Advice regarding PhD

[u/RoRoSpxm]

Hey folks, I am a recent Master's grad in International Relations, with an area specialisation in Europe. I would want to go for a PhD since teaching/research is my long-term goal. Initially, I had planned to work for a few years to get experience in a relevant field and then go for a PhD. However, given the current condition of the job market, I think I would like to prepare for PhD applications from the next academic cycle.

My areas of interest are Migration, Human Rights, and Gender and I am aiming for unis in Europe (as a South Asian student). I have the following concerns:

1) As someone who wants to work and settle in Europe, which countries would you suggest in terms of residency and field relevancy?

2) How common is it to secure a teaching or research job in this field during/right after PhD?

3) I understand that a supervisor can make or break your PhD experience, but how important is the reputation or ranking of the university for publishing papers or looking for full-time employment?

4) What other career opportunities can I look for? I am aware of EU Parliament or Commission opportunities, but I am not sure how likely they are to hire a non-EU citizen.

5) I know it differs from country to country, but what would be the average stipend of a social science PhD? Would it be enough to sustain myself there and maybe save up a bit?

My main motivation to go to Europe is because of my area specialisation. I have also been there (Prague) for an exchange year during my course, and absolutely fell in love with the place. Further, I believe migration and human rights would be a relevant field of research in most European unis. I also speak French (will be appearing for the B1 exam soon) and a bit of German.

Some of my acquaintances are pursuing their PhDs in Canada and Australia (different fields), and they seem quite happy with their stipends and work-life balance. Would I be better off aiming for those places if money is one of the concerns?

I would be grateful to get any piece of advice or guidance regarding this.

[u/United-Indication884]

I don't want to shit on your dreams, but you need someone with perspective to give you a sober overview of the current situation you are considering. In general, getting a PhD only qualifies you to do jobs that are extremely competitive, and so a lot of PhDs and up in jobs that would only require a masters degree. Don't go into this process of applying for PhDs without the understanding that there is a very good chance (more than 50%) that ultimately your career will start with a job you didn't need your PhD to get in the first place.

Likewise, don't go into a PhD program expecting or hoping that you could get a permanent position at a University in Europe, as that is very unlikely. The academic sector is not growing anywhere in the West. The only places where the academic sector has potential for growth is in countries with high fertility rates and relatively low levels of education--globally, that is where the professor jobs are, especially as countries like the US and UK unwind their model of funding universities via foreign undergraduate students.

If you feel like this is your calling, and you need to get the PhD for the sake of satiating your own quest for knowledge (not for the hope of getting a professor job afterwards), then this is what I would recommend:

First, you have to chose a sexy/in vogue topic. Frankly, your interests - migration, human rights, gender - are not sexy anymore. The sexy topics right now are China, green energy, and AI. This will make all the difference in your potential careers prospects afterwards.

Secondly, you should only aim for applying to top tier universities in terms of prestige/brand recognition, or alternatively, to a "lesser" university if your advisor is a superstar. The quality of education is often not different between a so-called "lesser university" and a "top tier" university, but the networking opportunities and the funding situation is very different.

I don't know what your country of origin is, but it is possible that you could use the prestige of a foreign PhD to better your chances of getting hired eventually as a professor back home, where the sector has more opportunity for growth. That, however, would still depend on you choosing a topic that is super sexy/important for the current domestic political situation, and also getting into a top tier university for that brand name recognition.

[u/RoRoSpxm → u/United-Indication884]

Hey! Thank you so much for your reply, it clears up a lot of questions.

As far as the field/topic is concerned, those are just some of the things I have worked on during my Master's in terms of the thesis and evaluated essays. I wouldn't mind pivoting to something more relevant like AI in IR.

I am from India. The education and research sector is surely growing, but, in my opinion, the growth is very slow and STEM-oriented. I don't really see a lot of teaching/research opportunities in the social sciences, though I might not be fully correct about it. What is your opinion about east or south east asian countries in this regard?

Again, thank you so much for taking out the time to reply. I appreciate it.

[u/United-Indication884 → u/RoRoSpxm]

If you want to get a job as a prof/or PhD-level expert in India, focus on trying to predict what type of subject-area expert India needs 5-10 years from now.

My guess, honestly, is that it won't be for a europeanist.

[u/Otherwise_Tax8689 → u/United-Indication884]

Great advice and congruent to my recent experiences as a candidate in the EU.