Quarterdeck Volume 4, Number 2, Summer 1996
Facing the future
One student's thoughts on the academic employment
crisis
Every morning, I pass by the bulletin board on the first floor of the Oceanography and Meteorology Building and check out what's new while waiting for the elevator seminars, apartments for rent, cars for sale. Periodically, I see an announcement of someone's thesis or dissertation defense. Of course I read the title and notice the author's name-another student has completed his or her degree. I'm always happy for the person, but I can't help wondering if I will ever post notice of my own defense. A little twinge of trepidation at the thought of completing my thesis always comes over me. In a way, I think I will miss the department and the university when I finish my studies. There is a sheltered feeling associated with being a student and-for most of us-not having to worry about the source of next year's salary.
As students, we rarely appreciate the effort that is invested in the proposal process or in the maintenance of a competitive research program. Our primary objective is to learn the research process through class work and through what is essentially an apprenticeship to an advisor. Although we are rarely involved in the proposal-writing process, we are reminded often that our future careers depend heavily on our ability to obtain research funds. Available research funds decrease each year, and we are told that the total number of researchers is increasing, making the few available positions even harder to get. Government cuts to large research programs have reduced growth, which ultimately means fewer jobs are available for a growing population of graduates and that competition is tough for the positions which do open. The obvious solution: reduce the number of Ph.D.s granted.
The concept of producing too many highly educated individuals seems almost ludicrous to me. Until recently, my impression of the current situation was that our department and, in fact, the entire oceanographic community was permitting the size of the student population to grow in an indiscriminate and almost irresponsible manner that could be described as "flooding the market." This is not the case. Since 1989, the oceanography department at Texas A&M has enrolled 127 new students. During this same period, 114 students received their masters' or Ph.D. degrees and have moved on. The number of resident students in 1989 was 85, and though this amount varied over the last six years, it remained 85 for the Fall 1995 semester. In contrast, applications increased from 33 in 1989 to 46 for the 1994-95 school year, while the number of new students admitted remained constant. With expanding interest and steady enrollment, the department can be more selective, and the quality of incoming students will increase. This ultimately benefits the department, students, and job-seeking graduates. Of the 38 students who obtained their degrees from the oceanography department at Texas A&M in the last three years, all but four succeeded in their first attempts to secure a position.
Concern over producing too many Ph.D.s or well-educated individuals is an example of misdirected energy. More interest should be invested in the quality of resources and course work to which students are exposed in our department. As students, we should not be concerned with a flooded market at this point in our careers, but with performing the requirements of our degrees to our highest capabilities. The department is responsible for ensuring that the programs of study are designed to produce the highest quality oceano-graphers. We should adhere to degree requirements without exception in order to ensure that current and former students of the Texas A&M oceanography department exemplify a commitment to innovative and quality science.
When people pause by the elevator to read the announcement of my defense, I hope that they will not feel a cynical, involuntary shudder at my career prospects. Instead, I hope they feel satisfied that yet another competent Texas A&M graduate is joining the research community. |
 Compare the number of new students and the number of graduating students, 1989-96. |
Comments to: web@ocean.tamu.edu
Last updated February 5, 1997
