Focus on measuring predictors of career outcomes for graduate students & postdocs
Little is known about the career prospects of advanced degree-trained individuals, despite the considerable resources they and the institutions that train them devote to developing these scholars & scientists.
Recently, institutions have been collecting and reporting important training and outcome data.
However, more needs to be done to improve our understanding of career prospects for Masters and Ph.D. students and well as postdoctoral scholars. Such data will allow us to better prepare these talented individuals for a changing 21st Century workforce.
My research has shifted from my training in Neuroscience toward work that seeks to better understanding career outcomes of graduate students and postdocs. In addition, I seek to understand the effect professional development programming initiatives have on career outcomes.
Recently, institutions have been collecting and reporting important training and outcome data.
However, more needs to be done to improve our understanding of career prospects for Masters and Ph.D. students and well as postdoctoral scholars. Such data will allow us to better prepare these talented individuals for a changing 21st Century workforce.
My research has shifted from my training in Neuroscience toward work that seeks to better understanding career outcomes of graduate students and postdocs. In addition, I seek to understand the effect professional development programming initiatives have on career outcomes.
Research Work
Work conducted in collaboration with members of the Future_PI Slack Community
Featured in Nature & Science Careers
Key Take-Home Points:
We hope that this study will provide an avenue for better data-driven decision making by the applicants and search committees, better evidence-based mentorship practices by principal investigators, and improved hiring practices by institutions.
UPDATED 8/7/2023:
We have recently made data from the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 faculty applicant surveys available for individuals to review and filter along a variety of demographic metrics (research field, gender, and PEER (Person Historically Excluded due to Ethnicity or Race) status of applicants). You can see how a variety of productivity metrics and accomplishments differ (or not) in those who received a faculty offer versus those who did not based on our data.
We hope this dashboard helps Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars make informed choices about their competitiveness for a faculty position at a research intensive institution.
Explore our Applicants' Data Dashboard
Featured in Nature & Science Careers
Key Take-Home Points:
- Analyzed 317 responses to an anonymous survey for faculty job applicants from the May 2018 - May 2019 market cycle
- Participants:
- Largely from North America
- Mostly conducting research in biological/biomedical sciences
- Participants were highly successful with 58% of applicants receiving at least one offer.
- Traditional metrics (funding, publications, etc.) of a positive research track record above a certain threshold of qualifications were unable to completely differentiate applicants that did and did not receive a job offer.
- Applicants’ perception of the faculty job application process as unnecessarily stressful, time-consuming, and largely lacking in feedback, irrespective of a successful outcome.
We hope that this study will provide an avenue for better data-driven decision making by the applicants and search committees, better evidence-based mentorship practices by principal investigators, and improved hiring practices by institutions.
UPDATED 8/7/2023:
We have recently made data from the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 faculty applicant surveys available for individuals to review and filter along a variety of demographic metrics (research field, gender, and PEER (Person Historically Excluded due to Ethnicity or Race) status of applicants). You can see how a variety of productivity metrics and accomplishments differ (or not) in those who received a faculty offer versus those who did not based on our data.
We hope this dashboard helps Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars make informed choices about their competitiveness for a faculty position at a research intensive institution.
Explore our Applicants' Data Dashboard
Traditional metrics of scholarly productivity were assessed against faculty offer percent (Offer % = # of offers/# applications).
While continuous data was split by median for illustrative purposes, correlation analyses were also conducted and supported these relationships, or lack thereof.
(Excerpt from Fig 5)
We are continuing this work by examining the faculty job market from the applicant's perspective over the past several years, including COVID-19 impacts. Learn more about our work on our Faculty Job Market Collaboration website.
