The declining interest in an academic career

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that science & engineering PhD students lose interest in an academic career over the course of graduate training. It is not clear, however, whether this decline reflects students being discouraged from pursuing an academic career by the challenges of obtaining a faculty job or whether it reflects more fundamental changes in students’ career goals for reasons other than the academic labor market. We examine this question using a longitudinal survey that follows a cohort of PhD students from 39 U.S. research universities over the course of graduate training to document changes in career preferences and to explore potential drivers of such changes. We report two main results. First, although the vast majority of students start the PhD interested in an academic research career, over time 55% of all students remain interested while 25% lose interest entirely. In addition, 15% of all students were never interested in an academic career during their PhD program, while 5% become more interested. Thus, the declining interest in an academic career is not a general phenomenon across all PhD students, but rather reflects a divergence between those students who remain highly interested in an academic career and other students who are no longer interested in one. Second, we show that the decline we observe is not driven by expectations of academic job availability, nor by related factors such as postdoctoral requirements or the availability of research funding. Instead, the decline appears partly due to the misalignment between students’ changing preferences for specific job attributes on the one hand, and the nature of the academic research career itself on the other. Changes in students’ perceptions of their own research ability also play a role, while publications do not. We discuss implications for scientific labor markets, PhD career development programs, and science policy.

The NIH “BEST” programs: Institutional programs, the program evaluation, and early data

“…Our entrance data suggest that many trainees in BEST institutions today are familiar with the many available career options (Figure ), and most of these trainees reported high levels of confidence to achieve their career goals when first surveyed (Figure ). A high proportion of trainees reported plans to pursue non‐academic careers (Figure ), in line with other reports of declining interest in academic positions . Many national reports and articles lament the state of biomedical research training and the lack of preparation for the full array of biomedical career options .…”

“…A high proportion of trainees reported plans to pursue non-academic careers ( Figure 6), in line with other reports of declining interest in academic positions. 19 Many national reports and articles lament the state of biomedical research training and the lack of preparation for the full array of biomedical career options. 1,4,20,21 However, our data suggest high levels of awareness of trainees about the realities of the current biomedical research workforce landscape, and a serious interest in the many available options.…”

Reinventing postgraduate training in the plant sciences: T‐training defined through modularity, customization, and distributed mentorship

“…| 7 which set out goals that are attainable and with purpose, along with funding that supports a variety of career pathways (Roach & Sauermann, 2017 (Evans, Bira, Gastelum, Weiss, & Vanderford, 2018). Furthermore, these expectations, especially when coupled with the long-term commitments required to pursue graduate degrees and many postdoctoral appointments, will increase retention among all trainees and help nurture a diverse workforce.…”

“…Although the present report does not make specific recommendations as to how to broaden participation in the plant sciences, we believe that several of the recommendations will help lower barriers to attracting and retaining diverse populations. These include IDPs and mentoring, which set out goals that are attainable and with purpose, along with funding that supports a variety of career pathways (Roach & Sauermann, ). Additionally, modular professional development offerings allow trainees to align career‐building activities with other responsibilities in an individualized manner.…”

The Frankenthesis

“…But it can also be about acquiring the skills needed to find a fulfilling and well-paying job, within or outside of academia. Not to mention the declining interest in an academic career among graduate students [4]. Much has been made, moreover, about the apparent over-production of doctorates, with some going so far as to suggest that universities have become mere PhD factories, and asking: "Is it time to stop?"…”