1

Be prepared for the next step

Jan Denys 12-09-2011 Louvain

PhD’s and the labour market

2

Content of presentation

• Our old fashioned view on the labour market

• What does it mean for PhD’s?

• A view on labour market position of PhD’s

• The role of professional networks

3

Statements

The way we organise our labour market is based on obsolete ideas and values.

Workers (PhD’s included) don’t take advantage of increased

freedom and increased possibilities on the labour

market

4

“You’ll find people such

as me, everywhere on

the labour market, in

this valley of tears”

Source: Mia, Gorki

We don’t like the labour market

5

Our vision on the labour market is ‘medieval’

6

“My intention was not to be pushed nor sponsored to find an appropriate job. I didn’t have the vaguest idea how to start. A bit clumsy, certainly. Try to find a position was so difficult, almost mission impossible, years ago.”

Source: Humo 2006

Jef Lambrecht: his first steps on the labour market in the sixties

7

• Employers have power, employees haven’t• The role of workers is merely passive, they

undergo the whims of employers and the labour market in general

• Employers are primary responsible of the fate of the workers

• There is a lack of mobility on the labour market

• Making a career in one single company is average meaning

• Intermediate structures are banned

Medieval thinking

8

Traditional Modern

Vision on the labour market

Closed Open

World perspective

Company Labour market

Power play Uneven: in the advantage of the employer

More equal and also changing

Responsibility Employer Shared responsibility worker/employer

Emotion Negative, threat Positive, opportunities

Social protection Permanent contract, notice periods, closing fee

Mobility, employability2 jobs

Security Job security Work security

Basic characteristics

Homogeneous Diversity

9

• Free to work

• Does the worker benefit from it?

• Reflecting about work and career developing

is essential

Career development

10

• You are at the steering wheel of your own career

• Combining 2 specialties

• Combining 2 jobs

• Develop external benchmark

• Plan B

• The expiry date of jobs

• Adopt a long term perspective

Modern careers

11

What does it mean for PhD’s?

• PHD’s are very highly skilled and educated (top)

• At first sight they should be free workers, steering their own career

• In reality they aren’t• Most of them focus on a career in the

academic world• They have no idea about the external labour

market• They are not well prepared for the external

labour market• They have rather limited career skills• Is that really a problem?

12

Career skills

• To be aware of one’s own identity

• Adaptability

• Network competences

• Understanding of own career

• Willingness to change

13

What does it mean for PhD’s(2)

• Number of PhD positions is worldwide unrelated to the number of direct job openings

• Production of PhDs has far outstripped demand for university lecturers and researchers

• PhD’s as cheap labour, even slave labour

‘Interests of universities and tenured academics are misaligned with those of PhD students’ Economist 18-12-2010

• US figures: 100 000 new PhD’s against only 16 000 new professorships

• 40% increase in OECD countries between 1998 and 2006

14

Labour market outcomes

• Employment

• Unemployment

• Temporary contracts

• Pay

• Distribution by sector of employment

15

Employment rates of 1990-2006 graduates

16

Unemployment rates of PhD’s by field of science

17

What about pay?

• Over all subjects a PHD commands only a 3% premium over a master’s degree

• But ... only in medicine, other sciences and business and financial studies is it high enough to be worthwhile

18

Distribution of PhD’s by sector of employment

19

Distribution PhD’s in and out private sector

Private Non private

Sciences 87,1% 57,3%

Medical 6,8% 14,7%

Human sciences 6,0% 28,0%

20

Connection between PhD and job

Private Academic

Close connection 19% 70%

Moderate connection

44% 22%

No connection 37% 8%

21

Connection between PhD and job

Medical Sciences

Close connection 23,4% 18,7%

Moderate connection

48,7% 43,6%

No connection 27,8% 37,7%

22

PhD’s and knowledge economy

• Influx of PhD’s in private sector is important strategic issue

• Especially when it comes to innovation• Transfer of knowledge• But transfer is often a problem• Most PhD’s work as researchers• In private sector only 10 or 15% of researchers

hold a PhD• Shorter job tenure in private sector• Possibilities for career development (outside

research function or managerial position)

23

Transfer is often a problem

• Many PhD’s find it tough to transfer their skills into the labour market

‘Writing lab reports, giving academic presentations and conducting six-month literature reviews can be surprisingly unhelpful in a world where technical knowledge has to be assimilated quickly and presented simply to a wide audience’

Economist, 18-12-2010

• Reform of doctoral programs in order to facilitate entry on external labour market (soft skills: management, team work, communication)

24

A problem of recognition?

• HR-managers don’t recognize added value PhD’s • No distinction between PhD’s and masters in

recruitment• Specific competences are crucial• O & O managers do recognize added value

concerning knowledge development (especially capacity to make synthesis of information of different disciplines

• Has to do with different cultures (short term/long term)

25

Knowledge, what knowledge?

12 layers of knowledge • Economic and societal development• Technological knowledge• Strategic choices about core values &

competences• Strategic positioning of products & concepts• Product design, integrated software• Integrated values• Brands, brand campaigns• Combining, teams & networks, process design• Combining, cooperation & learning culture• Reputation within networks• External logistics• After sales services & feedback of customersSource: Jacobs, 1999

26

Outcomes

• Employment premium linked with PhD’s

• For medical PhD also pay premium

• Temporary contracts cause concerns

(postdocs)

• 30% of PhD’s in private sector

• Transfer of knowledge is problem

• Recognition of added value of PhD’s

27

How to change?

Level 1Job, industry and sector

Level 2Competencies, motives and

valuesLevel 3

Basic but implicit assumptions about what is desirable and possible in our lives and in the

world

28

Change of jobs means change of identity

Exploring possible selvesAsking whom might I become?

What are the possibilities

Lingering between identitiesTesting possibles shelves, both old and new

OutcomesExternal change: changing careers

Internal change: greater congruence Between who we are and what we do

Grounding a deep changeUpdating priorities, assumptions and self-conceptions

29

Change of jobs means change of identity

Aspects of Working Identity Strategies for rewarding IdentityWorking identity is defined by what we do, the professional activities that engage us.

Crafting experiments: trying out new activities and professional roles on a small scale before making a major commitment to a different path

Working identity is defined by the company we keep, our working relationships and the professional groups to which we belongWorking identity is defined by the formative events in our lives and the story that links who we have been and who we will become

Shifting connections: developing contacts who can open doors to new worlds; finding role models and new peer groups to guide and benchmark our progressMaking sense: finding or creating catalysts and triggers for change and using them as occasions to rework our story

30

The role of networks

• Pragmatically: leads, referrals, job

information, entrees in organizations

• Educationally: transfer of expertise,

knowledge, competences

• Emotionally: validation for a new self (is

hard to get without shifts in social

relationships)

31

The role of networks

• People who know us best are also the ones

likely to hinder rather than help. They’ll

preserve the old identity

• We need new peer groups, guiding figures

and communities

• Serendipity is key word