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Tracking Career Outcomes for Postdoctoral Scholars: A Call to Action

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  • Elizabeth A Silva
  • Christine Des Jarlais
  • Bill Lindstaedt
  • Erik Rotman
  • Elizabeth S Watkins

Abstract

The oversupply of postdoctoral scholars relative to available faculty positions has led to calls for better assessment of career outcomes. Here, we report the results of a study of postdoctoral outcomes at the University of California, San Francisco, and suggest that institutions have an obligation to determine where their postdoc alumni are employed and to share this information with current and future trainees. Further, we contend that local efforts will be more meaningful than a national survey, because of the great variability in training environment and the classification of postdoctoral scholars among institutions. We provide a framework and methodology that can be adopted by others, with the goal of developing a finely grained portrait of postdoctoral career outcomes across the United States.This Perspective reports the results of a study of postdoctoral outcomes at UCSF and suggests that the same methodology could be used to help other institutions determine where their postdoc alumni are employed, with a view to sharing this information with current and future trainees.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth A Silva & Christine Des Jarlais & Bill Lindstaedt & Erik Rotman & Elizabeth S Watkins, 2016. "Tracking Career Outcomes for Postdoctoral Scholars: A Call to Action," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(5), pages 1-8, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pbio00:1002458
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002458
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    Cited by:

    1. Ambika Mathur & Annmarie Cano & Michael Kohl & Nisansala S Muthunayake & Prassanna Vaidyanathan & Mary E Wood & Mustafa Ziyad, 2018. "Visualization of gender, race, citizenship and academic performance in association with career outcomes of 15-year biomedical doctoral alumni at a public research university," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-16, May.
    2. Chiara Bruckmann & Endre Sebestyén, 2017. "Ten simple rules to initiate and run a postdoctoral association," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(8), pages 1-7, August.

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