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Reflections Blog

Ph.D. Employment Trends - Insights from NSF Survey of Doctorate Recipients

8/26/2021

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Scientific Workforce, Ph.D. Career Pathways
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The United State's National Science Foundation (NSF) collects a wealth of data on individuals who received their doctorate degrees from US universities. Back in April, they released their most recent batch of data from their 2019 Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR). The SDR provides demographic, education, and career history information from all individuals with a research doctoral degree in a science, engineering, or health (SEH) field from a university in the United States. As the SDR seeks to capture the full scope of US SEH Ph.D. employment, it surveys anyone with a Ph.D. in SEH fields from a US university regardless of year of graduation: some SDR respondents received their Ph.D.s a few years ago and some 20+  years ago. This is different from the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) which surveys new US Ph.D. recipients and whose data I shared in an earlier blog post. Here, I will delve into some of the trends observed in the 2019 SDR data to give those with a Ph.D. in a SEH field more insights into employment possibilities after they receive their degree.  
Important Disclaimer
SDR data is from a survey of US doctorate recipients and therefore does not reflect the full scope of Ph.D.s employed in the United States. In addition, as it only surveys those who received their Ph.D. in the United States, it does not capture individuals who obtained their doctorates outside the country and then came to the US for additional training (ie, postdocs) and employment. Finally, as with all surveys, there is certainly some selection bias regarding who completes the SDR. Discussions and insights here are based on SDR data and will be limited in their generalizability based on inherent limitations in the SDR.
​For more on the SDR methodology, see the Survey Overview details on their website.
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Where are SEH Ph.D.s Employed
Across all doctorate recipients surveyed in the 2019 SDR, the US states with the largest proportion of science, engineering, or health Ph.D.s employed in them included the District of Columbia (technically not a state but represented in the state-level data; ~2.5% of the population are SEH Ph.D.s), Massachusetts (0.8%), and Maryland (0.6%). The median percent of any state's population consisting of employed SEH Ph.D.s was 0.2%. While DC, Massachusetts, and Maryland remained the top states employing biological, agricultural, and environmental life science Ph.D.s, others with high proportions of bio science Ph.D. employment included Vermont, Montana, Connecticut, North Carolina, Nebraska, California, & Washington state. Note that as these are calculated as proportion of a state's 2019 population, states with relatively low population counts (Vermont, Montana, & Nebraska) have many less Ph.D. scientists employed in them than larger states. For example, according to the 2019 SDR, there are 32,900 biological, agricultural, and environmental life science Ph.D.s employed in California (with a population of 39.5 million in 2019) while Vermont has 600 (among a population of ~600,000). 

Top 10 states for employing computer science Ph.D.s: DC, Washington, Massachusetts, California, Maryland, New York, Utah, Virginia, Oregon, New Jersey

Top 10 states for employing physical science Ph.D.s: DC, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, Connecticut, California, New Jersey 
And many of these states are also top employers of engineering Ph.D.s.

Given these data you may have more luck pursuing Ph.D.-level employment in certain areas of the country over others. 
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How many Ph.D.s are working as postdocs?
Across all SEH Ph.D.s surveyed in 2019, ~3.3% of those employed worked as a postdoc. However, the percent of employment represented by postdocs varied by field of doctorate with ~6.1% of biological, agricultural, and environmental life science Ph.D.s employed as postdocs while ~1% of computer science Ph.D.s were employed as postdocs. The percentage of engineering Ph.D.s employed as postdocs was ~2%.

Given a postdoctoral position is by definition temporary, one would expect the percent of all employed SEH Ph.D.s in a postdoc would be rather low. While the general proportion of Ph.D.s employed in postdocs is relatively low, some of the trends in postdoctoral employment are concerning. 

​Unfortunately, many postdocs have been in their positions longer than the 5 year post-Ph.D. guidance outlined by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's The Postdoctoral Experience Revisited report released in 2014 (see press release). According to the 2019 SDR data, 19% of all science postdocs were >5 years from the date of their Ph.D. being awarded and this percentage was slightly higher (21.3%) for biological, agricultural, and environmental life sciences postdocs. So, as many as 1 in 5 postdocs employed in the US are 5+ years past receiving their terminal degree.

In addition, over the past 10 years a larger proportion of the US postdoctoral population is being filled by those 5+ years post-Ph.D. In the 2010 SDR data, only 13.1% of all science postdocs and 14.9% of bio, ag, and environ life science postdocs were >5 years from their Ph.D. being awarded. And while the 2019 data is off the peak of >25% of postdocs >5 years from their Ph.D. seen in 2015, the proportion of Ph.D.s employed as postdocs >5 years from their terminal degree is still ~45% higher in 2019 than 2010. 
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Percentage of all postdocs employed each year of SDR collection who received their Ph.D.s more than 5 years ago. Note the rapid growth in the percent of postdocs >5 years from their terminal degree from 2010 to 2015 and that 2019 data is still ~45% above 2010 levels. SEH= Science, Engineering, & Health
So, while improvements have been made around limiting long postdoctoral training periods, more needs to be done to assist these individuals in transitioning into more permanent positions either within or outside academia. 
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How many SEH Ph.D.s work for colleges or universities
Across all science ("all science" refers to all SEH fields surveyed except engineering and health) Ph.D.s surveyed in the 2019 SDR, ~48% work for and educational institution while ~30% are employed by a for-profit company and ~8% work for either the federal or state government. The distribution of sectors employing Ph.D.s in 2019 differed markedly by the field of the individual's doctorate degree with employment by educational institutions quite high for the social sciences (~67% of employed Ph.D.s) and for-profit companies being the largest sectors employing computer & information science (~54%) and engineering Ph.D.s (~58%).
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Nearly half of all science Ph.D.s surveyed in the 2019 SDR were employed by educational institutions. The distribution of employment sector by Ph.D. degree field varied markedly, however (see below).
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While educational institutions are the top employers of social science Ph.D.s, they employ ~47% of those with Ph.D.s in the biological, agricultural, and environmental sciences. The proportion of engineering and chemistry Ph.D.s employed by educational institutions is even less with for-profit companies employing 50%+ of Ph.D.s from these fields. 

