With hiring on hold in many sectors, what should graduate students, postdocs, and their universities be doing?
In the next few years, graduate students and postdocs will very likely face the worst job market in a generation, and many of them lack strategies and support to manage the tumult. Faculty hiring will almost certainly be at a near standstill in the next academic year. In other economic downturns — such as the Great Recession of 2008 or the Covid pandemic — graduate students could extend time in their programs or move into postdoc positions. But this time, federal cuts have eliminated many postdoc positions and constricted funding for existing graduate students. A shrinking federal work force means fewer job opportunities in that sector for Ph.D.s. And uncertainty caused by tariffs and the trade war threatens to slow hiring in the private sector.
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