Employment in Italy

From
Date
Greetings.

Just my luck: my first posting to the list, and it is a about a rather bleak
subject.
However, Dr MacLeod asked yesterday
>Does anyone have any
>current figures for employment in paleontology in particular and/or science
>in general available?

Not so general, but I have some.
What follows are a few data about the situation in Italy, as published a few
months back in a small unofficial "guide" for geology students and would-be
students.
Enjoy.

Just for starters, consider please the following: the Italian Geological
Service currently employs 40 geologists, and no further hirings are planned.
Now, some figures
- Between 1980 and 1992, 1124 persons took their degree (B.Sc equivalent) in
Geology at the University of Rome, "La Sapienza".
- Of said 1124 persons, less than 1% completed the studies in the proper 4
years of courses. The remaining 99% had to spend from 6 to 8 years instead
of the expected 4. In the majority of cases, much of the extra time was
spent in field work for the final degree paper.
- About the 80% of said graduate students was able to find a job in his/her
field of study after 2 to 4 years of expectancy.

The "La Sapienza" figures can be easily extended to any other University in
our country, and so are generally indicative of the Italian situation.
It might seem incredible, but the above employment data are to be seen as
_optimistic_; the point is that much less than 80% of graduates can wait 2
to 4 years for the right job (see below for some different figures).
Also, post-graduate positions such as 3-years research doctorates, and
part-time positions inside the University are taken into account here,
further increasing the apparent number of satisfied geologists working in
the geological field.

But there's more.
ISTAT, an Italian institute for statistical services published a booklet in
'96, that was distributed free of charge by the university offices to both
students and staff, reviewing a shorter term situation (3 years instead of 12).
According to ISTAT, of all the Italian geology graduates of 1992, only 38.8%
were doing some work somehow related to their degree in 1995; 29.7% were
still looking for any kind of job, while the remaining 32% were doing some
kind of part-time or non-qualified work. 
The Natural Sciences degree was not faring better, also: of all the Italian
naturalists graduated in 1992, 37.4% were still looking for a job in '95.
As for Biology, with 50.3% of the '92 graduates still out of work in 1995,
it was the absolute worst case (the general average of unenployed graduates
is 23%).

So, generally speaking, the outlook here is, as I said, bleak.

Also, in 1992, the structure of the Geology Courses was modified, bringing
the number of exams up to 27 from the original 17 and adding 1 year to the
expected 4 years of study. Such changes seem to have increased the overall
difficulty of getting to the end of it all. Again, according to ISTAT data,
currently only one student out of three goes on to complete his course of
studies.
At the moment, here in Turin University, where I'm currently working on my
extremely belated Micropalaeontology degree, the general attitude of the
teachers is to advise the students to leave the university and go find a
"proper" job, instead of "wasting time" with geology, and many are following
such advice. 


I wonder if this is enough of a horror story for Dr. Hale.

And this is all.
Cheers.

                                        Davide Mana
                                        Torino, Italy