These data suggest certain sectors of employment may be more available to particular Ph.D. fields than others. It is difficult, however, to disentangle whether engineering and chemistry Ph.D. skills, for example, are more valued by for-profit companies than those in the social sciences or whether there is a greater openness to pursuing non-academic careers in these areas. It is possible there are things to learn from specific departments and programs who place Ph.D.s into diverse career areas that could be modeled by others. Certainly, providing diverse career pathways for Ph.D.s is critical as the "traditional" path of obtaining faculty positions becomes less available in many fields. 
Ph.Ds. Employed at Educational Institutions Who are Tenured Faculty or on Tenure-Trac
Among the ~108,000 respondents to the NSF SDR 2019 survey who reported being employed at educational institutions in the US, 44.5% were tenured or on the tenure track <10 years since receiving their doctorate degree. This percentage jumped to 69.1% in those 10+ years from degree award. However, there were noticeable differences by degree field in the percentage of Ph.D.s employed at educational institutions who were tenured faculty or on the tenure-track <10 years from their Ph.D. with ~25% in this category among the biological, agricultural, and environmental life sciences to 60%+ for computer and information sciences and social sciences Ph.D.s. 
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Percentage of early career Ph.D.s employed at US educational institutions in tenured or tenure-track faculty roles varies by Ph.D. field with relatively low percentages in the life sciences and high percentages in computer & information sciences.
One might speculate that looking at these data for those <10 years from their Ph.D. points to a potential bottleneck to obtaining faculty positions among certain fields. Also, the length of postdoctoral positions and/or use of more contingent positions (lecturer, research associate) in educational institutions could be higher in some fields than others. The SDR data can offer some insights as the proportion of postdocs who are 5+ years from obtaining their Ph.D. is higher in the life sciences fields which also had the lowest proportion of Ph.D.s employed at educational institutions in tenured or tenure-track faculty positions (plotted in green in the graph below and above, respectively). 
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Percentage of Ph.D.s employed as postdocs who are 5+ years from receiving their Ph.D. degrees, by Ph.D. field of study. SEH = Science, Engineering, & Health
While certainly the life sciences have the highest percentage of Ph.D.s employed as postdocs 5+ years from their Ph.D. and the lowest percentage of those <10 years from Ph.D. in tenure-track or tenured faculty roles, there is not perfect correspondence between lengthy postdocs and percentage of early-career Ph.D.s employed as tenured or tenure-track faculty. This could be for a myriad of reasons as the SDR data is not perfect. Remember, it only surveys individuals who earned their Ph.D.s in the United States. Thus, fields where a high percentage of workers obtain their Ph.D. outside the US are going to have less respondent representation in this survey.

For instance, we know that many postdoctoral scholars in the United States are international, who either obtained their Ph.D. in the US and continued in postdoctoral training via various visa types or who received their Ph.D. outside the US before doing a postdoc in the US. The 2019 SDR shows that ~54% of US Ph.D.s employed as postdocs are US citizens and other data from NSF shows ~49% of postdocs in the US were born oversees. In some fields including computer science and engineering, NSF estimates 55-60% of Ph.D.s working in those areas in the United States are foreign-born. Thus, the various employment trends shared so far can be affected by various limitations to employment for those individuals requiring visa sponsorship by their employer, the frequency of which may differ by Ph.D. field and the proportion of international students and scholars working in that area in the United States. I discussed some of the challenges around being an international scholar in the US (including visa restrictions) in an earlier series of blog posts.    

​Regardless of how international scholar dynamics may affect these data, it is clear from the 2019 SDR data that there are vast differences in the proportion of "early career" Ph.D.s in tenure-track or tenured faculty positions based on their degree field. ​
Decline in "Early Career" Ph.D.s Working in Tenure-Track & Tenured Faculty Role
Much has been made of the decline in faculty positions available to Ph.D.s over recent years. The SDR data allows us to partially look at this trend by asking how the percentage of Ph.D. recipients employed at 4-year educational institutions has changed over the years. Here, I decided to look at the SDR data from 2010 and compare it to 2019.
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Over the past 9 years the percentage of tenured faculty who are less than 10 years from the Ph.D. in most science fields has declined by 25-30%. The decline is less steep for tenure-track faculty in the life and physical/earth sciences. Furthermore, the proportion of engineering Ph.D.s <10 years from degree employed at educational institutions in tenure-track positions has actually increased from 2010 to 2019 based on the SDR data. Even in the engineering group, though, securing tenure by 10 years post degree has become less common, presumably as the need and/or length of postdoctoral positions have increased.  

The 2021 SDR data collection is currently underway and I will be very curious to see how these data look post-COVID. Will the percentages of early career Ph.D.s able to enter the faculty ranks fall even further? Only time will tell. 
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Median Salary Data for Science & Engineering Ph.D.s 
As mentioned earlier, the prevalence of Ph.D. labor in the US who are supported on temporary visas is quite high. Many international students come to the US for their graduate training and seek employment in the country after finishing their degrees. The SDR data reports out median salaries for Ph.D. holders by citizenship status, which is plotted below by doctoral degree field. 
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The 2019 SDR data show that, in general, temporary residents with Ph.D.s make less than US citizens and permanent residents but not in all fields.
It is clear from these data that median salaries are lower, in aggregate, for temporary visa (J1, H1-B) holders in virtually all Ph.D. fields except mathematics & statistics AND social sciences. US permanent residents' median salaries also tend to be lower but not in all fields. In fact, in computer & information sciences and mathematics & statistics permanent residents earn slightly more than US citizens. 

