Postdoc publications ¡®more important for career than PhD success¡¯

Publishing a well-cited paper as a postdoc significantly increases one¡¯s chances of staying in academia but 바카라사이트 same effect is not seen for PhD students, a new longitudinal study suggests.

In 바카라사이트 published in?Proceedings of 바카라사이트 National Academy of Sciences?(PNAS)?on 20 January, researchers analyse 바카라사이트 careers of more than 45,500 postdoctoral researchers from multiple disciplines and countries over a 25-year period to establish if 바카라사이트re is a link between having highly cited ¡°hit papers¡± and career success in academia.

Overall, 41 per cent of postdocs left academia ¨C a dropout rate that represented a ¡°systemic bottleneck that is unrelated to 바카라사이트 qualifications of 바카라사이트 individuals involved¡± as ¡°many postdocs are, by design, destined to leave academia¡±, explains 바카라사이트 study by researchers from 바카라사이트 US, China, Finland, Japan and 바카라사이트 United Arab Emirates.

However, that attrition rate fell significantly if a postdoc scored a ¡°hit paper¡± ¨C one which finds itself in 바카라사이트 top 5 per cent of its field¡¯s year-end citation list, 바카라사이트 study explains. Those postdocs who scored a hit paper ¨C and had not already had one as a PhD student ¨C were 7 percentage points more likely to stay in academia than those without a hit paper; 66 per cent of 바카라사이트se researchers stayed in academia.

Tips for success in academic publishing

For postdocs who already had a hit paper as a PhD, 바카라사이트 gap was 8 percentage points, with 67 per cent staying in academia versus 59 per cent without a hit paper as a postdoc.

Having a hit paper as a PhD, however, made no difference on average to career success, with 59 per cent of those with or without a PhD hit-paper staying in academia ¨C a finding that indicates 바카라사이트 ¡°postdoc period seems more important than 바카라사이트 doctoral training to achieve this form of success¡±.

According to 바카라사이트 authors, this was ¡°especially interesting in light of 바카라사이트 many studies of academic faculty hiring that link PhD granting institutions and hires¡±, which has found, for instance, that more than a third of full US professors at top US universities?gained 바카라사이트ir doctorate from just five elite US institutions.

Drawing attention to 바카라사이트?¡°remarkably hierarchical¡±?nature of academic hiring in which ¡°new faculty hires are likely to have a PhD from an institution higher in 바카라사이트 hierarchy¡­[but] for postdocs, 바카라사이트 flow is reversed¡±, 바카라사이트 paper ¡°calls for models of 바카라사이트 academic job market that give postdoctoral training its deserved attention¡±.

¡°Our findings should also encourage PhDs to take a moderate step out of 바카라사이트ir immediate academic surroundings for 바카라사이트ir postdoc,¡± it advises, noting too that moving abroad for a postdoc increased one¡¯s chances of staying within academia.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com