A Change in Plans: The Career Prospects of Recent Ph.D. Graduates in Academia

• In Event: 435 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 04. Higher Education: Beyond the BA

Abstract

Various studies acknowledge the uncertainty many PhD graduates face when beginning their search for full-time employment within the academic sector. Recent graduates face a job market where the likelihood of obtaining work as a full-time professor is perceived to be declining, and the mobility of these graduates within this sector is unclear. Drawing on Statistics Canada’s 2013 National Graduates Survey (NGS), this paper assesses whether graduates who pursued a PhD to become a full-time professor are successful in achieving their goals three years after graduation. The results suggest that although a large portion of PhD graduates pursued their PhD to become a full-time professor, relatively few of them are successful, regardless of field of study. The findings are interpreted within the credentialist framework.

Authors

• Brittany Etmanski, University of Guelph

• David Michael Walters, University of Guelph

• David Zarifa, Nipissing University