It is difficult to speculate too much on these data but one potential reason for lower median salaries for temporary visa holders in particular could be the result of many of these individuals working at US universities where the visiting scholar (J1) visa category is commonly used when an individual is working as a postdoctoral scholar or some other contingent, non-tenure track position (research associate). When a temporary visa holder is employed by a company, however, they require H-1B sponsorship which is subject to a "prevailing wage" which should prevent these individuals' salaries being below "market" rate, at least in theory. The largest sponsors of H-1Bs in the US are typically companies working in the computer & information sciences or data analytics where Ph.D.s in the areas of computer science, math, and statistics would be in high demand. So, the increased salaries for temporary visa holders in those fields could be driven by who is employing the doctorate recipients (technology companies paying high wages).  
Beyond who employs Ph.D.s what work they do can drastically affect their level of compensation. As seen in the graph below, Ph.D. recipients whose primary work activity is teaching have lower median salaries than those in research & development (R&D) roles or focused more on professional services, administration, management, or sales. Clearly these data are also colored by who is employing Ph.D.s as teaching roles are almost entirely within universities whereas R&D roles could be at companies, universities, government agencies, or other employers. 
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Median salaries for Ph.D.s are lower for those whose primary work activity is teaching, regardless of Ph.D. field.
Note, however, that SDR data show the percentage of Ph.D.s whose primary work activity is teaching is ~10-15% of science and engineering Ph.D. recipients (see table, below). And there has been relatively little change in the percentages of Ph.D. recipients reporting their primary work role as teaching over the past few years. The general distribution of primary work roles for science and engineering Ph.D.s from 2017 to 2019 has remained relatively stable. And, as has been discussed in a previous post, the fact that greater than a third of science and engineering Ph.D.s report their primary work role as falling in areas outside research and development or teaching emphasizes the fact that there are many positions in administration, communications, management, and more that fall outside of the main boxes of teaching and research available to Ph.D. holders. I will be interested to see whether these distributions of work roles shift post-pandemic in the 2021 SDR data. Will there be less teaching roles? More R&D, especially in the life sciences? Or will the "something else" category continue to grow as Ph.D.s pursue more diverse career pathways?
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Salary Growth for Science & Engineering Ph.D.s with Additional Years of Experience
The previous two salary graphs plot median salaries for all US Ph.D. recipients who completed the 2019 SDR. So, there are individuals in those data who are 20+ years from receiving their Ph.D.s and those who graduated only a few years ago. NSF also reports data by Ph.D. field filtered by years since doctorate which shows that the median salaries 5 years or less from being the Ph.D. awarded tend to hover around the $80,000 level though it is higher in some fields (most notably computer & information sciences). Median salaries are less different across Ph.D. science and engineering fields the further from the doctorate one looks. 
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Median earnings for Ph.D.s increase with years of experience.
This final graph nicely illustrates the value Ph.D.s provide to their employers. One could speculate that as individuals with Ph.D. skills including critical thinking, problem solving, and knowledge synthesis also gain work experience post-Ph.D. employers value them more. Fifteen years from receiving their doctorate the median salary for all science & engineering Ph.D.s is $100,000+ and many are making well over that amount. Ph.D. training provides a valuable skillset when coupled with practical experience and knowledge of how to apply those skills through working with diverse employers. Perhaps training programs can do a better job of providing some of the practical skills valued by a variety of employers during graduate school to help aid Ph.D.s' transitions to employment after their degree? 
Final Thoughts
The NSF SDR data is an essential tool to help science and engineering graduate students, postdocs, and those who support them understand how the landscape of employment continues to evolve over time. Information on employment sectors and median salary data can also be helpful as recent Ph.D. recipients plot out the next step in their careers and understand their worth. 

There are certainly glaring issues that are evident in the NSF data as well. The fact that many Ph.D. recipients <10 years from their degree employed at educational institutions are not in tenure-track faculty or tenured faculty roles speaks to the erosion of the faculty career path for many. 

Furthermore, the proliferation of postdoctoral positions and other contingent roles is a problem. And while the number of those who received their Ph.D.s from US institutions officially employed in extended postdoctoral positions (5+ years post-Ph.D.) may be diminishing, we have less data on how many of these individuals have been captured by other job titles (such as research associate) when they "age-out" of the postdoc which may similarly lack pathways to permanent, well-compensated employment.

Certainly there are many unanswered questions in understanding the evolution of the Ph.D. workforce but NSF data provides critical insights which, when collected over time, allows for us to begin to observe changes in various employment metrics.

​I encourage you to explore the data for yourself at the links below.

For Further Reading
  • ​PhD Recipients' Employment Trends: Insights from NSF Data
  • ​The Challenges of Being an International Researcher: Implications for Advanced Degree Labor Markets PART 1 & PART 2  ​
More Data to Explore 
  • Explore the NSF Data Referenced in this Post 
  • NSF Survey of Doctorate Recipients Data
  • NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates Data
  • More from the National Center for Science & Engineering Statistics
  • Explore USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub
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Factors that Affect Career Choice and Diversity in Science

5/27/2021

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Scientific Workforce, Ph.D. Career Pathways
This post originally appeared on the North Carolina State University Graduate School's ImPACKful blog.
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Marcus Lambert, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Research Strategy and Operations at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and his colleagues have been interested in understanding factors that affect whether biomedical postdoctoral scholars pursue career paths as faculty, particularly at research-intensive institutions. They have published two studies on the topic over the past few years:
  • ​Career choices of underrepresented and female postdocs in the biomedical sciences
  • Postdocs’ advice on pursuing a research career in academia: A qualitative analysis of free-text survey responses
​Below I summarize some of the insights from these studies as well as thoughts shared by Lambert when he visited NC State in Fall 2020 to discuss his work with our graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. 
The Problem
Training and mentorship often do not align with careers available for Ph.D.s and postdocs.

Academia has traditionally viewed graduate education and postdoctoral training as preparation for a faculty career. However, estimates of the number of PhDs who enter tenure-track faculty positions range from 8 percent for life science Ph.D.s within 5 years of graduation to 20 percent for biomedical postdocs. 

Thus, our training programs must reimagine the pipeline to address the needs of a changing scientific workforce, particularly as they relate to diversity.
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Lack of Diversity in Faculty: A Leaky Pipeline
Perhaps one of the more striking datapoints Dr. Lambert presented during his talk is that while the percent of underrepresented minorities earning bachelors, Ph.D.s, and entering postdocs in the biological sciences has risen over the last 20 years, their representation in full professor roles has not increased since 2001. 

Data have shown that underrepresented groups including women and certain racial/ethnic groups are less interested in a faculty career at research-intensive institutions than well-represented male researchers. 

Surveying Postdocs to Understand Their Career Choices
Dr. Lambert presented data he and his colleagues collected from postdoctoral scholars regarding their motivations for academic research careers. This research group was specifically interested in understanding what factors motivate postdocs to persist in academia. In total over 1,200 postdocs from 50 universities were surveyed. 

What were the results?
Nearly 50% of respondents reported a faculty career at a research-intensive institution as their top choice.
  • Interest in a faculty career wains around year 2-3 of the postdoc, representing a potentially critical time for mentorship and career support to be provided.
  • Those reporting that self-worth and career mentorship were large determinants in their career choice were more likely to indicate an interest in a research-intensive faculty career.
  • Conversely, those rating financial security as a key determinant of their career choice were more likely to pursue non-faculty careers.
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The Importance of Outcome Expectations & Research Self-Efficacy in Determining Faculty Career Choice
Two key metrics, outcome expectations and research self-efficacy, were higher among those interested in pursuing a faculty career versus those who chose career paths outside academia. 
  • Outcome expectations: expectancy (will my effort lead to high performance), instrumentality (will performance lead to desirable outcomes), & valence (do I find the outcomes desirable) lead to a motivational force to pursue an academic research career
  • Research self-efficacy: belief in one's own ability to succeed at research-related tasks (publish, secure grants, mentor students, develop novel & successful research ideas)

Female postdocs rated themselves lower in research self-efficacy and had lower outcome expectations than male postdocs. Self-worth, the sense of one's own value or worth as a person, was also a strong factor in determining career choice. In fact, the strongest predictors of underrepresented minority postdocs indicating an interest in pursuing a research-intensive faculty career were positive self-worth and high research self-efficacy. Similarly, the best predictor for women indicating an intention of pursuing an academic research position was positive self-worth. 

