Book Description

A contemporary and detailed look at the reality behind the PhD degrees and postdoctoral fellowships in academia. The book explores some of the most pressing issues and unique challenges currently facing the doctoral and postdoctoral programs both on a local institutional level and on a global one where multiple complex factors influencing and governing the academic environment take place. The interrelated nature of these challenges together with discussions over certain historical trends and demographics offer a unique perspective on some often overlooked topics such as academic advisors and mentoring, increasing job insecurity, career prospects, mental issues, discrimination and women in science, ever growing need for funding, increasing pressure for high-profile research, internationalization of science, trends in university management, higher education dynamics, and government policies, backed with references to published research, national and international surveys, and census data. Today, most of the PhD programs have been accommodated to the benefit of the university with disregard to any sustainable demand-and-supply job market strategies, contrary to the original ideas behind their inception. The result is an over-flooded job market and huge underemployment rates among doctorate holders. Infused with a narrative of a rich mix of personal experiences, observations, and impressions, all dressed in humor (mostly dark), sarcasm, irony, disbelief, and often outright criticism, this text does not shy away from asking uncomfortable questions and even attempts to provide answers to some of them. At the same time it also offers practical advice for those considering and those who already have dared to tread the PhD path.