The Postdoctoral Experience Revisited (2014) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Summary
Summary
Pages 1-10
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 1... ...
Is the perceived status of postdoctoral researchers a possible disincentive to undergraduates and graduate students who are considering independent research careers? Why are more reliable data not collected about the current postdoctoral population and the career outcomes of former postdoctoral researchers?
|
From page 2... ...
The American Association for the Advancement of Science developed MyIDP, software that enables graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to develop individual development plans that help them to understand their career options more clearly and to make better informed career decisions. Other aspects of postdoctoral training have seen little change.
|
From page 3... ...
Lack of data makes it difficult for leaders in research institutions and funding agencies to make policies about the role postdoctoral training should play in the research enterprise and for young people interested in science and engineering to make informed decisions on their career paths. Most postdoctoral researchers are employed by principal investigators to work on research grants, which creates an inherent source of stress.
|
From page 4... ...
2.1 Funding agencies should have a consistent designation for "postdoctoral researchers," and require evidence that advanced research training is a component of the postdoctoral experience. 2.2 Host institutions should create or identity professional positions for individuals who are conducting research but who are not receiving training, and these individuals should receive appropriate remuneration, benefits, and privileges.
|
From page 5... ...
This recommendation requires action by all the different members of the research system: the funding agencies, the host institutions, the professional societies, the mentors, the postdoctoral researchers, and even the graduate students before becoming postdoctoral researchers. 3.1 Host institutions, especially those with graduate student populations, should provide multiple engagement activities to help students explore all avenues of career development.
|
From page 6... ...
Mentoring should not be solely a responsibility of the principal investigator, although he or she should be actively engaged in mentoring. Host institutions should create provisions that encourage postdoctoral researchers to seek advice, either formally or informally, from multiple 1 Two of the committee members do not support the recommendation for a prescriptive "salary standard" based upon one particular field and funding agency (here, the National Institutes of Health [NIH]
|
From page 7... ...
This recommendation requires action by the funding agencies and the host institutions, with supporting actions by the professional societies, the mentors, and the postdoctoral researchers themselves. 5.1 In addition to providing mentorship training and guidance to the immediate supervisors of the postdoctoral researchers, host institutions should establish mechanisms that make it easy for postdoctoral researchers to seek guidance from additional faculty or senior professionals who can enrich the postdoctoral training experience.
|
From page 8... ...
This information should be made publically available, particularly to prospective postdoctoral researchers. 6.3 Funding agencies should look favorably on grant proposals that include outcome data for an institution's postdoctoral researchers.
|
From page 9... ...
PDOs need to continue sharing experiences to help one another fulfill their potential to train mentors, organize career development activities, be a one-stop source of information for domestic and international postdoctoral researchers, manage postdoctoral researcher grievances, oversee data-gathering efforts, monitor institutional compliance with salary and benefits policy, and track the career progress of former postdoctoral researchers. Although currently these offices are often embedded within a larger graduate student affairs operation, they are essential for improving the visibility and recognition of postdoctoral researchers in their host institutions and deserve specialized recognition.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.