Recession, Playing No Favorites, Takes Toll In All Sectors Of The Scientific Job Market

Academic scientists, their futures uncertain because of budgetary woes in higher education, may be wondering if industrial research and development offers a safer haven. Meanwhile, bench researchers in industry, shaken by recent corporate downsizing and restructuring, may be looking for refuge in academia. The truth is, no scientific environment-not industry, government, or academia-has been spared the impact of the United States' long and deepening recession. The current job market in science is limping badly across the board, say experts interviewed by The Scientist. Only a few scientific disciplines have escaped this year's big chill in hiring, which has settled like frost over many major corporations, academic institutions, and federal research centers. "This is a very wide-spread recession that's hitting everybody in almost all areas-except for a few areas of science that are hot these days," says Betty Vetter, the executive director of the Commission for Professionals in Science and Technology in Washington, D.C. Roman Czujko, manager of education and employment statistics for the American Institute of Physics in New York, expresses a similar sentiment. "We have not suffered through a recession like this for several decades," Czujko says. "We've had recessions before, but not one that has hit so many sectors of the science job market at one time." The crux of the problem: Severe budgetary constraints, tied directly or indirectly to the recession, have forced many employers to curtail hiring. "There are too few jobs for the number of people who have been graduating over the last two to three years," says Vetter. "The Pool of available people is getting bigger and the pool of available jobs is shrinking, as almost all of industry has been downsizing." But even in these glum economic times, job prospects remain bright for some. For instance, in the life sciences, employment remains relatively strong, according to industry experts, thanks to the growth of small .biotech companies and increased investment in R&D in the United States pharmaceutical industry (see story on page 1). Computer scientists also are in great demand. Because these researchers are in short supply-only about 700 received Ph.D.'s last year-the best have their pick of jobs in either industry or academia, says John Oxton, manager of Ph.D. recruiting for IBM Corp. in Armonk, N.Y. "We're going to be very aggressive in recruiting the best Ph.D.'s that we can find," he says. "The recession has no impact." However, for most résumé-toting researchers, job hunting hasn't been easy this year. Among physicists, for example, "people who are in temporary positions, such as postdocs, are taking longer and longer to find jobs, and fewer are getting multiple job offers," says Czujko. Comprehensive statistics on scientific employment, compiled by the National Science Foundation, are not yet available for 1991, the last year for which data was collected. However, the hiring slump, at least for chemists, shows up clearly in a recent American Chemical Society survey (see story on page 1). The survey, conducted last March, put the jobless rate for chemists at 1.9 percent, the highest rate since 1983. Last year, more than 4 percent of chemists were jobless at some time. Of these unemployed, almost one in four was out of work for more than six months. Of course, compared with the national jobless rate, which was 7.8 percent in June, these figures don't sound so bad. However, for most scientists, the problem is not unemployment, but underemployment. "Especially at the doctoral level, people are finding jobs," says Caujko. "lt's just that they may not find the jobs that are best suited to their skills and training." According to Catherine Didion, executive director of the Association for Women in Science in Washington, D.C., women scientists are hard hit in a recession: "Because science is often seen as an inappropriate job for women, they have another strike against them when they're out there trying to compete in a tight job market." Also, women are more likely to work in entry-level or nontenured positions, making them highly vulnerable to layoffs and research funding cuts, she says. Another phenomenon contributing to the tight job market is a reduced attrition rate at many companies and institutions. "Turnover is down everywhere," says Vetter. "Most people are hanging in there, wherever they are, waiting for better times. Most of the senior people have managed to find themselves a safe haven. lt's the new people who are having much more difficulty." At the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), midlevel scientists who might otherwise leave to take jobs in the defense industry are staying put, says Candy Irwin, a NASA personnel staffing specialist. "We have zip attrition. lt's been phenomenal how few people are leaving." Some are afraid to leave, she says, because anticipated cuts in the Department of Defense budget threaten job security in the defense-contracting industry. Although academia continues to be the largest employer of scientists, it's probably also the toughest place to land a job these days, at least if you're looking for a tenure-track faculty position, says Vetter. A multitude