, and how you can improve your presentation. If you feel shy about public speaking, look for a chapter of Toastmasters, a voluntary organization that helps people become confident public speakers. The job-hunting skills you develop in a tight job market will stand you in good stead the next time you want or need to change a job, and you can consider them an investment in your future. Mary Morris Heiberger is associate director and Julie Miller Vick is graduate placement counselor in the University of Pennsylvania's Career Planning and Placement Service, Philadelphia. They are the coauthors of the recently released Academic Job Search Handbook (University of Pennsylvania Press).

In Tough Economic Times, What's A New Science Grad To Do?

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