Consider The Professor
A future in academia can be a rewarding and fulfilling occupation
RAJ CHETTY
If you’re reading this article as a student in India, you’re probably deciding what
career to pursue after college. And pursuing a career in academia as a Professor of
Economics—which is my field—is probably not very high on your list. This article
will try to convince you that a career in academics and scientific research is
actually an option you should consider seriously.
Indians are surprisingly under-represented in PhD programmes in economics and
other pure academic disciplines at the leading US universities. Every year, we
receive hundreds of applications for the Economics PhD programme at Harvard
from students in Europe, South America and China, but only a handful of
applications from Indians. As a result, there are far fewer Indian professors relative
to doctors, engineers and computer scientists.
Having grown up in India for eight years and followed the experience of my two
sisters who went to college in India, I know that the lack of applications for PhD
programmes from India is not caused by a lack of talent. There is an enormous pool
of talented students at colleges in India who would be extremely successful in
research and academia in the US. Many of these bright students choose to go to the
private sector rather than academics.
Why are Indians under-represented in academics generally and especially in the
field of economics? In talking with Indians outside academia, I have come across
three broad misconceptions that appear to be responsible for their reluctance to
consider this field. The first two are about academia in general—both economics
and other sciences—and the third pertains to economics in particular.
Misconception 1: The job of a professor is purely to teach classes.
You might think
of a professor as
just
regurgitating
knowledge
printed
in
books. But profs
at leading US
universities
spend 75 per
cent of their
Many people view professors as skilled teachers and are concerned that
they may not be good at teaching. While teaching is a very important
and valuable aspect of the job of a professor, focusing only on the
teaching aspect of the job can lead to an under-appreciation of the
social value of pursuing a PhD. At an extreme, some may view a
professor as simply regurgitating knowledge that was printed in a book hundreds of years ago. But
professors at the leading universities in the United States actually spend more than 75 per cent of
their time on research. The main criterion for promotion and professional advancement is having
an impact on knowledge through one’s research rather than teaching well. Indeed, many of the
fundamental discoveries that make our quality of life better today than a hundred years ago were
made by academics in various fields. These discoveries are the underpinning for modern medicine,
technology and economic and social policies. For example, basic discoveries on the importance of
trade and deregulation led to policy changes in India in the 1990s that resulted in dramatic growth
that changed millions of Indians’ lives. It is the potential to make discoveries that have such a
fundamental impact on the world that makes the job of a professor exciting.
time
research.
on
Hon’ble profs: Amartya Sen (Harvard)
Misconception 2: Academia is a very tough life, particularly financially.
As an economist, I’m happy to acknowledge the importance of this practical concern. But I think the
monetary rewards of academia are highly misperceived. This is especially true at top universities in
the US, where salaries for star professors compare favourably with many specialties in medicine or
law. Some people ask, “Why are economists and scientists paid so much to sit and think?” I think of
the answer one of my colleagues at Berkeley gives: “If Milton Friedman’s research helped us avoid
another Great Depression, then he’s paid the bill for all the economists in this generation.” Of course,
not every person is going to do what Milton Friedman did. But if one out of every ten thousand
does, it’s worth paying researchers a lot. This leads naturally to the third misconception, which is
about what economists do.
Hon’ble profs: Kaushik Basu (Cornell), Jagdish Bhagwati (Columbia)
Misconception 3: Economics is not a ‘real science’ and does not use
technical skills.
Many bright students naturally have a propensity toward “hard
sciences” that are technically challenging, such as math or physics. In
As a colleague
India, economics is often classified with the liberal arts, and is
put
it,
“If
perceived as a subject that cannot be approached scientifically. Modern
Friedman’s
economics, however, feels very much like applied mathematics or
research helped
physics in its tools. Indeed, many successful professors have
us
avoid
undergraduate backgrounds in pure mathematics, physics or
another Great
engineering. The modern economist is an applied mathematician who
Depression,
develops and tests precisely formulated mathematical theories using a
then he’s paid
wide range of statistical methods. Economists now speak in the
the bill for all
language of experiments as do natural scientists, and develop models of
the economists
the economy much as physicists develop models of nature. Economics
in
this
is a difficult science because one cannot easily run experiments on
generation.”
humans and because the economy is a very complex system. But the
scientific approach to economics is immensely valuable, because every
economic policy decision the government makes affects the welfare of millions of people
immediately. That is what makes this field fun, challenging and important.
The
modern
economist is an
applied
mathematician
who
develops
and
tests
precisely
formulated
mathematical
theories using a
wide range of
statistical
methods.
Because of the importance of economics in improving social welfare,
having bright Indian students trained in top PhD programmes in the US
is of great value to India. Attending a PhD programme in the US is the
easiest way to reach the frontier of the field and make a substantial
impact. More Indians studying in the US will lead to more well-trained
economists who can improve economic policymaking in India. Some of
these economists may return and encourage more Indian students to
come to the US for PhDs, creating a virtuous cycle.
So if you are a student reading this article who is curious about how the
world works and wants to have a significant impact, consider a career in
academics and research. We need more talented people like you to
address the most important scientific and social challenges of our time.
(Raj Chetty, 33, is one of Harvard’s youngest professors, and recently won
the John Bates Clark Medal from the American Economic Association for his pioneering work on
education.)