of fiscal pressures-including cutbacks in state funding as well as escalating costs for building repairs, computers, and library journals-have forced many academic institutions to curtail faculty hiring. "Colleges and universities are having to hunker down," says C. Peter Magrath, president of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges in Washington, D.C. "Universities are not hiring as much-and they're hiring more selectively in the areas in which they have a great interest." Officials at Yale University, for example, are trying to figure out how to foot a $1 billion bill for building renovations over the next decade. Because of projected budget shortfalls, the New Haven, Conn., university will need to reduce faculty positions by up to 11 percent, says Cynthia Atwood, a spokeswoman. When schools do advertise faculty openings, they usually receive a horde of applicants. At Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, a job search last year for a tenured assistant professorship in the math department drew 600 applicants, says provost Judith Shapiro. The top candidates for faculty positions are so highly qualified, she says, that "it sometimes breaks my heart not to offer jobs to all of them." Budget constraints are forcing academic institutions to become more creative in how they staff their science departments. At Bryn Mawr, which emphasizes a high faculty-to student ratio, "we're looking for more flexible ways to staff," says Shapiro. That means using more nontenured faculty. Nontenured academic positions are growing, Vetter says. However, while the trend provides more opportunities for scientists to work in an academic environment, Vetter is worried that the increased use of nontenured people will erode job security. Very often, she says, "these peophe have no job security, no benefits, and are mostly part-time." The hiring slump also has hit top corporations. There, downsizing and restructuring are reducing the number of research jobs. For instance, the Du Pont Co. in Wilmington, Del., which employs chemists, chemical engineers, and a variety of other researchers, hired only 50 doctoral level scientists this year-one of the lowest years for new hires in a decade, says Lew Shumaker, the company's college relations supervisor. However, recent layoffs at Du Pont have not affected scientists, who either have been reduced by attrition or have been redeployed to other research efforts at the company, Shumaker says. Similarhy, Houston-based Shell Development Co., the R&D arm of Shell Oil Co., recruited only 13 Ph.D.'s for the year ended June 30, compared with about 50-60 in a more robust year. "That's the smallest number of new hires since the early 1970s," says Isaac Dvoretzky, manager of Ph.D. recruiting and university relations. "We don't see any improvement for the foreseeable future." The company employs a diversified group of researchers, including polymer scientists, chemists, physicists, and geophysicists. Still, industry opportunities do exist. Rohm & Haas Co. in Philadelphia, for example, continues to seek qualified scientists, says recruiter James Burke. "lt's very important to hire every year," says Burke, manager of research recruiting and university relations. "This year, the numbers were off substantially, but we did hire." Like industry, the federal government also is downsizing its personnel. "Our data show that hiring [of scientists] is down across the board, with a few blips here and there," says Van Yee, a personnel staffing specialist with the federal Office of Personnel Management. Yee cites two main reasons: congressional pressure on all federal agencies, including research centers, to hold down costs, and budget cuts at the Department of Defense, which funds a great deal of research. At both NASA and the National Institutes of Health, hiring freezes are in effect, although the ban does not apply to all of the agencies' programs. According to an NIH official who requests anonymity, most of the agency's 13 institutes are under the freeze. Generaily, government positions for junior scientists are more plentiful than staff jobs for more experienced researchers. For example, the Agriculture Research Service in Beltsville, Md., has yet to finalize positions for 86 postdocs this year, says Lucy Jackson, a research program coordinator. But a recent posting listed only six openings for staff research scientists for the entire Department of Agriculture. As the recession grinds into its second year, experts offer few clues as to when the sluggish job market might rebound. President Bush said recently that the nation's economy is poised for a major recovery. But Vetter, for one, is skeptical. "If you believe that, I have an island I'd like to sell you," she says. Magrath of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges thinks the situation will improve, at least in academia, simply because it can't get much worse. "Things are so tight that I don't see how they can get much tighter," he says. "Life tends to be cyclical. It may not be dramatic or happen overnight, but I think there'll be some improvement." Jean Wallace is a freelance science writer based in Philadelphia

Recession, Playing No Favorites, Takes Toll In All Sectors Of The Scientific Job Market

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