Overspecialization of PhDs?

Author : Andrea H.

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This article prompted my post: https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110420/full/472261a.html There has been an ongoing (and very heated) debate in many of our trade journals about whether PhDs are overspecialized.  Yes, I think overspecialization in our particular fields of study may be an issue, in terms of finding jobs post-thesis.  And yes, there may be too many PhD's for the demand (if a company only needs a Bachelor-level engineer to run the reactor, why pay a more expensive PhD?).  I’ve heard of many highly talented PhDs that are finding it difficult to find jobs that perfectly fit their qualifications.  I think there are a lot of issues at hand here, so I’ll try to touch on some.  I’d be curious to hear other opinions as well.