FLICKR, DENISE CHANNot only is the number of biomedical PhDs in the U.S. increasing, the rate of this increase is accelerating. To justify this rapidly expanding pool of experienced biomedical scientists, some have suggested that more PhD-educated citizens are better for the country. But this is a moot point if those PhDs lack opportunities to make societal contributions utilizing their highly specialized training.
Comments like “things have always been tough” and “there are plenty of jobs” ignore the systemic problems and biases that the current generation of junior scientists face. These remarks are a distraction from the issues facing the biomedical research enterprise, many of which have been discussed in academia since before these junior scientists were born.
Defenders of the status quo point to myriad “alternative careers” and the low unemployment rate among biomedical researchers. But there is a lack of data on such trainees and their careers; the data that are available show that the number of biomedical researchers being produced is still greater than the sum of all positions for which a PhD is required—not just the academic ones. The platitude that PhDs possess diverse ...
