Statistics compiled by the placement service at each of the past five Society for Neuroscience meetings reveal a depressing trend for those entering the job market (see charts on page 7): The number of candidates registering for interviews has increased sharply, while the number of position descriptions posted has leveled off, and the number of employers registering to interview candidates has decreased.
The result is that, while the average number of interviews each employer conducts at the meeting has increased, the average number of interviews each candidate garners has decreased.
Several factors--involving both the supply of neuroscientists and the demand for them--have converged to create this current tight market, observers say.
The most significant of these factors is the sharpness with which the supply of neuroscientists has increased: The Society for Neuroscience reports that its membership has grown in the past five years from 11,690 in 1987 to 20,415 in ...
