" ... each year thousands of graduates emerge from medical schools with a virtually useless M.D. or D.O ..." - Emma Goldberg, The New York Times, February 19, 2021.
The core problem, as in so many professions, is glut. As usual, a shortage was projected (I wound up in the same sort of pickle in the early 1970s). Enrollments in medical schools were increased. But the residency programs didn't also increase by the same percentage. Medical school graduaes, especially from foreign schools, have wound up in limbo, unable to secure placement in a residency program.
Meanwhile, according to the Association of Medical Colleges, the average student loan debt is $201,490.
This saga of unmarketable advanced degrees isn't new.
At the end of the 1960s, the federal government projected a shortage of college professors in the humanities. As an incentive to encourage the best and brightest to enroll in doctoral programs in fields such as literature and language, the NDEA IV fellowship was created. It paid tuition and a stipend for three years for doctoral studies. After that, it is usual in graduate programs for other kinds of funding to be available. One sources is being a teaching fellow.
Among the best and brightest, I accepted that supposed plum offer. By the time I was doing my dissertation five years later, the market for college professors in the humantieis had collapsed. After two years of a job search search, I gave up. Possible emplyers outside of academia didn't respect my credentials. Those who did labeled me "over-qualified."
For several years I wandered in the workworld wilderness, trying on a variety of bad-fit jobs. It wasn't until 1979 that I landed a corporate communications job position that paid well.
Interesting to note, because of the glut, the few who were hired for academic positions often were let go. The reasons ranged from "being too liberal" to "not being serious enough." You bet, it was a buyers' market. Still is.
Obviously, betting on an advanced degree includes the risk that the demand and the external market conditions could change while you are studying.
In 2008 - 2008, graduates of law schools encountered that. Many of them had to change career paths after being laid off or not landing that first all-important job. When the market recovered, who got the job offers were the new crop of graduates and laterals with a brandname and book of business.
Yes, that can happen again.
Currently, law school applications are up. That can trigger glut. Also, market conditions can shift and there will be massive reductions in force. Technology can eat through a large number of lawyer jobs.
Also, take note that another development in the healthcare field has also resulted in unemloyment for doctors. During COVID-19, many people feared that going to the doctor's office would up the odds of contracting the virus. So they stayed away. Medical practices had to shut down. The doctors had to hustle to find work. Some didn't. One former medical doctor I coached was able to migrate into Pharma writing.
Those considering investing their time and funds in an advanced degree that requires years of study have to get it that there can be major risk involved. The law of supply and demand usually has the upper hand.
The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)
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