Persevering post-PhD: contemporary issues for early career academics

The rising levels of educational attainment in the Republic of Ireland are highlighted by the 2011 Census of Population reports published by the Central Statistics Office in 2012. Configured data contained in the penultimate report reveals that 31% of the population held a third-level qualification in 2011, an increase from 14% in 1991, and that 21,970 people held Level 10 (PhD) qualifications, of which 2,848 (13%) were in the Arts and Humanities. Although these statistics do not reflect the total number of doctorates awarded by Irish higher education institutions before April 2011 – or take into account the numbers of awardees who have emigrated in search of employment – they represent a significant 52% growth on 2006 figures.24 Furthermore, despite the challenging economic milieu and an overall decline in postgraduate enrolments, figures published by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for 2011 show that full-time enrolment on PhD research programmes in HEA-funded institutions continues to increase.25 While any expansion of access to the highest levels of educational attainment can only be welcomed, the steady build-up of PhD graduates in the Humanities with few or no employment prospects in academia must be seen as an undesirable outcome.