oneA postdoctoral position is often considered the first stepping stone to a career in academia. According to recent surveys, many postdoctoral scholars feel disillusioned and stressed and end up leaving academia.1,2 But this is not common.
Some postdoctoral scholars go on to become successful academic researchers. Such contrasting career trajectories have led researchers to wonder what sets these two groups apart. Some studies show that graduate training shapes future career paths, with people with PhDs from prestigious institutions more likely to be hired as faculty.3,4 However, the impact of the postdoctoral fellowship period on the academic job market remains underexplored.
Now, a team led by Bedoor AlShebli of NYU Abu Dhabi and Petter Holme of Aalto University has analyzed publishing trends and found that the number and impact of publications during a postdoc influences future academic success.5 Results were reported today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesshowing that postdoctoral training plays a more important role in the academic job market than originally thought.
To investigate how the postdoctoral period affects researchers’ careers, AlShebli, Holme, and their colleagues gathered information from publication databases and online professional networks. The assembled dataset contains information on more than 45,000 occupations spanning 25 years, spanning all disciplines around the world. Their analysis of the dataset revealed that 41% of postdoctoral fellows left academia.
Armed with this data, the team compared the number of publications and citations the researchers produced during their graduate and postdoctoral years and tracked their career paths. They found that those who published fewer papers during their postdoctoral training than graduate students were more likely to leave academia. They also note that those who publish popular papers (highly cited papers) during their postdocs are more likely to stay in academia. This trend was observed regardless of whether researchers published popular papers during their PhD, suggesting that success during the postdoc period is more important than success at the PhD level.
Once the researchers determined who was more likely to stay in academia, they investigated who was more likely to succeed in that career path. They studied the citation patterns of new teachers and used their h-index to assess their success. Publishing popular papers during PhD or postdoctoral training greatly increases the likelihood of academic success. Publishing popular papers at PhD and postdoc levels further improves the chances of success.
Academics view the postdoctoral period as an opportunity for new PhD holders to broaden their experience in exploring new research topics and changing institutions.6 Comparing the performance of younger faculty on this basis shows that modest changes in subject matter and postdoctoral opportunities abroad are associated with future success.
The authors note that while an excellent PhD is important for obtaining a good postdoctoral position, academic career paths are determined by complex factors. They argue that those in the academic job market must give postdoctoral training the treatment it deserves and not just view it as a waiting period for tenure.
