Ullrich, L. E. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2024

A Retrospective Analysis of Career Outcomes in Neuroscience

What factors are associated with different career outcomes among biomedical PhDs? Much of the research to-date has focused on drivers of interest in (and intention to pursue) various careers, especially during graduate school, but fewer studies have investigated the ultimate career outcomes of participants. Even less is known about what factors matter most for groups historically underrepresented in the US STEM workforce, such as for women, some racial and ethnic groups, and persons with disabilities (National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), 2021a). This study reports a new analysis of data from 781 PhD neuroscientists that were obtained from a retrospective survey (reported in Ullrich et al. (2021)) to investigate the factors that influence the career sector in which neuroscience PhDs are employed, and whether there were group differences according to social identity. We find evidence of academia as a "default path" for incoming PhD students, but interest in different careers changes gradually over time. Those who remained in academia had greater acceptance of the structural aspects of academic careers, such as the promotion and tenure process, and greater faculty support during their postdoctoral training. Conversely, prioritizing monetary compensation and wanting varied work were associated with not being in academia, while a strong interest in research was positively associated with being in non-academic research. Somewhat surprisingly, there were few interactions with gender, and no interactions with underrepresentation status. Our findings also underscore the role of advisors, networking, and personal relationships in securing employment in STEM.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2021

Factors that Influence Career Choice Among Different Populations of Neuroscience Trainees

Enhancing the diversity of the scientific workforce is critical to achieving the mission of NIH: "To seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce the burdens of illness and disability." However, specific groups have historically been, and continue to be, underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce, especially academia. Career choice is a multi-factorial process that evolves over time; among all trainees, expressed interest in faculty research careers decreases over time in graduate school, but that trend is amplified in women and members of historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups (Fuhrmann, Halme, OSullivan, & Lindstaedt, 2011; Gibbs, McGready, Bennett, & Griffin, 2014; C. Golde & Dore, 2004; Roach & Sauermann, 2017; Sauermann & Roach, 2012). Neuroscience as a discipline has characteristics that may exacerbate the overall trends seen in the life sciences, such as a greater growth in the number of awarded neuroscience PhDs than in other life sciences fields (US National Science Foundation, 2016b). This work was designed to investigate how career interest changes over time among recent neuroscience PhD graduates, and whether differences in career interests are associated with social identity (i.e. gender and race/ethnicity), experiences in graduate school and postdoctoral training (e.g. relationship with advisor; feelings of belonging), and personal characteristics (e.g. confidence in ones potential to be an independent researcher). We report results from a survey of 1,479 PhD neuroscientists (including 16% underrepresented (UR) and 54% female scientists). We saw repeated evidence that individual preferences about careers in general, and academic careers specifically, predict current career interest. These statistically significant preferences mostly had medium to low effect size that varied by career type. These findings were mediated by social identity and experiences in graduate school and postdoctoral training. Our findings highlight the important influence of the advisor in shaping a trainees career path, and the ways in which academic culture is perceived as unwelcoming or incongruent with the values or priorities of certain groups. For women, issues of work/life balance and structural issues of academia, and for UR women in particular, lower confidence in their ability to be an independent researcher, affected their interest in academia. Both women and UR men in our study report a lower importance of autonomy in their careers. UR respondents report feeling less like they were a part of the social and intellectual community. However, they have formed beneficial relationships with faculty outside their PhD institutions that, particularly for UR women, are associated with increased interest in academia. Our findings suggest several areas for positive growth, ways to change how we think about the impact of mentorship, and policy and programmatic interventions that extend beyond trying to change or "fix" the individual and instead recognize the systemic structures that influence career choices.

scientific communication and education↗