5. Few postdocs have realistic prospects of a regular faculty position
The postdoc population, which has grown very rapidly in U.S. universities and is recruited increasingly from abroad, looks more like a pool of low-cost research lab workers with limited career prospects than a high-quality training program for soon-to-be academic researchers. Indeed, if the truth be told---only a very small percentage of those in the current postdoc pool have any realistic prospects of gaining a regular faculty position.

New faculty positions versus new PhDs

Source: Nature Biotechnology 31, 938–941 (2013) doi:10.1038/nbt.2706

"Since 1982, almost 800,000 PhDs were awarded in science and engineering (S&E) fields, whereas only about 100,000 academic faculty positions were created in those fields within the same time frame. The number of S&E PhDs awarded annually has also increased over this time frame, from ~19,000 in 1982 to ~36,000 in 2011. The number of faculty positions created each year, however, has not changed, with roughly 3,000 new positions created annually."

Immediately related elementsHow this works
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Mapping the Systems of Science and Technology »Mapping the Systems of Science and Technology
Cultivating science and technology »Cultivating science and technology
State of the US science and engineering workforce »State of the US science and engineering workforce
The Realities »The Realities
5. Few postdocs have realistic prospects of a regular faculty position
5. Post-doc status offers excellent training for young scientists »5. Post-doc status offers excellent training for young scientists
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