<p>I’ve told this story before but: For 20+ years I worked in pharmaceutical research. Seven years ago my Very Large Employer suddenly close down the entire research site where I worked. More than 2000 people were out of work, and of those, many had PhDs and Masters. (In my division - chemistry - everyone had at least a masters.)</p>
<p>I know many, many chemists and biologists who were unemployed for more than a year; I know several who STILL have not found gainful employment, except for gigs at Home Depot. Many of us collected unemployment and several have been on food stamps. Those who found other jobs with other pharmaceutical companies have had mixed luck, but many are now laid off from their second or third employer. I’d say the vast majority of those people I know who did find jobs are now underemployed - and most are making much less money than they did before the site closure.</p>
<p>How many chemistry/biology tutors does an area need? How many adjunct professors can one geographical region sustain?</p>
<p>For those of us who did land jobs (albeit at lower pay and usually less-than-ideal working situations) - the masters didn’t seem to hurt, but it didn’t help, either. I heard many more hard-luck stories from the PhDs I know.</p>