(Endogenous) occupational choices and job satisfaction among recent Spanish PhD recipients

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse differences in overall job satisfaction and specific job domain satisfaction among PhDs employed in different sectors four years after completing their doctorate degrees. The author take job satisfaction as a comprehensive proxy of perceived job quality. The author draw on data from two successive cohorts of PhD graduates from public universities of Catalonia (Spain). Design/methodology/approach – First, the author estimate covariate-adjusted job satisfaction differentials for PhD holders employed in different employment sectors, namely: university, research institutes, public sector (government and public administration) and private sector. A stepwise inclusion of job-related covariates enables appreciating the underlying mechanisms that that generate the observed job satisfaction differentials across sectors. Second, the author take into account the endogenous sorting of PhDs into different sectors by jointly modelling sector choice and job satisfaction, where the former is assumed to follow a mixed multinomial logit model. Findings – The results indicate that PhD holders employed outside academic and research jobs are more satisfied with the pecuniary facets of their work, but significantly less satisfied with non-monetary aspects of job quality. The selectivity-corrected job satisfaction differentials highlight the importance of self-selection and confirm that PhD holders suffer a penalisation for working in non-academic occupations, thus revealing the existence of “academic rents”. Originality/value – This is the first paper that presents a systematic and consistent analysis of job satisfaction differentials among PhD holders that work in different types of occupations, taking into account that sector choice is an endogenous variable, potentially related to unobserved traits that affect job satisfaction. The results are rich of policy implications, which are especially relevant in the light of the existing debate regarding the excess of PhD in the labour market of several European Countries and their subsequent risk of underemployment.

The Determinants of Tourist Use of Public Transport at the Destination

“…It has also been applied in a wide variety of fields of study, and particularly in those related labour, health, and education economics. Using this econometric technique it has, thus, been possible to study other topics, including how women combine work and family duties [38], the impact of migration on socio-economic status of the families [39], the relationship between mothers' work pathways and health [40], the impact of different degrees of activity on the psychological wellbeing of midlife and older adults [41], admission processes in the intensive care units of hospitals [42], the relationship between social class and obesity [43], the implications for the academic results of students of them combining work and study [44], the satisfaction and work-related decisions of people with doctorate degrees [45], and the impact of the choice of educational centre on the implication of parents in the education of their children [46]. However, to date, no applications of this econometric technique have been found in the field of transport, despite the fact that it makes it possible to approximate the effect of the unobserved characteristics of individuals on the outcome variable of the model.…”

Wage returns to interregional mobility among Ph.D graduates: Do occupations matter?

“…First, we examine the broader category of R&D related occupations by means of the dummy R&D, that takes value one if individuals carry out a research intensive job in any of the productive sectors of the economy and zero otherwise. Indeed, we take into account that the job prospects of Ph.D holders in industry, public administration and governmental institutions are becoming more and more common over time (Bloch, Graversen, & Pedersen, ; Di Paolo, ) even if working in academia is among their most preferred matched occupations (Conti & Visentin, ). Accordingly, we also compute the dummy academic, which takes value one if the respondent works in the academic sector, and zero otherwise.…”

“…We examine the impact of the field of study ( studyfield ) as it provides information on competences and academic background that may affect job preferences (Bloch et al, ). It also allows to take into consideration that some fields offer wider opportunities of employment outside the traditional academic sectors (Di Paolo, ) or unique career paths (Abreu et al, ). The dummy Ph.D_end , which records if the Ph.D student has completed the programme in the (fixed) due time, depicts the commitment and the motivation that may act as a positive signal to get matched jobs (Di Cintio & Grassi, ).…”

Satisfacción e importancia de las competencias adquiridas en la universidad según la perspectiva de graduados y de ocupadores: una primera aproximación

“…Estas encuestas surgen debido al interés de las universidades catalanas, tanto públicas como privadas, por conocer la calidad de la inserción en el mercado de trabajo de los recién titulados. La AQU analiza la inserción laboral de los graduados universitarios desde la perspectiva de los titulados cada tres años desde el año 2002 y desde la perspectiva de los ocupadores en el año 2014 4 . No se han considerado titulados en máster o doctorado.…”

“…3 La Generalitat de Catalunya crea esta agencia en 1996 con el objetivo de promover la calidad y la mejora de las universidades catalanas (www.aqu.cat). 4 En la actualidad se está implementando una nueva encuesta desde la perspectiva de los ocupadores. 5 La muestra representa el 55,43 por 100 de la población con un error muestral del 0,51 por 100.…”