At a recent science meeting in San Diego, some young scientists asked me to identify significant job trends. I replied that industrial employers, especially in the pharmaceutical sector, are increasingly seeking employees with master's degrees tailored to their specific business needs. "So is this the death of the PhD?" one of them asked provocatively, noting the paucity of university positions. Well no, clearly not.
Nevertheless, this rising demand for master's degrees could act as a springboard for a qualification in the United States called the professional science master's (PSM) degree (see Nature 445, 458; 2007). This offers a blend of team-building and communication skills, legal and regulatory information and business savvy that employers tend to like. And as it takes only two to three years to complete, it is attractive to those scientists wary of spending years on a PhD and perhaps a postdoc, only to fail to reach the desired career outcome.
On 11 July, the PSM was endorsed by a US National Academies panel, which saw a niche for it in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and defence sectors. The panel backed the idea of degrees that foster communication and business skills in addition to science know-how. Although conventional master's in computer sciences and geosciences often offer a clear path to the workplace, the broad curricula in physics, biology and chemistry often provide fewer practical skills for jobs outside academia.
The PSM is not an inevitable runaway hit. The degree programmes must produce graduates who have success in industry and thereby make the PSM a reputable choice for future students. And there is the issue of cost. In the United States, PhD training is often paid for with grant money or fellowships. As a result, some life-sciences graduates earn their conventional master's for free after declining to continue with their PhD. Many students will have to pay for the PSM — but is it worth it? If it quickly leads to a well paid job, it certainly might be. Scientists and employers seem to agree that a new class of training is in order. Now students and institutions have to find a way to ensure that it's worth the investment.