Precarity means top students quitting academia, warns OECD expert

Report author says increasing funding would only lead to more insecurity, and culture shift is needed instead

Published on
June 8, 2021
Last updated
June 8, 2021
David Matthews
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Source: Ice climber
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PhD, postgraduate and early career
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Print headline: Precarity means top students quitting academia, warns OECD expert

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Reader's comments (4)

#1 Submitted by Tom Gardiner on June 8, 2021 - 8:38am
Another hugely important piece from David Matthews on the current predicament of academic science. So refreshing to read something with facts, logic and relevance, and a welcome diversion from the woke nonsense that now typifies this publication.
#2 Submitted by msl_csp on June 8, 2021 - 9:27am
Agreed but this issue is now so long-standing that it is difficult to change. There was already a problem in some subjects when I got my PhD in 1990 that has spread more widely since. An academic career is now not appealing to most students given that conditions are now worse than they were when I took my first post. Pay has not kept up with inflation, the pension is less generous, and there has been an increase in managerial oversight and bureaucracy. There is (thank goodness) more freedom than in most walks of life but even that does not apply to those in precarious positions.
#3 Submitted by Tom Gardiner on June 8, 2021 - 10:16am
You summarise the realities extremely well and I agree that it will be difficult to change the system. However, as incentives tend to determine outcomes, less funding for PhD studentships and more for creating staff scientist posts for the valuable post-docs, who are the backbone of most good research groups, may help. PhD studentships may then be more competitive and attractive; I'm not sure which would come first.
#4 Submitted by inuk on June 9, 2021 - 9:22am
PhD studentships are scarcer. Then, considering the prospects after completing a PhD, the absence of work-life balance, continuously growing "assessment" with metrics that are creating more hassle than anything, and the relentless pressure on securing funding is not that appealing anymore after all. Ludicrous to expect someone on a 1-2 years post-doc position to spend their time delivering excellent research while also applying for funding to secure yet another 1-2 (3?) years post-doc. Add to that having to move every other year, no security of income... No wonder the best and the brightest choose other ways to spend their lives.

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