6. Conclusions
This study has analyzed the factors conditioning PhD careers in the private sector in general and in the manufacturing sector in particular. The statistical analysis was carried out on a sample of Spanish PhD holders who are currently facing important changes in their labor market. Traditionally, Spanish PhD holders have been employed in the public sector, but the economic crisis has now forced them into the private sector. The excessive accumulation of PhDs in the Spanish public sector (80% of PhDs surveyed were employed in this sector) contrasts with the low PhD employment rate in the private sector. This has become a serious problem for Spanish firm competitiveness because scientific knowledge is not being transferred intensively to industry through science and technology human resources. A descriptive analysis of PhD employment in the manufacturing sector revealed that, although Spanish PhDs maintain a substantial role in the chemistry industry (which employed 61% of all of the surveyed PhDs), they were not generally important across a broad segment of the manufacturing sector. In addition, PhDs in computer science and mathematics, two areas that are considered especially relevant for the industry's future, represented less than 1% of the PhDs working in manufacturing firms. In this context, it remains important to understand the complex scientist mobility process to firms.
