Abstract
Background: The emerging public discourse about the "broken" postdoc system is mostly conceptual (with several recent exceptions). The current work offers an attempt to quantify postdocs' perceptions, goals, and well-being. Methods: A survey of 190 postdocs in North America. Results: This article first reveals a surprisingly unhappy postdoc community with low life satisfaction. Second, it demonstrates how over the course of the fellowship many postdocs lose interest in the goal of pursuing a tenure track academic position (~20%) or in recommending the postdoc track to others (~30%). Finally, we find that among a large number of factors that can enhance life satisfaction for postdocs (e.g., publication productivity, resources available to them) only one factor stood out as significant: the degree to which atmosphere in the lab is pleasant and collegial. Conclusions: Our findings can stimulate policy, managerial, and career development improvements in the context of the postdoc system.
Highlights
Post-doctorate fellows are a major force in advancing scientific research, and often are the driving force behind successful labs, especially in the bio-medical area
Life satisfaction was quantified by five items, each reported on a 1–7 scale, based on the established Diener et al.’s (1985) Satisfaction with Life scale: “In most ways my life is close to my ideal,” “The conditions of my life are excellent,” “I am satisfied with my life,” “So far I have gotten the important things I want in life,” “If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing”
Considering that prior research using the same satisfaction scale typically suggests a positive bias of people when asked about life satisfaction (Abdallah et al, 2009; Diener et al, 1985), our results demonstrate a surprisingly low well-being among people that are one step away from their “dream” appointment position
Summary
Post-doctorate fellows (i.e. postdocs) are a major force in advancing scientific research, and often are the driving force behind successful labs, especially in the bio-medical area. A common assumption is that PhDs pursue a postdoc position in an academic research institution to enhance their research skills and reputation, which in turn increases their chances of obtaining the ultimate goal: a tenure track academic appointment. While this is a worthy goal to pursue, and there is no doubt that a postdoc position is often key for a future academic appointment, there are growing concerns that the postdoc system is broken and unsustainable (Alberts et al, 2014; Gould, 2015). Conclusions: Our findings can stimulate policy, managerial, and career development improvements in the context of the postdoc system
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