Graduate Students, postdocs, and early career scientists play a key role in the generation of new scientific findings, and they constitute the future scientific workforce. Despite their important role in advancing science, the placements of early career doctorates in many fields seem inconsistent with their education and training. Many postdoctoral positions are long and poorly compensated, and provide their holders with uncertain career prospects at their conclusion.
The NBER, with the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, is continuing its research project on the early career paths of scientists. The project is directed by Donna Ginther (University of Kansas and NBER) with a scientific review committee of Joshua Rosenbloom (Iowa State University and NBER) and Bruce Weinberg (Ohio State University and NBER). The project will convene a research meeting on Friday, April 25, 2025 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC that will bring together a diverse group of researchers to present new evidence on early career doctorates and how the institutions surrounding them affect future scientific careers and productivity.
The conference organizers welcome papers by researchers from academia, government, and the private sector, on topics related to the impact of science funding on science careers. Studies comparing the institutional structures and experiences in different countries and describing the data available on the early stages of scientific careers are welcome. Topics that could be studied as part of the project include, but are not limited to:
• Does postdoctoral training raise the likelihood of pursing a scientific career?
• How does research funding affect scientific career trajectories?
• How does research experience in graduate school affect career outcomes?
• How do graduate students and postdocs contribute to the research and development system?
• What is the effect of team size on scientific careers?
• Is a postdoc required for industry employment?
• Do early career scientists conduct research in industry?
• How do postdocs compare across countries?
• How does the diversity of scientific teams affect research quality and quantity?
Submissions from researchers with and without NBER affiliations, from early career scholars and from researchers from under-represented groups are welcome. Please do not submit papers that will be published by April 2025.
To be considered for inclusion on the program, upload papers or detailed paper outlines with a timetable for completion by Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
Decisions about which papers will be included on the program will be announced by the end of January. All papers should include a comprehensive conflict of interest statement that describes any financial or other interests that the researchers might have with regard to the research. Please direct questions about this project to confer@nber.org.