Newly Featured! Updated July 26, 2023
Meta-Analysis of graduate student and postdoctoral education and training research Publication from the Postdoc Academy
Newly Featured! Updated May 25, 2023
Pre-prints on mentoring
Pre-prints on faculty job market
Other new research worth promoting:
Newly Featured! Updated May 1, 2022
Meta-Analysis of graduate student and postdoctoral education and training research Publication from the Postdoc Academy
Newly Featured! Updated May 25, 2023
Pre-prints on mentoring
- Insights from a survey of mentorship experiences by graduate and postdoctoral researchers
- The faculty-to-faculty mentorship experience: a survey on challenges and recommendations for improvements
Pre-prints on faculty job market
- Beyond the Leaky Pipeline: A Quantitative Analysis of the Academic Job Market in Humanities and Social Sciences
- The U.S. academic job market survives the SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic
Other new research worth promoting:
- What’s another year? The lengthening training and career paths of scientists
- Demographic characteristics of participants in graduate college professional and sociocultural development programming
Newly Featured! Updated May 1, 2022
- National Bureau of Economic Research Fall 2021 Conference Papers: Investments in Early Career Scientists: Data and Research Gaps
- An import collection of working papers on graduate education and Ph.D. holders' and postdoctoral scholars' career paths, including how advanced degree training skillsets map onto career preparation and how career paths of postdoctoral scholars may differ for temporary visa holders versus other groups.
- And see the Spring 2022 Conference collection, where papers will be added in the coming months!
- What is a Traditional Scientist Career? Evidence from the Survey of Doctorate Recipients
- Leak or Link? The Overrepresentation of Women in Non-Tenure-Track Academic Positions in STEM
Graduate-Level Career & Professional Development Programming Impact
A cross-institutional analysis of the effects of broadening trainee professional development on research productivity
Remote learning barriers and opportunities for graduate student and postdoctoral learners in career and professional skill development: A case study
A structured professional development curriculum for postdoctoral fellows leads to recognized knowledge growth
Scientific Workforce Trends & Career Motivations of Graduate Students and Postdocs
The PhD Factory: The world is producing more PhDs than ever before. Is it time to stop?
Science PhD career preferences: Levels, changes, and advisor encouragement
Why pursue the postdoc path?
The impact of postdoctoral training on early careers in biomedicine
Career choices of underrepresented and female postdocs in the biomedical sciences
Factors that influence the transition of university postdocs to non-academic scientific careers: An exploratory study
Postdocs’ advice on pursuing a research career in academia: A qualitative analysis of free-text survey responses
Skills & Experiences Needed for Career Success Post Graduate Degree
Intellectual synthesis in mentorship determines success in academic careers
Labor and skills gap analysis of the biomedical research workforce
Aligning doctoral education with local industrial employers’ needs: A comparative case study
An evidence-based evaluation of transferrable skills and job satisfaction for science PhDs
Postdocs’ lab engagement predicts trajectories of PhD students’ skill development
The Academic Career Readiness Assessment: Clarifying Hiring and Training Expectations for Future Biomedical Life Sciences Faculty
Measuring Career Outcomes of Graduate Students and Postdocs
Making Strides in Doctoral-Level Career Outcomes Reporting: Surveying the Landscape of Classification and Visualization Methodologies and Creating a Crosswalk Tool
The 10,000 PhDs project at the University of Toronto: Using employment outcome data to inform graduate education
An institutional analysis of graduate outcomes reveals a contemporary workforce footprint for biomedical master’s degrees
Applying inter-rater reliability to improve consistency in classifying PhD career outcomes
Visualization of gender, race, citizenship and academic performance in association with career outcomes of 15-year biomedical doctoral alumni at a public research university
The career outlook of engineering PhDs: Influence of postdoctoral research positions on early career salaries and the attainment of tenure-track faculty positions
Illuminating systematic differences in no job offers for STEM doctoral recipients
PhD and postdoc training outcomes at EMBL: changing career paths for life scientists in Europe
U.S. postdoctoral careers in life sciences, physical sciences and engineering: Government, industry, and academia
Factors that Influence the Transition of University Postdocs to Non-Academic Scientific Careers: An Exploratory Study
Papers Focused on Implementing Career & Professional Development Programs for Grad Students & Postdocs
Applying Experiential Learning to Career Development Training for Biomedical Graduate Students and Postdocs: Perspectives on Program Development and Design
Creating and sustaining collaborative multi-institutional industry site visit programs: a toolkit
Using Stakeholder Insights to Enhance Engagement in PhD Professional Development
Skill Development in Graduate Education
Introducing Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Training into a Biomedical Sciences Graduate Curriculum
Supporting Postdoc to Faculty Conversions & Increasing Faculty Diversity
A New Effort to Diversify Faculty: Postdoc-to-Tenure Track Conversion Models
Professorial Advancement Initiative: A Cross-Institutional Collaboration to Increase Faculty Diversity in STEM
Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in US faculty hiring and retention
COVID Impact on Scientific Workforce
The Effect of COVID-19 on the Postdoctoral Experience: A comparison of pre-pandemic and pandemic surveys
Contributions from the community:
Publications on the Postdoctoral Experience (submitted by Jennifer Miller, Ph.D.)
