Why is it so hard to land a job in academia, R&D and HigherEd?

Is it AI or something else?

The difficulty of securing a suitable academic position has become a defining feature of contemporary research systems. Doctoral output has expanded steadily, while the number of stable faculty and research posts has grown only modestly. This imbalance has produced a labor market in which large cohorts of highly trained researchers compete for a limited set of long-term opportunities.

Much of this pressure is absorbed through contingent positions. Postdoctoral appointments, research fellowships, and short-term contracts now constitute a prolonged early-career phase rather than a brief transitional period. The result is a landscape marked by uncertainty, fragmented career trajectories, and rising expectations for publication, funding, and international experience. These structural conditions—not individual shortcomings—explain why otherwise strong candidates struggle to find positions aligned with their training and goals.

In this environment, timely, field-specific information has become essential. Researchers need faster awareness of emerging positions, shifting institutional priorities, new funding schemes, and developments across their discipline. Science Briefing was designed in direct response to this need: by providing highly targeted updates filtered by field, subfield, and keywords, it reduces the information burden that early-career researchers face when navigating an increasingly competitive market.

For scholars who want to stay ahead of opportunities rather than reacting to them, joining Science Briefing offers a practical advantage: less time searching, more time preparing strategically. Researchers who wish to receive these tailored updates can sign up and customize their settings to match their academic trajectory.