Post Phd Career Trajectories PDF Download

The progress of scientific advancement depends on sustaining a strong workforce of researchers at all experience levels through effective support and training. In the modern academic setting in the United States, ideally new scientists are trained by senior ones, with the expectation that this training provides the experience for the new researchers to progress and take over the positions of the senior researchers as they retire. However, whether this ideal is true is debatable. Although a majority of new doctorate holders rate academia as their top choice for a post-PhD career and a majority express a desire to remain in academic research in the medium or long term many are unable to because the number of available tenure track positions is smaller in relation to the increasing number of PhD trained researchers. When viewed in the context of an increasingly team-based research environment in academic research, I propose that the entry of scientists into PhD training may serve the shorter-term goal of filling early career positions on research teams rather than the longer-term goal of training future tenured faculty. Although the scientific workforce in the United States may be defined as encompassing researchers in any setting, including academic and industry settings, PhD research training is granted only by select research universities, where scientific training specifically is often entangled with research work. Drawing on research concerning the rise of team science over the past half century, I study the interaction between the increasingly team-based structure of scientific research and the career trajectories of scientists within it. Understanding how the academic workforce is structured across disciplines can aid in our understanding of career trajectories and may guide policy decisions to help allocate resources to help scientists best continue their career and contribute to scientific advancement.