Career path

More and more people are choosing a university education because it is seen as ‘higher’. But university is designed to train academics, not a workforce. This creates friction: there are more doctoral candidates than academic positions, meaning many end up outside academia. Hence, voices are growing louder — as in Isabelle Kohler’s article — that universities must better prepare doctoral candidates for the job market. But should fundamental research really be adapted to the demands of industry? A doctorate is intended as preparation for a scientific career. You learn to conduct independent research, supervise people, and publish to academic standards. The fact that these skills may also prove useful in industry is a welcome bonus, but not the primary purpose of the programme. If we reshape the doctorate into job preparation, we lose the training of the academic. The problem lies in the education system. Vocational and applied higher education lead to concrete professions; university education leads to scientist. When more and more people end up at university who are actually looking for a high-level professional qualification, the system begins to strain. One solution is to introduce a new form of doctorate: at academic level, but professionally oriented. Universities already offer master’s tracks aimed at industry or society. By applying this same principle to PhDs, you can immediately give an entire group of doctoral candidates renewed career prospects.