133 



The unemployment statistic for scientists and engineers, it's a 

 problem, but it's smaller than just about any other category. 



That our universities should reconsider the nature of graduate 

 education to prepare their new doctors, their new PhDs so that 

 they can qualify for jobs in more than their thesis specialty, that 

 their role model need not be the university professor any more, but 

 they should have broader horizons, that kind of an education would 

 help with this kind of program. 



Mr. Cramer. What do you mean by broader horizons? 



Dr. Press. Well, there's no reason why someone who does a the- 

 sis in astronomy could not think in terms — there are very few posi- 

 tions in astronomy. But such an individual is highly qualified usu- 

 ally in computers and the transfer of information over long dis- 

 tances, huge amounts of archived information. 



They might be qualified to work as an engineer, as a computer 

 scientist, as a programmer, in so many different areas in sectors. 



And so, in my field, someone who studies rocks and minerals, 

 they can work very well as materials scientists, one of the key 

 fields facing our industry. 



So broadening the nature of doctorate education I think is one 

 way that the universities are beginning to talk about, and they 

 may move in that direction. 



Mr. Cramer. But we would be investing federal monies in train- 

 ing those individuals to do those things. 



Dr. Press. But what's wrong with that in the sense that these 

 will become the creators of new industries, new business. These 

 will help — these individuals with their training will help the econ- 

 omy grow. And whether they contribute to problems of disease or 

 economic growth or the environment, that's all very good stuff. 



But the key point I've left out. 



During their training, they contribute to the productivity of 

 American science. I would guess, eventually guess, that half the 

 productivity of American science is due to graduate students. And 

 the things that have made us very strong and great, to a large ex- 

 tent, go back, devolve to the contributions of graduate students. 



So they are earning their way while they are in school, and then 

 when they go out of school, they're superbly trained for a number 

 of different opportunities. 



Mr. Cramer. But is that in fact what's been happening? We've 

 been keeping them there in that academic environment in the tra- 

 ditional way, haven't we? 



Dr. Press. But they're not just sitting there. They're in the lab- 

 oratories. They're helping their faculty and their sponsors in their 

 research. 



It's a very remarkable system we've created, this combination of 

 training, of research, of these research universities, and that's 

 something that we shouldn't dismantle. 



Dr. Fox. Mr. Cramer, perhaps another way of thinking about 

 this is to recognize that advanced training at the master's or doc- 

 toral level should perhaps better be thought of in the way that one 

 thinks about a law degree. 



Many people take law degrees without ever intending to practice 

 law. 