Research self-efficacy is associated with higher rates of first author publications, particularly for female and underrepresented postdocs. Thus, programs that increase research self-efficacy could have positive impacts on supporting postdocs and their overall research productivity.
Underrepresented Postdocs Desire More Specialized Training
Underrepresented postdocs were more likely to indicate a desire for more specialized training to assist them in pursuing a faculty career including:
  • A transitioning to research independence course
  • A scientific teaching course
  • Fellowships and grants to support investigators like them
  • Training in the application of basic science principles to community-based settings
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Qualitive Insights - Advice for Pursuing an Academic Research Career
These results, just released in PLOS One, focused on investigating advice postdocs would give others pursuing academic research careers.

Specifically, the authors investigated text responses to the question:
"What advice would you give someone thinking about an academic research career?”

Data from 994 postdocs were analyzed for common themes and sentiments among a diverse sample (56% US Citizens; 62% female; 13% underrepresented minorities). 

A theme that continued to emerge in the qualitative data was the role "passion" plays in pursuing an academic research career. In fact, the authors organized many of the postdocs' responses about academic research into the concept of it being a lifestyle where one's research work and life are often one in the same.

With that in mind, other common advice centered around the need for those considering an academic career to engage in self reflection to determine if an academic research lifestyle was congruent with their values, life priorities, and personal and professional needs. Are they willing to commit long hours and much effort into academic training with no guarantee they will land a faculty position that this training traditionally prepares them for?

Pros and Cons of Postdoctoral Work
Other concepts that emerged from the postdocs' responses were that while the challenges of working as a postdoc are many (low pay, demanding workload, unanticipated setbacks, & a competitive funding and research climate), the positives in a postdoc position are scientific creativity, academic freedom, the ability to travel, and building problem solving skills.   

Luck Plays a Part in "Success"
Many of the postdoc respondents mentioned that luck can play a significant role in the success of experiments, publications, funding, and job opportunities. Thus, ensuring your self-worth is not defined by "success" in your research work is essential to maintaining your mental health and wellbeing. You only have so much control of the various outcomes that are traditionally associated with academic success but you can control how central academic success is to your life.

On a side note, I routinely encourage graduate students and postdocs to get involved in things outside the lab/work as you need other outlets to feel accomplished and successful, which can help guard against allowing research or academic success to fully define you as a person. 

Need for More Postdoc Support & Resources
Several responses to the advice for prospective academic researchers prompt emphasized the importance of strong mentorship and support while conducting postdoctoral training. Many recommended those interested in pursuing an academic research career to be proactive in researching and choosing the best work environment to complete postdoctoral training. In addition, the importance of finding multiple mentors, beyond your primary faculty supervisor, building a community of support, and asking for help are critical to success in your postdoc and beyond.

Realizing there are multiple career paths available to those with Ph.D.s and postdoctoral training and being proactive in researching your post-postdoc career options can also bolster postdocs' confidence in their futures and lessen the feeling that they must "win" the faculty lottery to be considered a "success".
One postdoc response Lambert shared sticks out as excellent advice:
Being a successful academic researcher is somewhat akin to pursuing a career in music performance or professional sports. Science and research must be your real passion for which you are willing to work extremely hard and sacrifice. And even with hard work and sacrifice, and of course the requisite level of talent, you may not make it to the big leagues. Be sure you are willing to take this risk and that you can enjoy the journey no matter what happens.
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Take-Home Points from Dr. Lambert's Research
  • Self-worth, career mentorship, and financial security were all strong predictors of intending to pursue an academic research career (or not)
  • The likelihood of underrepresented postdocs persisting in academia increases most with self-worth
  • Female postdocs are slightly discouraged by lifestyle when deciding whether to pursue an academic research career
  • Those postdocs most comfortable with choosing an academic research career cited the following as important factors:
    • adequate support with family and childcare
    • financial stability
    • geographical flexibility
These findings offer ideas about how to best support postdocs wanting to pursue faculty careers. A critical component is ensuring adequate support in the form of compensation, mentoring, training, and other resources to allow postdocs to pursue these careers with great confidence in their own abilities. 
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Be sure to continue to survey the career landscape and gather data on what you need to succeed in your job search.
Advice to Current Postdocs
To make the most of your postdoc, Dr. Lambert recommends:
  • Be strategic about your mentorship team
  • Recognize that a career in academic research is a lifestyle which may or may not be suitable for you
    • Thus, reflect on you motivation to pursue a faculty career
  • Prepare for multiple career paths
  • Assess your readiness & preparedness at each stage
    • For two excellent resources around readiness for a faculty career, see:
      • The Academic Career Readiness Assessment (ACRA)
        • More about the ACRA's methodology, published in CBE Life Sciences Education
      • Survey-based analysis of the academic job market (paper in eLife)
  • Strengthen your research & writing skills
  • Network
For further reading...
Explore more posts related to the academic career search in the Academic Packways section of the NC State Graduate School's ImPACKful blog.
Additional Resources
  • National Postdoctoral Association's Postdoc Resource Library
  • Postdoc Academy: Succeeding as a Postdoc Resources 
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Takeaways from the National Postdoctoral Association Annual Conference

4/23/2021

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Career Development, PhD Career Pathways, Tools & Resources
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The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) held its first ever virtual annual conference April 15 & 16. By all accounts, it was a huge success with 900+ attendees (>2 times the largest previous attendance mark for a NPA annual conference). 

The online format allowed for greater accessibility for postdocs as travel and lodging costs were removed. I also appreciated that the conference platform allowed for attendees to easily download copies of posters that were presented as well as resources and materials provided by presenters.
The conference agenda was packed with great content relevant for postdocs and those who support them. An effort was also made to promote engagement during breaks through trivia and bingo games. The platform used to host the event, Big Marker, performed well and had many great features to promote exchange of contact information and content.
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Below, I share some of the publicly available resources and tools highlighted during the conference in the hopes they are valuable to my readers.

​This is only a subset of resources and opportunities shared at the NPA Annual Conference. Recordings of all talks/sessions will be available to those who attended via the meeting platform soon. 
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Science Policy Career Paths
I moderated a panel, Policy Career Paths for Postdocs and the Things I Wish I Knew
​Resources shared: 
AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships, 
Providing opportunities for outstanding scientists and engineers to learn first-hand about federal policymaking while using their knowledge and skills to address today’s most pressing societal challenges.

The List of SciPol Fellowships, a crowd-sourced list of science & technology policy opportunities through member societies, the federal government, state governments, foundations/non-profits, & more

Zintellect, Access hundreds of research internships, fellowships, and scholarships funded by the government and private sector organizations.
Powered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) & Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU)

Science Policy Fellowships for Non-US Citizens, a crowd-sourced list of science policy fellowships available to non-us citizens
Science Policy and Advocacy for STEM Scientists
An innovative program from the University of California, Irvine GPS-STEM in collaboration with the Journal of Science Policy & Governance, Union of Concerned Scientists, & Ridge 2 Reef Program.

