PMC

Different senses of social belonging and research self-efficacy reported across social identity. Postdocs were asked to rate their level of agreement with statements regarding their sense of (A) intellectual and (B) social belonging in their (i) graduate school research group, (ii) graduate school department, and (iii) postdoctoral research group. (C) Postdocs were also asked the extent to which they had confidence in their ability as independent researchers (i.e., research self-efficacy). Responses were rated on a five-point scale (1, strongly disagree; 3, neither agree nor disagree; and 5, strongly agree). Bar charts show the percentage of respondents from each social identity groups disagreeing (black; 1 or 2), neutral (3; gray), or agreeing (white; 4 or 5) with the statements. For each question, the responses between social groups were compared using the chi-square test, and the level of significance is shown.

Changes in career interest patterns across the course of training, by social identity. Postdocs were asked to rate their of level interest on a five-point scale (1, no interest; 5, strong interest) in (A) a faculty position at a research-intensive university, (B) a faculty position at a teaching intensive university, (C) a research career outside academia (e.g., industry, pharmaceutical, biotech, government, start-up), and (D) a nonresearch career (consulting, policy, science writing, patent law, business, etc.) at PhD entry, PhD completion, and currently. Line graphs show the percentage of respondents from each social group reporting high levels of interest (i.e., 4 or 5). The percentage change in each training segment (i.e., from PhD entry to PhD completion; from PhD completion to postdoc) and the overall change (i.e., from PhD entry to currently) are shown. Statistical significance for changes in interest for each group and during each training segment were determined using paired t tests and repeated measures ANOVA. Full statistical analysis is shown in Supplemental Material Table S8.

Career goal clarity, knowledge, and career development among postdocs. (A and B) Postdocs were asked to rate their agreement with statements regarding their (A) clarity about their career goals and (B) knowledge about their potential career options at PhD entry, PhD completion, and currently. Responses were rated on a five-point scale (1, strongly disagree; 3, neither agree nor disagree; and 5, strongly agree). Line charts show the percentage of respondents answering 4 or 5 (i.e., agree or strongly agree). Paired t tests and repeated measures ANOVA were used to compare changes in the level of agreement during graduate training (PhD entry to PhD completion), and over the course of training (PhD entry to currently). Significant differences are shown. See Supplemental Material Tables S4–S6 for full data and statistical analysis underlying A and B. (C–E) Postdocs were asked to rate their level of agreement with statements regarding (C) the extent to which they received structured career development in their graduate department or postdoctoral institution; (D) the extent to which they found equal support for pursuit of academic and nonacademic careers from their graduate advisors, graduate department, or postdoctoral advisor; and (E) the extent to which their graduate and postdoctoral advisors were invested in their career. Responses were rated on a five-point scale (1, strongly disagree; 3, neither agree nor disagree; and 5, strongly agree). Bar charts show the percentage of respondents disagreeing with (black; 1 or 2), neutral about (3; gray), or agreeing with (white; 4 or 5) the statements. See Supplemental Material Table S7 for full data and statistical analysis and underlying C–E.