Why we are here: A review of the literature on motivations for postdoctoral appointments
Isolated in the lab: Examining dissatisfaction with postdoctoral appointments
Postdoctoral appointments: Motivations, markets, and experiences (Miller's UNC Dissertation)
A cross-institutional analysis of the effects of broadening trainee professional development on research productivity
Remote learning barriers and opportunities for graduate student and postdoctoral learners in career and professional skill development: A case study
A structured professional development curriculum for postdoctoral fellows leads to recognized knowledge growth
Scientific Workforce Trends & Career Motivations of Graduate Students and Postdocs
The PhD Factory: The world is producing more PhDs than ever before. Is it time to stop?
Science PhD career preferences: Levels, changes, and advisor encouragement
Why pursue the postdoc path?
The impact of postdoctoral training on early careers in biomedicine
Career choices of underrepresented and female postdocs in the biomedical sciences
Factors that influence the transition of university postdocs to non-academic scientific careers: An exploratory study
Postdocs’ advice on pursuing a research career in academia: A qualitative analysis of free-text survey responses
Skills & Experiences Needed for Career Success Post Graduate Degree
Intellectual synthesis in mentorship determines success in academic careers
Labor and skills gap analysis of the biomedical research workforce
Aligning doctoral education with local industrial employers’ needs: A comparative case study
An evidence-based evaluation of transferrable skills and job satisfaction for science PhDs
Postdocs’ lab engagement predicts trajectories of PhD students’ skill development
The Academic Career Readiness Assessment: Clarifying Hiring and Training Expectations for Future Biomedical Life Sciences Faculty
Measuring Career Outcomes of Graduate Students and Postdocs
Making Strides in Doctoral-Level Career Outcomes Reporting: Surveying the Landscape of Classification and Visualization Methodologies and Creating a Crosswalk Tool
The 10,000 PhDs project at the University of Toronto: Using employment outcome data to inform graduate education
An institutional analysis of graduate outcomes reveals a contemporary workforce footprint for biomedical master’s degrees
Applying inter-rater reliability to improve consistency in classifying PhD career outcomes
Visualization of gender, race, citizenship and academic performance in association with career outcomes of 15-year biomedical doctoral alumni at a public research university
The career outlook of engineering PhDs: Influence of postdoctoral research positions on early career salaries and the attainment of tenure-track faculty positions
Illuminating systematic differences in no job offers for STEM doctoral recipients
PhD and postdoc training outcomes at EMBL: changing career paths for life scientists in Europe
U.S. postdoctoral careers in life sciences, physical sciences and engineering: Government, industry, and academia
Factors that Influence the Transition of University Postdocs to Non-Academic Scientific Careers: An Exploratory Study
Papers Focused on Implementing Career & Professional Development Programs for Grad Students & Postdocs
Applying Experiential Learning to Career Development Training for Biomedical Graduate Students and Postdocs: Perspectives on Program Development and Design
Creating and sustaining collaborative multi-institutional industry site visit programs: a toolkit
Using Stakeholder Insights to Enhance Engagement in PhD Professional Development
Skill Development in Graduate Education
Introducing Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Training into a Biomedical Sciences Graduate Curriculum
Supporting Postdoc to Faculty Conversions & Increasing Faculty Diversity
A New Effort to Diversify Faculty: Postdoc-to-Tenure Track Conversion Models
Professorial Advancement Initiative: A Cross-Institutional Collaboration to Increase Faculty Diversity in STEM
Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in US faculty hiring and retention
COVID Impact on Scientific Workforce
The Effect of COVID-19 on the Postdoctoral Experience: A comparison of pre-pandemic and pandemic surveys
Contributions from the community:
Publications on the Postdoctoral Experience (submitted by Jennifer Miller, Ph.D.)
Why we are here: A review of the literature on motivations for postdoctoral appointments
Isolated in the lab: Examining dissatisfaction with postdoctoral appointments
Postdoctoral appointments: Motivations, markets, and experiences (Miller's UNC Dissertation)