What structural issue creates a known bottleneck when securing a permanent, tenure-track faculty position in astronomy?
Answer
Each professor mentors many graduate students over their career, limiting openings
The academic path towards a permanent professorship is notoriously competitive due to a structural supply-and-demand imbalance within university departments. Experienced professors, who are essential for guiding the next generation of researchers, mentor numerous graduate students throughout their careers. When these students complete their Ph.D.s, the number of available tenure-track faculty positions opening up across dedicated departments is significantly smaller than the pool of newly minted Ph.D. holders, leading to intense competition for those rare, stable academic posts.
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