Five years on, an experiment to reform career paths for German researchers has posted mixed results. The plan began with good intentions: to get promising young professors into permanent positions more quickly. To do this, the federal government created the new title of 'junior professor', the idea being that these positions would give young researchers more autonomy earlier in their career.
But some Länder, or states, in Germany rejected the idea, leaving the country with a mixed system. The more politically liberal Länder opted to include some of the new positions in their universities, whereas the more conservative Länder eschewed them. Germany's highest court said that the federal government couldn't intrude on the way individual Länder structured academic advancement.
Then the more conservative Länder challenged changes to the traditional German process of obtaining tenure known as Habilitation, which mandates a second dissertation. With Habilitation still intact, the path towards independence becomes even more confusing. Is a junior professor less competitive than a colleague who takes Habilitation? If so, should a young scientist who takes a junior professorship still do the Habilitation dissertation in order to remain competitive with colleagues who pursue the traditional path? If that's the case, then what's the advantage of accepting a junior professorship?
Junior professors who don't do a Habilitation and young researchers who do the second dissertation have one thing in common — neither can pursue jobs at the university where they did their training. This is different from the situation in the United States, where a junior professor can remain as a full professor once tenure has been granted.
For jobseekers looking to Germany, this muddled scenario should prompt them to ask several questions before they take on a position. Or, if they can't get their heads around the system, they may do what many of their colleagues have been doing — pursue a professorship in a different country.