if 2% of jobs require a phd, and 3% of people have a phd, basic market logic suggests this would lead to lower salaries.

this logic applies to all levels of higher education nowadays. i've seen jobs that require masters degrees in biology (plus experience) advertised at $13/hr.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/jobs/earning-a-phd-in-canada-probably-not-worth-the-time-or-money-study/article27445026/ 

mcscotty
Try applying your logic to the educators themselves, specifically Ontario teachers.

deathtokoalas
because high school teachers hand out phds.

the disdain for education is really just comical, guys. but, even the most liberal of classical economists will agree that the only way to get wages up in a situation where supply outstrips demand is by unionization.

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j-j
Would like to see a breakdown by areas of specialty. I would think that the job opportunities for a doctorate in some technical or scientific fields would be better than for a fine arts or musicology graduate.

deathtokoalas
the stats actually suggest that stem majors have higher unemployment rates. but, i'm going to take the initiative in explaining why.

see, about 20 years ago we went through this grand social phase where everybody told all the young people to study stem courses. so, everybody got a stem degree.

but, while that was happening, automation began to encroach in traditional stem employment spaces. on top of that, we had the onset of globalization. the result was that the number of stem jobs actually decreased, while the number of stem majors drastically increased.

the result, today, is that the supply of stem majors drastically outpaces the demand for stem majors. this has the effect of depressing wages.

the experts will tell you that the way to get a high-paying job in today's economy is to study financial services. it's the only industry that has positive growth rates.