<p>A look at the numbers shows why getting a tenured faculty job at a research university is so competitive.</p>
<p>Looking at some home pages of CS faculty who list their former students, they appear to supervise approximately one PhD graduate per year. So let’s say that a tenured faculty member at a research university produces 30 to 40 PhDs over the course of his/her career.</p>
<p>That is obviously far more than s/he needs to produce to replace himself/herself. It also means that, for the new PhD graduate, getting to a tenured faculty job at a research university is highly competitive, especially given that one is competing against others who are good enough to complete PhDs in the same field.</p>
<p>Most PhD students and graduates should consider that the most likely destination is elsewhere, such as a faculty position elsewhere (regional undergraduate or master’s university, LAC, community college, or high school) or non-academic job. While PhDs in some fields may be in demand for non-academic research jobs, that may not apply to all fields.</p>