This group offers an online course in science policy and advocacy for STEM scientists (PhD students & postdocs) with a focus on learning basic skills and concepts, as well as identifying concrete ways to transition into careers in these areas.

They will be offering the program online, open to any interested trainee, starting July 15, 2021.
Enroll in the Science Policy & Advocacy for STEM Scientists Certificate Program 2021 by June 1st via this Google Form.  
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Building Peer Networks to Enhance Postdoc Career & Professional Development
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Stony Brook University PhD Career Ladder Program (PCLP)

A peer-led career mentoring program for grad students and postdocs pursuing any career pathway. 
PCLP helps participants set aside a few hours each week to develop a framework for their job search. Biweekly meetings guide participants “up the ladder” of career exploration from self-assessment to career research and skill identification, to informational interviewing, to resume crafting.
The creators of PCLP have developed a Toolkit to assist individuals seeking to start a PCLP Group at their institutions. 
View PhD Career Ladder Program Toolkit
Leadership & Management in Action Program (L-MAP) at Washington University in St. Louis
The L-MAP, Leadership and Management in Action Program, is a new active-learning training program for graduate students and postdocs in the biosciences to build a leadership, management, and inclusive teamwork skillset. Trainees work in teams on experiential case studies and activities in the L-MAP curriculum, led by a facilitator with expertise in leadership training.

The WashU team has made their L-MAP Curriculum publicly available via a creative commons license and will be hosting a virtual Train-the-Trainer workshop on May 10th, 10 AM - 12 PM Central, to assist individuals wanting to launch the program at their institutions. You can register to attend the workshop when downloading the curriculum at the link, below. 
Download L-MAP Curriculum
Volunteer Opportunities Through the NPA
Volunteering with the NPA is a great way for postdocs to expand their leadership and teamwork skills and contribute to improving the postdoctoral experience. You can write about topics or experiences that impact the postdoctoral community through The POSTDOCket, help the NPA in its advocacy efforts on behalf of postdocs, assist in the development and dissemination of resources for postdocs and postdoc offices, and more. 
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It is so important for postdocs to get involved in things beyond their lab/work. I know writing for The POSTDOCket and taking on leadership positions in my postdoctoral association was critical in helping me develop into who I am today as well as transition into my current role in postdoctoral affairs.  
NPA Volunteer Opportunities
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2021 NPA Institutional Policy Report Released
​As a postdoctoral affairs professional, the data the NPA collects and reports on postdoc policies, benefits, demographics, and postdoc office resources every few years is critical advocating for increased institutional resources to support postdoc affairs. In the most recent report, the NPA Institutional Policy Survey Taskforce and Data Analysis Team show trends in various metrics collected in the survey over time (from 2013, 2016, & 2019). It is nice to see progress is being made on a variety of fronts to increase postdoc & postdoc office support. More work is still needed, though, especially around the fact that the mode size of a postdoc office remains one individual.
Download the 2021 NPA Institutional Policy Report
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Ph.D. Recipients' Employment Trends: Insights From National Science Foundation Data

3/25/2021

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Scientific Workforce, Ph.D. Career Pathways
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May 2022 Update: Newer, Survey of Earned Doctorate (SED) data from 2020 was released in October of 2021 and available here. A future blog post will highlight 2020 & 2021 SED data after the 2021 SED data are released in October 2022. 
The United States' National Science Foundation (NSF) collects a large amount of data on individuals receiving their doctorate degrees from U.S. universities.

These data include:
  • Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED)
  • Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR)
  • Science & Engineering Indicators, published by National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics

The SED focuses on recent Ph.D. graduates from a wide range of fields (lifes sciences, physical sciences, earth sciences, engineering, education, psychology, humanities) each year while the SDR captures employment information of individuals with Ph.D.s in science, engineering, or health fields, regardless of when they received their degree. 

I referenced some of these data a year ago in my blog post:
​Post-Ph.D. Career Plans: Consider the Possibilities 


A new batch of SED data was released in December 2020 containing data reported in 2019.
​So, while this data does not yet capture the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on new Ph.D. graduates, we can still look at trends in employment, earnings, and more across a wide range of disciplines. New SDR data (from 2019) will be released in April 2021. So, stay tuned for a deeper dive into insights from that survey in a future post.
How US Ph.D. Employment Has Shifted from 1999 to 2019
The SED contains much historical data, allowing us to look at trends in Ph.D. production, employment, and more. The survey's Post-Graduation Commitments data is reported from 1999 to 2019 and we'll delve more into it below. 
Ph.D.s with Post-Graduation Commitments: Employment vs. Postdoctoral Training
The data plotted below reflects the breakdown of doctorate recipients with either employment or postdoctoral training commitments post-graduation.

​Keep in mind, though, that many recent Ph.D. recipients do not report definite commitments post-graduation in the SED survey. In the data from 1999 to 2019, the average percentage of all Ph.D. recipients reporting definite post-graduation commitments is ~60%. ​
So, the data below reflects only that ~60% segment of Ph.D. recipients and should not be interpreted as fully representative of Ph.D. recipient employment levels as commitments could have solidified for recent Ph.D. recipients after the survey collection period or participants could have chosen not to disclose their post-graduation commitments in the survey.
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For the purposes of the data plotted above, postdoctoral training and employment are separate post-graduation commitments and the percentages in these two buckets plotted in the graphs above sum to 100% within each degree field. In these data, all post-graduation commitments are categorized as either employment or postdoctoral training. 

