Uncharted territory: navigating the pediatric urology job market

Abstract

There is not a structured algorithm, timeline, or resource on how, when, and which programs are looking for a new staff pediatric urologist. We hypothesized that current and future pediatric urology fellows could benefit from the experiences of recently graduated fellows on navigating the urology job market. The purpose of this study was to survey current and recent pediatric urology fellowship graduates about the process of finding their first job. A Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) online survey was designed and distributed through email to current fellows and 2012-2017 graduates. Results were evaluated using STATA. 153 participants were emailed, and 94 (61%) completed the survey. The plurality of applicants (44%) began the job search at the Spring American Urological Association meeting, 14 months before finishing (Figure). Of those who started 14 months before finishing, 33% wished they started earlier and 61% would have started at the same point. The median number of programs contacted for a position was 3-4 and the median number of programs visited and offers received was two. After the offer, 40% reported having >8 weeks to decide. Less than half (38.5%) hired an attorney for contract negotiation. Of those who hired an attorney, 68% felt it provided benefit. Regarding contract negotiation, 22% did not negotiate and 35% negotiated for salary. Unsurprisingly, 28% of those who took academic jobs thought negotiating for protected research/educational time was most important compared with only 4% of those who took non-academic jobs (P=0.02). When asked how they learned about the job they accepted: 28% were contacted by the program, 25% cold called the program, 30% accepted where they did residency or fellowship, and 18% learned through society websites. The plurality (50%) thought the number of desirable positions during the process were as they expected. 41% however, thought the number of desirable positions were expectedly or surprisingly low. Regarding quality of life and satisfaction with job/career choice, 98% stated that they would still choose to subspecialize in pediatric urology. The results from this survey should provide guidance to fellows on how to approach the job search with respect to timing, expectations, contract negotiation, and initial job satisfaction.