A decade beyond the doctorate: the influence of a US postdoctoral appointment on faculty career, productivity, and salary

Abstract

The number of postdoctoral researchers has increased dramatically in the past decade. Because of the limited number of academic staff openings and the general levels of salary, the role and value of the postdoctoral appointment are changing. Using a sample of respondents with continuous data in the 1999 through 2008 Survey of Doctoral Recipients, this study examined whether taking a postdoctoral position contributed to one's faculty career and salary 10 years after doctorate completion. Results show that completing a postdoctoral position positively contributed to working in educational institutions and securing a tenure-track appointment. Taking one, but not two or more, postdoctoral positions increased one's written scholarly productivity. However, the postdoctoral experience had no statistically significant impact on one's salary a decade after degree completion. Implications are discussed for institutional and higher education policy.

Intellectual Synthesis in Mentorship Determines Success in Academic Careers

“…Previous work on the influence of postdoctoral training time on the odds of securing a permanent position show opposite results. Yang and Webber 51 recently showed that chaining 2 to 4 postdoctoral appointments nearly doubled the odds of obtaining an academic position, but did not enhance the long-term productivity of researchers. In a study on biochemists, Nerad and Cerny 37 showed, on the contrary, that relatively short postdocs (< 5 years) led to better career outcomes in academia.…”

“…In a study on biochemists, Nerad and Cerny 37 showed, on the contrary, that relatively short postdocs (< 5 years) led to better career outcomes in academia. The objective benefits of completing several postdocs must also be put in balance with a form of survivor’s bias, where those that can afford the cost of long-term postdocs tend to exhibit characteristics correlated with the odds of securing a permanent positions 51 . In particular, long-term postdoctoral trainees fit more closely to the profiles of tenured researchers, as they tend to originate less often from under-represented minorities and are more often males 9,46 .…”

Choices and Consequences: Impact of Mobility on Research-Career Capital and Promotion in Business Schools

“…The tradition of early-career mobility is well established in life sciences, where postdoctoral positions are considered to be an essential component of an academic career. There is evidence that international postdoctoral mobility has a positive impact on performance by enabling the formation of weak ties (Yang & Webber, 2015;Zubieta, 2009). Traditionally, postdoctoral mobility has been rare in business schools; however, it has become more widespread due to the lack of tenure-track positions available for doctoral program graduates (Bloch, Graversen, & Pedersen, 2015;Huisman, de Weert, & Bartelse, 2002).…”

Humanities PhD Graduates: Desperately Seeking Careers?

“…As a result, when humanities students report feeling overworked and exploited, it is usually a reference to the number of hours spent teaching or grading papers (Zhao, Golde, & McCormick, 2007). So, despite faculty awareness of the problem and attempts to address it, funding remains an issue since adequate student funding influences students' overall satisfaction (Harman, 2002), and lack of adequate funding, leading to indebtedness, influences research productivity which can impact career options (Yang & Webber, 2015).…”