Graduate students are uncertain about the value of their degree in advancing their careers

Nature Survey finds that a considerable sum of scholars in Ph.D. and master’s programs have doubts about how valuable their degree is to advance in their professional lives. Nature’s 2022 global graduate-student survey found that one-third of participants do not have strong faith in the value of their current programs.

Around 66% of Ph.D. and master’s students said that they believe their job prospects will “substantially” or “dramatically” improve due to their degree. The number of students who believe that they will find permanent jobs within one year after graduation is less than one-third of the respondents. The survey took place with the participation of more than 3,200 self-selected respondents from around the world. The respondents answered a questionnaire. The results yielded that there was widespread uncertainty about career paths and how valuable advanced degrees are.

The results indicate that there is a disconnect between the training received by graduate students and what they have to face in real-world jobs. Shweta Ganapati, a policy adviser at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, says “There has been a shift in the labor market, and Ph.D. programs have not changed sufficiently to adapt. There’s a reason why they are not optimistic. We can fix this, but we aren’t moving fast enough.”

While 47% of participants in the survey are not satisfied with the level of career pathway guidance and advice they receive, 20% remain neutral on the matter. Career training for science graduates is currently mainly focused on university-based jobs. But less than 48% of respondents say that they would prefer to work in academia. 28% are voicing their preference to work in the industry. The others have mixed feelings about employment, with 9% willing to work for government positions, 8% considering the medical sector, and 7% interested in working for non-profit institutions.

Only 24% of respondents believe that their degree will “somewhat” improve their job prospects. 6% say that their degree will barely advance their cause or maybe even not help at all. Another 4% remain unsure of how their degree will affect their career. 56% of participants in the survey ranked “finding a permanent job after completing my education” among the top three difficulties for graduate students in their country.