Osaka University in Japan recently surveyed 83 of its science and technology postdocs and found that more than 60% no longer wanted to be postdocs. More than 85% felt insecure about their careers. Why are so many PhD recipients at Osaka concerned about their future?
In the early 1990s, the Japanese government attempted to strengthen the country's graduate schools. As a result, the number of PhDs awarded each year increased from 8,968 in 1996 to 15,966 in 2004. However, many PhD recipients fail to get permanent jobs.
The government has tried to help. In 1996 a programme was launched to support 10,000 postdocs by 2000. Meanwhile, Japan's science and technology budget remains high, totalling over 3 trillion yen (about US$24.5 billion at today's rates) per year since 2001.
Despite this investment, job security is hard to find. Any small growth in the number of permanent academic positions in the past ten years has been overwhelmed by the growth in the number of PhDs awarded. Only a decade ago, most PhD recipients found permanent positions. Today, some PhDs have taken as many as four different three-year jobs by the age of 40.
The Japanese government chose Osaka University as one of eight organizations to take part in a 2006 project to promote the diversification of career paths for science and technology researchers. Some organizations support postdocs by educating them about the business world or providing individual consultation. However, we think that it's not only important to find people jobs, but to create new jobs and new types of job.
More opportunities must be created in a variety of fields. Universities can help solve the problem, as they receive a budget from the government that they can use to create projects and so also jobs. Cooperation between industry and the academic world also creates jobs such as project manager, technology coordinator and programme officer.
At Osaka's career-creation support division, we hope that our activities help increase the number of postdocs who consider unconventional career paths — and, as a result, make them feel more secure about their futures.