These historical post-graduation commitments data tell us a few things:
1) Pursuing postdoctoral training is far more common in the Life Sciences and Physical (Chemistry, Physics) & Earth Sciences
2) Data collapsed across all fields show a trend toward a lower percentage of Ph.D. recipients securing employment post graduation, with particular declines in the Humanities & Arts and Psychology & Social Sciences
3) More Humanities & Arts and Psychology & Social Science Ph.D.s with post-graduation commitments are pursuing postdoctoral training, especially over the last 10 years 
4) There are trends toward greater employment pursuit and lower engagement in postdoctoral training over the last 15 years in the Life Sciences and Physical & Earth Sciences (with a hint at a "peak postdoctoral training" level in the high 60% range in the year 2004)
Again, the data plotted above reflects only those Ph.D. recipients with definite post-graduation commitments. Let's examine the trends in the percentage of Ph.D. recipients reporting definite post-graduation commitments over the same 20-year time period, below. 
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Takeaways from the graph above:
1) The "shock" of the financial crisis beginning in 2008 is evident slightly in the 2009 SED data and noticeably in the 2014 data of recent Ph.D. recipients with definite post-graduation commitments
2) While post-graduation commitment percentages recovered by 2019 in most fields, the Humanities & Arts were an exception with percentage of recent Ph.D. graduates with post-graduation commitments lower in 2019 than in 1999, 2004, or 2009
3) Mathematics & Computer Science Ph.D.s consistently experience the highest percentage of definite post-graduation commitments
​
It will be interesting to see what the SED show in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on post-graduation commitments in the coming years. 
Are We Producing Too Many Ph.D.s?
A relevant point to consider in the post-graduation commitment data is how the number of Ph.D. degrees conferred and recipients with definite commitments has changed by field over the past 20 years. Essentially, are the fields with the largest percentage of definite commitments (Mathematics & Computer Science) producing more Ph.D.s to meet "demand" and, conversely, are fields with lower post-graduation commitment levels (Humanities & Arts) titrating their Ph.D. production as a result? While many in higher education may not be fond of a supply & demand analogy, ideally programs are scaling or reducing their enrollments based on employment demand for individuals with Ph.D.s in their respective fields. 
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Overall, there has been a 35.5% increase in the number of total US doctorates awarded from 1999 (41,100 Ph.D.s) to 2019 (55,703 Ph.D.s). Education doctorates (Ed.D.s; Ph.D.s) awarded decreased by 29.3% from 1999 to 2019 while the decline was 4.2% for the Humanities & Arts. The growth in Ph.D.s awarded in other fields over this twenty year time period was staggering: a doubling of degrees (118.7% increase) awarded in Mathematics & Computer Sciences and near doubling (93.3% increase) for Engineering Ph.D.s awarded. While less dramatic, the growth of Ph.D.s awarded in the Life Sciences (55.8%), Physical & Earth Sciences (53.7%), and Psychology & Social Sciences (22.8%) was still quite robust from 1999 to 2019.

​Take-home point from the Ph.D.s conferred data:
There are a lot of Ph.D.s being produced each year and while some fields may be producing recipients with good job prospects (Mathematics & Computer Sciences, 70.2% with post-graduation commitments in 2019) others continue to produce very high levels of Ph.D.s with moderate job prospects based on the SED data (Life Sciences, 62.3% with post-graduation commitments in 2019). The Humanities & Arts field showed a plateauing to slight decrease in Ph.D.s awarded over the past 20 years, suggesting this field is responding to lower "demand" for Ph.D.s (52.3% with post-graduation commitments in 2019), though some may argue not rapidly enough.
What Sectors Employed Recent Ph.D. Recipients in 2019?
The SED data reports the US employment sector of doctorate recipients with definite post-graduation commitments. These sectors are broad and include government, industry or business, nonprofit organizations, academe (not postdoc roles), or other/unknown sector. Postdoctoral training and commitments outside the United States are not reflected in these employment numbers.
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The sector employment data make clear employment in academe has declined over the past 20 years across all doctorate recipients, though more so in some fields of study. Across all doctorate recipients, there has been a 15.4% decline in the proportion of individuals employed in academe from 1999 to 2019 while the proportion employed by industry or business grew by 40% over the same time period. 

​The Ph.D. degree areas with the largest decline in the proportion of recipients working in academe from 1999 (48.1%) to 2019 (27.5%) was Mathematics & Computer Sciences at 42.8%, followed by a decline of 24.2% in the Life Sciences - from 47.5% of recipients in 1999 to 36% in 2019. In fact, as the graph above shows, the 2019 SED data indicates a larger proportion of Life Sciences Ph.D. recipients employed in industry or business than academe, a first since the data have been collected. Again, a reminder that postdoctoral training is NOT INCLUDED in these data. Rather, the graphs above display the breakdown of 2019 Ph.D. recipients with employment post-graduation commitments by sector.

Interestingly, employment in academe remained relatively stable in the fields of Psychology & Social Sciences (51.9% in 1999 and 51.7% in 2019), declined more modestly in Humanities & Arts (10.4% decline from 80.7% of 1999 Ph.D. recipients to 72.3% in 2019), and actually increased for the field of Education (20.3% increase from 47.2% of 1999 Ph.D./Ed.D. recipients to 56.8% in 2019).

Regardless, the data make clear that employment trends for recent Ph.D. recipients, especially in the Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM) fields, have changed markedly over the past 20 years.

​These data bring to light a question that continues to be asked more and more in graduate education: Are we preparing Ph.D. students for a 21st Century career landscape or one of the past? Clearly, employment prospects in academe are shrinking. 
Sectors Employing Ph.D.s in 2019 by Degree Field
It should be noted that there are vast differences in which sectors employ Ph.D. recipients based on their field of study, as indicated in the pie charts below. 
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While not plotted above the breakdown for employment sectors for 2019 Mathematics & Computer Sciences Ph.D.s was: 64% Industry/Business, 28% Academe, 5% Government, 2% Nonprofit, & ~2% Other or Unknown. 
Clearly, being employed by industry or business sectors was the most common career path for recent Ph.D.s in STEM in 2019.
Conversely, academe is by far the largest sector employing recent Ph.D.s in Humanities & Arts, Psychology & Social Sciences, & Education.  
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Clearly, in 2019, the sectors employing Ph.D.s varied WIDELY based on Ph.D. field. These facts raise the question, are we adequately preparing all Ph.D.s for their next career step given the diversity of paths they pursue?
Post-Ph.D. Plans: Pursue a Postdoc or Not?
While I have discussed my personal perspectives on the value of doing a postdoc, including using it for career exploration and self reflection, this is often a crucial decision point for many recent Ph.D. recipients. There are clearly financial considerations as postdoctoral salaries or stipends are relatively low compared to many Ph.D. holders' earning potential (discussed in more detail, below). However, the freedom and autonomy one can have in a postdoctoral position may not be matched for the rest of one's career and it can provide a nice period of scholarly and self exploration before making your next career move in academe, industry, or beyond. 

Postdoctoral training has also become necessary in many fields to be competitive for faculty positions as this additional training allows time for Ph.D. holders to build a larger collection of scholarly work, begin to demonstrate research independence, and develop crucial skills in lab management and grant writing, among other tasks required of faculty at research-intensive institutions. Teaching postdocs have also become more common for recent Ph.D.s seeking to build pedagogical and classroom management skills as they pursue teaching-focused faculty positions. 

As mentioned above in the breakdown of post-graduation commitments of recent Ph.D. recipients over the past 20 years, postdoctoral training is the majority commitment path for many fields: 59% of Life Science Ph.D. recipients in 2019 with post-graduation commitments pursued postdoctoral training while that percentage was ~56% in the Physical & Earth Sciences. The postdoctoral path is less common in other Ph.D. fields, though. 

