It appears that the narrowly focused Ph.D. is not what industry needs. Rather, they require people from programs that stress the skills for working in teams, interpersonal skills, ethical awareness, and management potential. The traditionally trained Ph.D. may not fit those needs. This may be a good time to reconsider the purpose of the Ph.D. and to consider restructuring graduate education to accommodate different career paths. In addition, the structure and face of Academe is changing.
Tenure is under attack.
With research funding decreasing, fewer schools can expect to function as research universities. The availability of resource materials is changing. As resources for traditional library acquisitions decrease, libraries are forced into finding alternative means for providing students and researchers with the materials they need. One solution has been an increase in reliance on computer databases. Not only does this mean that one must prepare to do research in a different manner, but different skills are required on the part of the researcher.