In chemistry, about two-thirds of Ph.D.'s take jobs outside academe, he says. Until recently, that market was weak, too. The chemical industry is coming back, but more slowly. Most scientists aren't cutting back their research operations, unless they have lost financing, he says. Instead, many are accepting fewer graduate students and creating more postdoctoral jobs.
People can live decently.
It's not as if they're flipping hamburgers. The job market has prompted Philip C. Hanawalt, a professor of biology at Stanford University, to accept fewer graduate students in his laboratory and to offer longer postdoctoral positions. Since 1970, he has produced 24 Ph.D.'s. The last time he accepted a new student was in 1993-94. He may accept one in 1996-97, he says.