The sheer numbers of 2019 Ph.D. recipients (collapsed across fields) pursing postdoctoral training (12,091), though, still dwarfs employment numbers in any other single employment sector (8,019 employed in academe; 7,476 employed in industry; 3,929 employment in other sectors).

​For many a postdoc is the default "next step" in their academic training and while it may fulfill this role for some, we should be empowering Ph.D. students with the information and space to decide if a postdoc makes sense for them (whether it fits into a career plan). 
Median Salaries of US Doctorate Recipients in 2019
While others have published about the financial impact of pursuing postdoctoral training versus employment post-Ph.D., the 2019 SED data allow us to look at how salaries differ between those pursuing postdoctoral training or employment by field of study (and by sex, though not discussed in this post). 

The percentage of median postdoctoral salaries to other employment salaries for new doctorate recipients demonstrate that the salary discount for pursuing postdoctoral training various greatly by field. In the Life Sciences, median postdoctoral salary ($50,000) is 61% of the median of other employment salary ($82,000). The percentage is as low as 49% in Engineering and as high as 94% in Humanities and Arts.
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The median salary for recently employed doctorates also varies greatly by field. $53,000 was the median salary for Humanities and Arts doctorate recipients in 2019 while it was $68,000 in Psychology, $70,000 in Education, $85,000 in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, $95,000 in Chemistry, $102,500 in Engineering, and $120,000 in Mathematics and Computer Sciences. 

While these data are aggregated over many sub-fields and employment sectors and represent the median of a wide salary range, they hopefully allow Ph.D. holders to have a sense of the salaries they can obtain post-degree.

An interesting question these data cannot answer by themselves is whether there are more Ph.D.s interested in employment in certain sectors than there are positions, which affect their ability to secure employment. It is possible (and probable) that many individuals pursue a postdoc after their Ph.D. because they cannot secure other employment upon graduation. 
​
More Data to Explore
There is a wealth of data in the SED and beyond. This post has just scratched the surface. 
Next​ month I hope to touch on some of the SED data comparing temporary visa holders and US citizens and permanent residents. In addition, 2019 SDR data should be published by NSF in April, which will allow for a deeper dive into employment trends for Ph.D.-holders in the US.

​If you are interested in exploring the data that made up this post, please visit the link below.
​You can also check out all the SED data on NSF's website.  
Explore 2019 NSF SED Data
Conclusions
While the NSF SED data prompt several questions about the doctorate workforce and career pathways that remain to be interrogated, what is clear is that post-Ph.D. career pathways for doctorates issued in the United States are changing across a wide range of disciplines. Through data such as this, those of us interested in improving graduate student and postdoc career and professional development can hopefully share post-Ph.D. employment insights with a variety of stakeholders (students, postdocs, faculty, university administrators, & lawmakers) to influence the environment at our universities.

​We must be more intentional in considering what we are training Ph.D. students and postdocs for and how their employment prospects have changed. By doing so, we can hopefully build a responsive graduate-level training ecosystem at our universities that takes into account the future economic stability and prosperity of our Ph.D. students and postdocs. 
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NIH BEST Blog Rewind: Exploring a Variety of Career Paths

9/1/2020

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Career Exploration, Personal Perspective
​

In Fall 2018, I started writing a series of pieces for the NIH Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Student/Postdoc Blog. As these pieces are no longer accessible online, I wanted to re-share them in a continuing series NIH BEST Blog Rewind. Here, I will add some additional thoughts to what was originally authored in 2018, denoted in bold (dark red) throughout the piece.

Original Publication Date: December 2018                           NEW Perspectives, Comments, & Insights
Part of a series revisiting my NIH BEST Blog pieces. ​
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A career journey is often like a winding road with unexpected turns.
In my last post, I mentioned I would talk about exploring available career paths that may interest you based on your personal skills and values. An important thing to mention up front is that I believe there isn’t one ideal, career fit for each of us. I think people can find many, relatively different careers interesting and fulfilling. I think this is a good thing as it puts less pressure on us to find that perfect career. You should rather, I believe, explore several career options and then narrow them down to the two or three that you think would fit your interests and preferences in terms of salary, work-life balance, location, etc…and then aggressively pursue them.

This brings to mind the Life Design work coming out of Stanford University. One of their main points in life design is that there are many potential "yous" out there...a variety of things you could do with your life that would be equally fulfilling. I talked a bit about the Designing Your Life book in an earlier post but you can also check out this excellent presentation from one of the book's co-authors, Bill Burnett, below.
Another key point from Life Design is to "try stuff"...which includes talking to people about their current career so you can visualize whether it might be a good fit for you (Informational Interviews). Better yet, try to intern (see also) or volunteer in an area you might be interested in moving into.
Thinking About Potential Careers
Over the past several months I have thought a lot about my career. I have considered roles in life science consulting, as a medical science liaison, in medical writing, and, most recently, in career & professional development services. In this blog post, I will focus on what I learned about these particular careers and my personal evaluation of their fit for my life. Hopefully walking through this process lets you learn a bit about these careers (which may be useful in your own exploration) as well as how I have weighed the pros and cons of each career path to narrow my options to my final two.
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Life Science Consulting
Life science consulting is a growing field that includes companies such as Clearview Healthcare Partners, Putnam Associates, L.E.K., Clarion, and Triangle Insights Group. You can read more about consulting as a career for Ph.D.s and about one Ph.D.’s journey to life science consulting here. Many of these companies hire MBA graduates, but they will often hire Ph.D.s with domain expertise. While the compensation for Ph.D. trained consultants in these companies is normally quite good ($80,000+ (in Dec 2018), now ~$90,000 according to Glassdoor), that comes with expectations of long hours and, often, a lot of traveling.
​Many Ph.D.s transition from consulting to work in the biotech or pharmaceutical industry as the hard life of a consultant is difficult to maintain for more than a few years. I think this type of career can be particularly straining on someone with a family and often is more appealing to single individuals. These impressions are my own and while the consulting life certainly can work for some people, I realized pretty early on that it wouldn’t for me. If you are interested in trying out the field, though, both Clearview & Putnam offer summer programs for Ph.D. students and postdocs to learn more about the consulting role and visit their offices.
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Medical Science Liaison
The medical science liaison (MSL) role is also a growing one for Ph.D.-trained scientists. The career involves establishing relationships with key opinion leaders (KOLs), typically clinicians, to learn more about their therapeutic needs. MSLs most often work for pharmaceutical companies and are tasked with educating KOLs on the advantages of their company’s products. While the position is not directly in “sales,” it is hard for me to disentangle the MSL role from selling a product (if only selling via education). MSLs often travel to meet with KOLs in their designated geographic area/territory and spend considerable time on the road, and the compensation is typically excellent ($90,000+).
MSL experience is highly desirable for potential employers, which brings up the Catch 22 problem of breaking into the MSL role if someone doesn’t have experience as an MSL. I think one’s first MSL job is often about therapeutic area fit. For example, if your Ph.D. and postdoctoral research have focused extensively on glioblastoma and Company X is about to launch a new drug to treat that particular type of cancer, they are more likely to hire you to be an MSL for that product.
​There are programs that will help train you in the language of the MSL field that may help you secure a position, but I can’t personally speak to their value. In the end, I found it difficult to find MSL positions that fit my research expertise in neuroscience (many pharmaceutical companies have moved out of this therapeutic area, though this appears to be changing) and also was a bit uncomfortable with the “selling” that went with the role. I know many MSLs, though, and they all seem very satisfied with the role. Check out the MSL Society’s website for more resources.
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Medical Writing
Medical writing is a diverse career field encompassing individuals focused on regulatory writing, manuscript services, and broad-based science communication. Regulatory writing for the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and other government bodies is a niche area in high demand.
Read more about Regulatory Affairs as a career in the excellent UNC TIBBS Career Blog.
The medical writing occupation is nice due to its flexibility—many writers work from home or remotely. The average compensation for a medical writer is ~$75,000 but note there is a large range of variability in the duties and salaries associated with these roles. In my personal experience, regulatory affairs writing roles are in particularly high demand.
If you are interested in this career path, consider joining the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), which provides a variety of useful resources, offers a very reasonably-priced student membership, and has local chapters across the country to facilitate networking.

