I haven't been able to follow the entire thread but one thing I draw from what I have read is that it is incumbent on those of us who work with students at all stages in their academic careers to also advise them to consider the job market in their chosen disciplines. In so doing, they make more informed decision and they study with eyes open wide on the possibilities open to them at the next stage in their life and career journey. Much easier said than done. It reminds me of two PhD markets in recent years. One, where hundreds of applicants vied for the reported 2 or 3 job openings that year and second the hundreds of positions open for the 2 or 3 PhD candidates graduating each year. Hopefully we advise our students of the job market realities. One place a student might look for this information can be found here. http://www.bls.gov/ooh/occupation-finder.htm
*Kevin Klein [image: True Blue] <http://www.ic.edu/>* Professor of Economics Program Coordinator- Environmental Biology and Ecological Studies Co-Chair - Environmental Program Development Committee Illinois College 1101 West College Avenue Jacksonville, IL 62650 217.245.3474 Survey of Economics, 4e, by Dolan and Klein<http://www.bvtstudents.com/details.php?25>, 2010, BVT Publishing, <http://www.ic.edu/> <http://webmail.ic.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.ic.edu/> My Web page <http://www2.ic.edu/klein> On Sun, Feb 9, 2014 at 12:46 PM, Judith S. Weis <jw...@andromeda.rutgers.edu > wrote: > Since women generally live longer than men, what reason, aside from > discrimination, does China have for requiring them to retire 5 years > earlier? > > > > > In China academics (at least ecologists) have a mandatory retirement > > age of 60 for men (can be extended to 65 if you're actively advising > > graduate students), and 55 for women. When I asked a female faculty > > member about that in a visit to China 2 years ago, she seemed very > > accepting of the idea that opportunities had to be opened for young > > scientists. > > > > My department is running a search for 2-3 new faculty members this > > semester, and advertised an open-rank open-area opportunity. 650 > > applied (I reviewed 250 applications), and we're interviewing 6. One > > is an ecologist. I know of a search for a theoretical ecology > > position this spring at another university, and I think about 55 > > applied. I may put together an article about these searches later > > this spring. > > > > David Inouye > > > > At 10:20 AM 2/9/2014, you wrote: > >> I've already received many, many replies in the first 48 hours > >> since I posted my request. I've heard from more people than I can > >> easily count--recent Ph.D.s, graduate students, even undergraduates > >> with difficult stories of hard work, perseverance, and increasing > >> despair that they will ever find work in the disciplines they've > >> trained for. I will do my best to respond to everyone who's > >> contacted me; if you haven't heard from me yet, it's only because > >> there are so many others who have also poured out their fears and > >> their frustrations. There are a great many people in our field who > >> have found their calling, earned their degree, and now can find no > >> way to support themselves--the invisible and disregarded of modern > >> academia. Because many of you have expressed concerns about > >> privacy, let me say that I won't share names, affiliations or any > >> other identifying details unless the individuals involved grant > >> their permission. If you or a friend have been hesitating out of > >> personal concerns, please know that I consider every contact a > >> confidence, and I don't intend to break that > >> trust. > >> - J. A. > >>John A. <omnipithe...@yahoo.com > > >
