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From goal to outcome: Analyzing the progression of biomedical sciences PhD careers in a longitudinal study using an expanded taxonomy

Recommended audience(s):
Ph.D. candidates, Ph.D. holder; Dean; Supervisors

Review prepared by:
Amelie Bourdiec, Ph.D

The study presents a longitudinal analysis of a cohort comprising Biomedical Science Ph.D. candidates who completed their studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, between 1997 and 2021. It provides insights into the trajectories, objectives, and employment outcomes of 1,500 alumni at various intervals of 1, 3, 5, and 10 years post-graduation. This colossal prospective and retrospective work brought to light the versatility of Ph.D. alumni in terms of career outcomes. Authors shared that the Ph.D. training in Biomedical Sciences is a great preparation for the workforce since alumni pursue a wide range of interesting and impactful careers, both inside and outside academia. Prior to the first non-training job, authors describe what is called a career goals shift in 54% of Ph.D. candidates between matriculation and defense where career goals are different from the time they entered into the program and at the time of the thesis defense. Similar proportions and reasons for changing goals are shared with the 2023 Trainee Portrayal analysis made from 248 Master, Ph.D. and Postdoc participants registered in a McGill Biomedical department. In both analyses, shifted career goals justification was given through negative comments made toward Academia, PI’ lifestyle, the funding competition, the lack of faculty position and mismatch between being a PI and the respondent’s strengths or values or interests. This is an important signal for the community to address Academic negative’ perceptions and implement various professional development training, including multiple mentoring, during graduates school.

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