Want to learn more about medical writing?
​AMWA's Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Medical Writer is an excellent place to start!
The key to finding a medical writing career that fits your interest is to be sure you understand how a company you are interested in views that role. For example, some companies are focused more on regulatory writing while others do more medical communications work. So, be sure to talk to medical writers who work at companies you are interested in about the duties associated with their role via informational interviews. 
​A great way to show competency as a medical writer is to get experience writing more than scientific papers. I have personally blogged for a local organization focused on advances in the healthcare industry. In addition, writing for a local newsletter on your campus or via an organization like the National Postdoctoral Association (The POSTDOCket) can give you experience preparing pieces for broader audiences and under a timeline. If you can’t work with an existing media outlet, you can publish your own articles on LinkedIn (see an example here), which is a great way to build a portfolio of expertise not just in writing but also in whatever scientific/medical area you focus on. For example, you could write about particular therapeutic areas that you want to work in as an MSL (dual-purpose activity!). After speaking with several people in the field, I have continued to pursue the medical writing career path. It sounds like a great mix of scientific rigor and work-life balance.
For another perspective on medical writing as a career, see this interview with Dee Rodeberg from the UNC TIBBS Career Blog. ​​
I am now actively involved in the Carolinas Chapter of AMWA. So, if you live in the Raleigh-Durham area and are interested in this career path, check out the events page of our website for upcoming information sessions & networking opportunities!  And find your local AMWA chapter here.
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Ph.D. Student & Postdoctoral Fellow Support & Professional Development
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Ph.D. Student & Postdoctoral Fellow Support & Professional Development is a career area that I have been pursuing of late. Individuals in this field work for universities (often in the Graduate School or Office of Postdoctoral Affairs) and assist trainees in their professional development and career exploration. A person in this role can be seen as a type of career coach and often leads workshops on using LinkedIn, resume writing, networking, and job negotiation. These roles are often multifaceted and can include liaising with faculty who have questions about the appointment process and trainee benefits as well as building connections outside the university for potential trainee internships or shadowing opportunities.
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The story of me pursuing the graduate student/postdoc career & professional development career path was born out of an email I received from someone in Vanderbilt’s BRET Office who thought a job like this would be a good fit for me. I have been very active in the Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association and the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) but didn’t consider working in graduate student & postdoc affairs as a reasonable career path due to what I assumed to be a small number of available jobs. While the number of jobs is small, it is a growing career field. Having a network of individuals in this area (whom I met at the NPA annual meetings and often post job opportunities on LinkedIn) also helped me learn about job openings as they become available. In addition, the Graduate Career Consortium (GCC) maintains a member area where job opportunities in the career/professional development space are shared.

Note, the GCC now has a trainee membership for graduate students and postdocs interested in being better connected with professionals working in this space.

This is a career area that I am definitely passionate about and could see as a good fit for me in terms of being a rewarding career with excellent work-life balance.
Update: I did end up moving into the graduate/postdoc career & professional development career. Since January 2019, I manage the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at NC State University. Read more about my transition from postdoc to postdoc affairs professional in this POSTDOCket piece here.
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I have also taken on leadership positions with the NPA & GCC. Both organizations have bright futures ahead. The NPA recently announced the hire of a new Executive Director and GCC membership is rapidly growing (~15% increase in membership since 2018)...now with over 450 members. It is a great time to get involved in both organizations either as a postdoc (NPA) or budding career/development professional (GCC). 
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Final Thoughts
I will talk more about the challenges of navigating a multi-prong career search in the future.

What I will say in closing is that the keys to performing a comprehensive career exploration search are to:
  1. Start early
  2. Talk with people in the role you want via informational interviews (use LinkedIn to find these people—I love the alumni tool as you have an instant connection with alumni from your current or former school)
  3. Make use of national organizations that are focused on a career area of interest to you and go to their social events to network with and learn from professionals
  4. Stay in touch with people at companies or in careers you are interested in who may be able to let you know of job openings as they become available
  5. Keep an open mind

As mentioned earlier, there are many lives you can live and feel fulfilled. The key, then, is to realize that fact early, explore multiple career options, and find a few paths to pursue with intent. You may be surprised to discover where it all ultimately leads but by keeping a few options open, you will leave room to pursue exciting opportunities as they arise (Planned Happenstance). 
Further Reading
Career Exploration Series on PassioInventa

The Rewards of Life Sciences Consulting: A Conversation with Putnam’s Remco op den Kelder
Top 10 List Of Alternative Careers For PhD Science Graduates
​
What Informational Interviews Can Do for You
​
What do we know about Ph.D. scientists’ career paths?
​
       Highlighting data from the Council of Graduate Schools' PhD Career Pathways Program
Association of American Universities (AAU) PhD Education Initiative 
       Activities & Reports

From the Reflections Blog
Start Here (using Design Thinking in career exploration)
Career Exploration 101
The Future of Work (and the transferable skills you build pursuing a PhD)
​NIH BEST Blog Rewind Series
Pondering the "next step" as a late-stage postdoctoral fellow
Is a postdoc worth it?

Resources
Designing Your Life worksheets ​
(Informational) Interviewing & Networking Tips from PhD+ (UVA)
Explore Careers via Vanderbilt's Beyond the Lab Video Series
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    A neuroscientist by training, I now work to improve the career readiness of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.

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