The unemployed PhD's

Washington Post:

Michelle Amaral wanted to be a brain scientist to help cure diseases. She planned a traditional academic science career: PhD, university professorship and, eventually, her own lab. 

But three years after earning a doctorate in neuroscience, she gave up trying to find a permanent job in her field. 

Dropping her dream, she took an administrative position at her university, experiencing firsthand an economic reality that, at first look, is counterintuitive: There are too many laboratory scientists for too few jobs. 

That reality runs counter to messages sent by President Obama, the National Science Foundation and other influential groups, who in recent years have called for U.S. universities to churn out more scientists. 

Obama has made science education a priority, launching a White House science fair to get young people interested in the field. 

But it’s questionable whether those youths will be able to find work when they get a PhD. Although jobs in some high-tech areas, especially computer and petroleum engineering, seem to be booming, the market is much tighter for lab-bound scientists — those seeking new discoveries in biology, chemistry and medicine. 

“There have been many predictions of [science] labor shortages and . . .robust job growth,” said Jim Austin, editor of the online magazine ScienceCareers. “And yet, it seems awfully hard for people to find a job. Anyone who goes into science expecting employers to clamor for their services will be deeply disappointed.” 

One big driver of that trend: Traditional academic jobs are scarcer than ever. Once a primary career path, only 14 percent of those with a PhD in biology and the life sciences now land a coveted academic position within five years, according to a 2009 NSF survey. That figure has been steadily declining since the 1970s, said Paula Stephan, an economist at Georgia State University who studies the scientific workforce. The reason: The supply of scientists has grown far faster than the number of academic positions. 

The pharmaceutical industry once offered a haven for biologists and chemists who did not go into academia. Well-paying, stable research jobs were plentiful in the Northeast, the San Francisco Bay area and other hubs. But a decade of slash-and-burn mergers; stagnating profit; exporting of jobs to India, China and Europe; and declining investment in research and development have dramatically shrunk the U.S. drug industry, with research positions taking heavy hits. 

Since 2000, U.S. drug firms have slashed 300,000 jobs, according to an analysis by consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. In the latest closure, Roche last month announced it is shuttering its storied Nutley, N.J., campus — where Valium was invented — and shedding another 1,000 research jobs.

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This is not a new problem.  I recall about 20 years ago the University of Houston Clear Lake, which is near NASA advertised for an administrative assistant, i.e. a secretary with some organization skills.  They got several people with PhDs applying for that job.  One of the ironies of this over abundance of people with advanced degrees is that it has not lowered the cost of education.  I think many in the academic community are over paid and they are using predatory loans to push more students through the programs despite the lack of jobs with which they are supposed to repay these loans.  Many of these people are on welfare or driving cabs while looking for work outside their field to just make a living.

That is what is so wrong with  Obama's push for more cheap student loans.  They are creating another bubble economy like the housing bubble, but these unsophisticated borrowers are not allowed to walk away from the loans.