Alberto Pepe edited What_can_we_learn_from__.tex  about 9 years ago

Commit id: da334d1d8dd75aa0beec6542e821d04a812051b8

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What can we learn from these statistics? Whether the actual ratio of PhDs who become professors is 24\%, 12.8\% or 0.45\%, the bottom line is is:  100\% is unattainable, even though the desires of most graduate students is indeed to stay in academia. Very simply, the world is producing too many PhDs \cite{Cyranoski_2011} for too few academic positions, and this unbalance has created the postdoc pile-up that we are experiencing \cite{Powell_2015}. My reflections on this matter are based on statistical evidence from recent surveys, but also on my experiences and those of people I know. There are success stories and horror stories, for sure. My intent is not to be overly pessimistic, but realistic.