As the job market is tight for those with PhDs in science, it is important that they develop other skill sets
The number of PhD graduates has proliferated over the decades — while there were only a dozen doctorates till 1920 in India (the first was awarded in 1904), there were 24,000 in all disciplines from about 900 institutions in 2017. While the number may not be surprising, what is disquieting is that of the 6,000 people granted science PhDs annually, not even 2,000 find decent employment today.
More doctorates, less positions
Let’s look at the numbers. There were 326 PhD-awarding institutions in 2000; this rose to 912 in 2017. According to the University Grants Commission and the Department of Science and Technology, the number of science PhD holders tripled in the same period. With the number of PhD holders surpassing the number of opportunities created, many are left without jobs.
The top-ranked universities in India grant around 2,500 science PhDs each year. In chemistry alone, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras grants over 25 PhDs every year. The number is similar in the older IITs, which means that there are 150 chemistry PhDs from these IITs every year. The remaining 11 newer IITs (the latest six are not being considered) add another 100 PhDs. The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) account for about 150, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for about 25, the older Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) for about 60. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) labs and institutions of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) add another 100 PhDs. Top universities produce about 250. In all, we have more than 800 chemistry PhDs a year.
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