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Most public service jobs in Indonesia don’t need PhD

Research in 2018 revealed that only 60 percent of individuals obtained higher managerial positions upon returning from studies overseas, and only 51 percent of them obtained a higher salary.

Bitra Suyatno (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta
Mon, October 14, 2019

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Most public service jobs in Indonesia don’t need PhD Research in 2018 revealed that only 60 percent of individuals obtained higher managerial positions upon returning from studies overseas, and only 51 percent of them obtained a higher salary. (Shutterstock/File)

A

n ambitious target was set by the former administrative and bureaucratic reform minister, Yuddy Chrisnandi. In 2016, he stated that there were around 4.5 million public officials, but only around 2 percent, or 90,000, had a doctoral degree.

This year, the number is targeted to reach 5 percent. As we are now approaching the end of the year, it is worth asking how close we are to reaching that lofty goal, and do most jobs in public service really need individuals with a doctoral degree?

In most countries a doctoral degree is a basic requirement for a career in academia because it is an introduction to the world of independent research.

Logically, the fresh doctoral graduates have new or upgraded skills to conduct independent research, so organizations should consider placing them in good fit jobs that require research and analytical skills.

However, some master’s and doctoral degree scholarship recipients have been placed in bad fit jobs (not in their area of expertise) or in low ladder positions. Research in 2018 revealed that only 60 percent of individuals obtained higher managerial positions upon returning from studies overseas, and only 51 percent of them obtained a higher salary.

If we scrutinize lower level degrees such as master’s degrees, data in 2012 surprisingly revealed that in Aceh, 217 scholarship graduates from overseas were unemployed.

However, many government employees still believe in the equation of higher degree education being equal to a good career. That is why many of them pursue higher education through for instance scholarships.

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