faculty focus
Science of employment
Norton urges end to push for more science students, as jobs may be harder to find. By Dallas Bastian
The government must refrain from pushing students to study science, the Kemp-Norton Review urges.
“ The evidence on employment outcomes has never supported the goal of increasing the number of graduates [ in that area ],” Andrew Norton, Grattan Institute’ s higher education program director and coauthor of the review, says.“ In the younger age groups, science graduates have significantly lower chances of getting professional or managerial employment than [ graduates from ] other disciplines that draw on similar aptitudes, such as health, engineering or IT.”
Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Learning and Work 2010 – 11 data, which looks at the relevance of bachelor’ s degree graduates’ qualifications to their current jobs finds that 55 per cent of science graduates are working in the same field, whilst 19 per cent are in a different field that was still relevant to their degree.
The percentage of science graduates working in their field was lower than that for agriculture, commerce, IT, engineering, architecture, health and education.
“ Of course some people study science mainly out of personal interest, and so these employment outcomes may not always be personally disappointing,” he says.“ But there is no sign that the nation as a whole needs more science graduates, which was the claim made by the government at the time and by the chief scientist, professor Ian Chubb, since.”
Norton says life sciences graduates in particular have seen their employment prospects weaken significantly.“ The enrolment data suggests that the full impact of the post-2009 science enrolment boom has not yet hit the labour market,” he adds.
Despite these figures, Norton doesn’ t the government shouldn’ t cap the number of science places. But he says misleading signals about the demand for graduates should be stopped.
Professor Merlin Crossley, dean of the faculty of science at the University of New South Wales, says Norton and co-author David Kemp are right to sound a warning.“ I agree with Kemp and Norton that the recent dramatic increase in tertiary student numbers does mean that not everyone will get a job in the first few months after graduation,” he says.
He adds, however, that studying science is still a good choice and Australia needs more scientifically trained, scientifically literate, and confident people.“ Science remains an ideal first degree that keeps all doors open,” he says.“ Obviously, it is particularly suitable for all students who like science and are good at it.”
Crossley says a careful look at the data reveals that science is not markedly different from the average of any other discipline. Still he adds,“ Given the large number of new students who have chosen science recently, it is not surprising that not everyone walks into a job.”
Despite this, he says, the chief scientist has clearly explained that jobs requiring technical and analytical skills are growing in number.
“ Scientific credentials are highly prized in both scientific jobs and in other fields where analytical skills are required, both in Australia and throughout the world,” he says.“ There is no indication that there is, or is likely to be, a downturn in demand for graduates with rigorous analytical skills.”
Committed students who get into good science courses at strong institutions have better prospects than ever before and should pursue such study, Crossley says. On the other hand, he warned,“ Scraping into a science degree in an institution that is not specialising in science is not a good recipe for walking into a job.” He says this may still be a good stepping stone for further study and a good long-term strategy, as scientific qualifications are internationally respected.
Professor Trevor Hambley, dean of science at the University of Sydney, says many graduates move into further training in research or work in areas such as medicine, teaching and various business disciplines.
When looking at the current figures, Hambley says, information that is collected only four months after graduation doesn’ t provide a complete picture of student outcomes.
“ The Australian Bureau of Statistics has recently identified the STEM areas as the most rapidly growing employment sector in Australia,” he says.“ Within this, there are a number of areas such as geosciences and agriculture where demand is high and expected to grow further.” ■
30 | campusreview. com. au