You have got a title of Dr, and now wondering whether to stay in academia or not whilst your supervisor constantly bugs at you, and you have become bored of working in labs, you are not alone. You might think that you are irreplaceable as no one can know about your research better than you, but unfortunately you are living in illusion. There’s a huge supply of academic PhD scholars. No matter how much your supervisors brag about the benefits of staying in academia, it’s not going to be useful for you. Here are the reasons why you should leave academia after qualifying your PhD.
Huge Supply of PhD Scholars
According to a 2014 survey, the world is constantly producing PhDs. It has produced more PhDs than ever before. The survey found that 67,449 people qualified as PhDs in the US. The next country is the United Kingdom that has pipped India into third place by 720 PhDs. India had 24,300 PhDs in that year.
Many PhDs live in illusion that the longer they stay in academia, the more valuable they are for industry jobs. According to an article published in The Economist, Universities are getting cheap and highly motivated PhDs. The overwhelming supply of PhDs means reduction in your demand. So don’t think that you are irreplaceable.
Very Low Income
Gone are the days when there was an inadequate supply of postdocs, and they were highly demanded for research. Now Universities are riding on the wave of avalanche of qualified PhDs as they don’t need to pay high salaries. Due to surge in postdocs, a significant reduction in salary has been noted down. Studies have discovered that when it comes to applying in industry jobs, PhDs get few percentage higher salary than other degree holders. So lingering over academia is not worth your weight in gold. It’s not going to increase the chances of selection in industries. So leave academia, and instead start expanding your network and applying industrial jobs.
This will cost your money, time, and experience
Every minute you spend in academia after qualifying your PhD, you cost your money, time, and experience. If you applied in an industry, you would be getting higher salary. According to NIH guidelines, every postdoc get salary hike with a handsome amount every year. This is because they are gaining experience and knowledge. There is no benefit of staying in academia. You will feel like being stuck in a rut. So move to an industry to gain experience. In fact, industry PhDs are more valued than academia PhDs.
You will lose value in academia over time
You have become a PhD and have joined academia. You will be proud while doing this, but don’t forget that every year a glut of PhDs is rising. Now what does that mean? It means that every year your worth of being in academia is going down, and if the supply of PhDs keep rising, your value will be almost zero. Each year PhDs are being devalued as many PhDs are qualified every year, and most of them opt for academia. Therefore you should focus on developing your transferable skills and apply in industrial jobs.