A bottleneck in career opportunities
A good reputation as a scholar is no guarantee of a future professorship, however. No other European country has so few academics employed in permanent positions as does Germany. Experts are even talking about a "bottleneck" with respect to the job market for PhDs. "Anyone who does not manage to make the leap into a professorship is often caught between two stools," says Huber.
After 10 years in academia and already in their mid-40s, applicants are not particularly attractive to industry, and permanent appointments to junior faculty positions are rare. Tenured professor or bust? This is rarely the case in other countries. "In the USA, the tenure track system offers junior academics good jobs, with the prospect of permanent positions," says Pongratz. Tenure track professorships do exist in Germany, but a rather rare.
Funding, better working conditions, and new positions
Recently, however, these problems have been attracting attention in Germany, as well. "Change is on the horizon," confirms Huber. "Funding for research has been increased, working conditions are being improved, and new positions, such as junior research group leader and junior professor, have been created."
In addition, there are ever more fellowships and funding programmes available for postdocs from Germany and abroad. These programmes have spurred a number of changes: be it the possibility of carrying out one's own research project over a period of three to five years or the opportunity to lead an entire research group. Nevertheless, this shift is only in its early stages, as Huber explains. "It is still difficult to combine an academic career with having a family, and there are still not enough alternatives to being a tenured professor. Nonetheless, there are clearly positive new developments."