Visualizing detailed postdoctoral employment trends using a new career outcome taxonomy

Xu, Hong; Gilliam, Richard; Peddada, Shyamal D.; Buchold, Gregory M.; Collins, Tammy

doi:10.1038/nbt.4059

Cited by 34 publications

(32 citation statements)

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“…There is a dearth of literature on the career outcomes of U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens. A recent study shows that significantly more U.S. postdoctoral alumni pursue careers in for-profit ventures and obtained more tenure/tenure-track positions than international postdocs [ 4 ]. At WSU, U.S. citizens and non-citizen alumni are engaged at similar rates in all Employment Sectors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visualization of gender, race, citizenship and academic performance in association with career outcomes of 15-year biomedical doctoral alumni at a public research university

et al. 2018

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It has long been thought that biomedical doctoral students pursue careers primarily as tenure-track/tenured faculty at research institutions. Recent reports showed, however, that the majority of biomedical doctoral alumni engage in a variety of careers. Wayne State University (WSU) undertook a project to understand the career trajectories of its biomedical doctoral alumni to create programs to better prepare its students for careers in multiple pathways. Data were collected on career outcomes of WSU’s biomedical doctoral alumni who graduated in a 15-year period from 1999–2014. Careers were classified into three tiers by Employment Sector, Career Types and Job Functions and career paths were examined by alumni gender, race, U.S. citizenship status, and association with certain academic characteristics. Several statistically significant differences in career paths among all demographics were found. For example, women were more likely to be in teaching and providing healthcare, men in faculty and research; Black alumni pursued careers in Government at higher rates and Whites in For-Profit careers; Asians and non-U.S. citizens spent more time in training positions than others. There was no association of academic characteristics such as GRE, GPA, and Time-to-Degree completion with careers in the two largest sectors of Academia or For-profit. Since our trainees are engaged in this rich variety of careers essential to advancing biomedical science and research nationally, it is imperative for the graduate training community to embrace all careers as successful, and transform the model for biomedical doctoral training to foster student success across this broad career spectrum.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visualization of gender, race, citizenship and academic performance in association with career outcomes of 15-year biomedical doctoral alumni at a public research university

et al. 2018

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“…Of course, this could negatively affect the work force in laboratories and have broader negative effects on the entire research field. This question was also addressed in a recently published study by Xu et al who pointed out that although postdoctoral fellows were highly skilled scientists classically trained to pursue academic tenure-track positions, the number of these academic opportunities remain largely unchanged over the years while the number of postdoctoral fellows keeps increasing, which results in the fact that the majority of these young scientists will need to look at other types of careers (24).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Survey on Data Reproducibility and the Effect of Publication Process on the Ethical Reporting of Laboratory Research

Boulbès

Costello

Baggerly

et al. 2018

Clinical Cancer Research

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The successful translation of laboratory research into effective therapies is dependent upon the validity of peer-reviewed publications. However, several publications in recent years suggested that published scientific findings could be reproduced only 11% to 45% of the time. Multiple surveys attempted to elucidate the fundamental causes of data irreproducibility and underscored potential solutions, more robust experimental designs, better statistics, and better mentorship. However, no prior survey has addressed the role of the review and publication process on honest reporting. We developed an anonymous online survey intended for trainees involved in bench research. The survey included questions related to mentoring/career development, research practice, integrity, and transparency, and how the pressure to publish and the publication process itself influence their reporting practices. Responses to questions related to mentoring and training practices were largely positive, although an average of approximately 25% did not seem to receive optimal mentoring. A total of 39.2% revealed having been pressured by a principle investigator or collaborator to produce "positive" data. About 62.8% admitted that the pressure to publish influences the way they report data. The majority of respondents did not believe that extensive revisions significantly improved the manuscript while adding to the cost and time invested. This survey indicates that trainees believe that the pressure to publish affects honest reporting, mostly emanating from our system of rewards and advancement. The publication process itself affects faculty and trainees and appears to influence a shift in their ethics from honest reporting ("negative data") to selective reporting, data falsification, or even fabrication. .

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“…Because of this focus on training, several structural changes in the graduate student and postdoc training regimen have been made, including the establishment of career development programs at a variety of institutions across the country [5]. More recently, new data collection initiatives have illuminated the variety of career paths trainees take once they move on from their graduate or postdoc programs [6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Increasing Importance of Fellowships and Career Development Awards in the Careers of Early-Stage Biomedical Academic Researchers

Pickett

2019

Preprint

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Excessive competition for biomedical faculty positions has ratcheted up the need to accumulate some mix of high-quality publications and prestigious grants to move from a training position to university faculty. How universities value each of these attributes when considering faculty candidates is critical for understanding what is needed to succeed as academic faculty. In this study I analyzed publicly available NIH grant information to determine the grants first-time R01 (FTR01) awardees held during their training period. Increases in the percentage of the FTR01 population that held a training award demonstrate training awards are becoming a more common aspect of a faculty candidate's resume. The increase was largely due to an expansion of NIH K-series career development awards between 2000 and 2017. FTR01 awardees with a K01, K08, K23, or K99 award were overrepresented in the top half of institutions, whereas FTR01 awardees with F32 fellowships and those with no training award were evenly distributed across institutions. Finally, training awardees from top institutions were overrepresented in the faculty of the majority of institutions, echoing data from other fields where a select few institutions supply an overwhelming majority of the faculty for the rest of the field. These data give important insight into how trainees compete for NIH funding and faculty positions and how institutions prefer those with or without training awards.

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Visualizing detailed postdoctoral employment trends using a new career outcome taxonomy

Abstract: A standard taxonomy and visualization methods can provide postdoctoral scholars with tools to critically evaluate their career prospects.

Cited by 34 publications

References 10 publications

Visualization of gender, race, citizenship and academic performance in association with career outcomes of 15-year biomedical doctoral alumni at a public research university

Visualization of gender, race, citizenship and academic performance in association with career outcomes of 15-year biomedical doctoral alumni at a public research university

A Survey on Data Reproducibility and the Effect of Publication Process on the Ethical Reporting of Laboratory Research

The Increasing Importance of Fellowships and Career Development Awards in the Careers of Early-Stage Biomedical Academic Researchers

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