Those who go to the trouble of getting their PhD may have fewer job opportunities and only earn $5,000 more than master’s graduates, according to the National Graduates Survey, which was released on April 22 by Statistics Canada.
The median annual earnings among those working full time in 2007 was $45,000 for bachelor’s graduates, according to the survey. This increased by 33 per cent to $60,000 for master’s graduates.
Yet people holding a PhD only earned $65,000 – just 8 per cent more.
“Most people who go into PhD programs have ambitions to go into academia,” said Graham Cox, chairperson of the National Graduate Caucus of the Canadian Federation of Students, in response to the survey results.
“Over the last 10 years we’ve seen an increase in universities hiring [stipendiary], part-time workers to replace retiring full-time professors.”
He added that these part-time jobs pay less, have lower job security and fewer benefits. This decrease in net wages hurts doctorate graduates, who are already saddled with higher debts.
Universities are forced to cut costs because they are “stressed by a lack of [government] funding,” said Cox. “The government has got to step up and fund post-secondary education.”
He said these hiring procedures also reduce the number of professors conducting research and universities have a responsibility to grow their research and development programs in order to keep pace with the rest of the world.
While the survey addresses the current employment of 2005 graduates, 2009 graduates have had their employment prospects hurt by the recent economic downturn.
“All of the university career centres across Ontario have noticed a decline after Christmas,” said Dawn Legault, Director of Carleton’s Career Development and Co-operative Education centre, which offers career counseling, resume reviews, mock job interviews, co-op placements and career fairs for Carleton students and grads.
Carleton has had a 15-to-17 per cent decline in employers registering for career fairs in the winter term, Legault said.
However, the centre has noticed an increase in job postings, with 9,251 positions available this year, up from just over 8,500 last year. Legault said this may be because employers are still hiring but are less willing to spend money on active recruitment, opting instead for the free online job postings.
As the economy recovers, the centre expects hiring to increase once more, with “an upswing noticed by Christmas,” Legault said.
Legault shared Cox’s opinion that universities have a responsibility for helping their graduates find employment.
“Getting a diploma is not the end of the relationship,” Legault said. “Carleton provides unlimited support to its alumni, regardless of what point they are at in their careers.”