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To Stay (At The Bench) Or Go? Determinants Of Career Decision‐Making In Recent Ph.D. Graduates
Author(s) -
Gibbs Kenneth D,
Griffin Kimberly
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.505.1
Subject(s) - workforce , career pathways , diversity (politics) , ethnic group , mentorship , underrepresented minority , medical education , career development , psychology , political science , medicine , law
Recent biomedical workforce policy efforts have centered on the challenges of enhancing career preparation for trainees and increasing workforce diversity. While these issues have been addressed separately, little work considers them concurrently. This study addresses two questions: (a) what is the process of career interest formation for recent Ph.D. graduates, and (b) how does this process differ across lines of gender and race‐ethnicity? We report results from a mixed‐methods study, including a survey of 1500 American biomedical Ph.D. graduates (n=276 from underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds), and interviews with 70 respondents pursuing diverse career pathways. Survey data showed that relative to Ph.D. entry, on average, scientists from all backgrounds reported (i) increased knowledge about career options (ii) significantly decreased interest in faculty careers at research universities, and (iii) significantly increased interest in non‐research careers. There were differences in the overall levels of career pathway interest (at Ph.D. entry, completion, and postdoc), and the magnitude of change in interest in these careers across social identity. Multiple logistic regression showed that when controlling for career pathway interest at Ph.D. entry, first‐author publication rate, faculty support, research self‐efficacy, and graduate training experiences, women and URM men remained 36–54% less likely than White/Asian men to express high interest in faculty careers at research‐intensive universities, and URM women were 93% more likely than all other groups to report high interest in non‐research careers. Qualitative data revealed how vicarious learning experiences during graduate school, systemic dynamics within the biomedical enterprise, and unique personal motivations for pursuing scientific research play determinative roles in the career pathways Ph.D. graduates pursued. Findings point to the need for enhanced career development programs earlier in the training process, and interventions that are sensitive to the distinctive patterns of interest development across social identity groups. Support or Funding Information This work was supported, in part, from a generous grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. KG is supported by the NCI Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program.