Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey

Results by Citizenship, All Institutions

Survey results by citizenship for all institutions aggregated together. Excludes respondents who indicated that they were not in fact a postdoc (question RE25 in "Your Postdoc")

You are viewing a simplified form of the survey results. See more details

Page 6: Your Postdoc

"Your Postdoc" covers the characteristics of the current appointment, the postdoc's field(s) of research, how the postdoc found the position, and the postdoc's goals when taking the position.

RE01. Which of the following characteristics describes your current position? [More details]
Check all that apply.
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
4 = You are expected to publish the result of your research 81.7% (2642 / 3232) 74.2% (2684 / 3619)
1 = Your position is temporary (i.e., there is a time limit associated with your position; there may be a renewal process.) 71.0% (2294 / 3232) 78.4% (2838 / 3619)
3 = Your postition involves substantially full-time research or scholarship 74.3% (2402 / 3232) 62.0% (2245 / 3619)
2 = Your position is primarily for the purpose of training in research or scholarship. 59.5% (1924 / 3232) 36.4% (1318 / 3619)
5 = You work under the supervision of a senior scholar or department 40.0% (1293 / 3232) 26.2% (947 / 3619)
6 = You are a clinical fellow 7.7% (249 / 3232) 1.2% (45 / 3619)
7 = Don't know ≤1.0% (≤33 / 3232) ≤1.0% (≤37 / 3619)
8 = Prefer not to answer ≤1.0% (≤33 / 3232) ≤1.0% (≤37 / 3619)
 
RE02. What is the highest academic degree that you hold? [More details]
(If you have earned more than one TYPE of doctorate-level/terminal degree, check more than one degree)
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
1 = Ph.D. 88.4% (2860 / 3237) 76.6% (2776 / 3626)
3 = M.D. 11.4% (370 / 3237) 14.5% (525 / 3626)
7 = Non-U.S. Ph.D. equivalent 1.5% (48 / 3237) 18.1% (658 / 3626)
12 = Please specify your highest academic degree 1.1% (35 / 3237) 1.3% (46 / 3626)
6 = D.V.M. ≤1.0% (≤33 / 3237) ≤1.0% (≤37 / 3626)
4 = D.D.S. ≤1.0% (≤33 / 3237) ≤1.0% (≤37 / 3626)
2 = Sc.D. ≤1.0% (≤33 / 3237) ≤1.0% (≤37 / 3626)
10 = Pharm.D. ≤1.0% (≤33 / 3237) ≤1.0% (≤37 / 3626)
8 = Non-doctoral terminal degree (e.g. MFA) ≤1.0% (≤33 / 3237) ≤1.0% (≤37 / 3626)
5 = D.O. ≤1.0% (≤33 / 3237) ≤1.0% (≤37 / 3626)
 
RE04. In what year did you earn you highest academic degree? [More details]
If you have earned more than one doctorate-level/terminal degree, please specify the year in which you received the most recent degree.
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
Mean 2000.2   2000.8  
Standard deviation 36.1   2.7  
 
RE05. Counting all your postdoctoral postitions together, for how many months have you been working as a postdoc? [More details]
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
Mean 29.1   29.1  
Standard deviation 23.3   21.6  
 
RE25. Are you a postdoc? [More details]
Note: Asked of people who did not satisfy all the criteria for the postdoc definition. People who answered No are not included in the aggregate data.
Condition: 1 not in RE01 or 2 not in RE01 or 3 not in RE01 or 4 not in RE01 or 5 not in RE01 or RE02=8 or RE02=9 or RE04<1998 [?]
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
1 = Yes 98.0% (2239 / 2285) 98.6% (2933 / 2975)
2 = No ≤1.0% (≤23 / 2285) ≤1.0% (≤30 / 2975)
3 = Don't know 1.4% (33 / 2285) ≤1.0% (≤30 / 2975)
4 = Prefer not to answer ≤1.0% (≤23 / 2285) ≤1.0% (≤30 / 2975)
 
RE07. Please select the name of the primary academic department, institute, school, research division, or directorate with which your current postdoctoral position is affiliated. [More details]
Note: Choices are institution-specific
Condition: len(survey.getInstitution().getDivisions()) > 0 [?]
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
1 44.4% (1106 / 2490) 40.4% (1182 / 2924)
2 13.9% (346 / 2490) 14.1% (413 / 2924)
4 9.7% (241 / 2490) 10.0% (292 / 2924)
3 7.3% (182 / 2490) 9.6% (280 / 2924)
6 3.4% (85 / 2490) 4.4% (130 / 2924)
5 3.6% (90 / 2490) 4.1% (121 / 2924)
8 3.3% (82 / 2490) 3.9% (115 / 2924)
10 3.4% (84 / 2490) 2.2% (64 / 2924)
9 2.6% (64 / 2490) 2.2% (64 / 2924)
7 1.6% (40 / 2490) 2.6% (76 / 2924)
[More choices]
 
RE08_revised. In what field of study is your current postdoctoral research? [More details]
Note: The taxonomy of research fields was derived from a (pre-final) version of the National Research Council's taxonomy of graduate programs

Select the field or fields that most accurately describe your current research from the list.  Note that we are asking about your research, not the field associated with your current department or affiliation.

(Please check no more than five)


  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
8 = Molecular Biology 21.3% (678 / 3182) 26.3% (940 / 3572)
2 = Cell Biology 18.5% (589 / 3182) 21.9% (782 / 3572)
1 = Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology 16.6% (528 / 3182) 20.0% (713 / 3572)
5 = Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics 13.9% (442 / 3182) 12.1% (432 / 3572)
9 = Neuroscience and Neurobiology 11.5% (365 / 3182) 11.7% (419 / 3572)
6 = Immunology and Infectious Diseases 9.2% (293 / 3182) 10.4% (370 / 3572)
81 = Chemistry 6.9% (218 / 3182) 9.4% (335 / 3572)
3 = Developmental Biology 7.2% (229 / 3182) 7.0% (249 / 3572)
7 = Microbiology 7.1% (226 / 3182) 5.7% (204 / 3572)
55 = Oncology 4.2% (133 / 3182) 4.8% (172 / 3572)
[More choices]
 
YP01a1. Please specify the month in which your current postdoctoral position began. [More details]
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
7 = July 17.7% (563 / 3189) 9.5% (337 / 3533)
9 = September 13.7% (438 / 3189) 11.7% (415 / 3533)
1 = January 10.8% (346 / 3189) 10.6% (373 / 3533)
8 = August 10.5% (335 / 3189) 8.8% (310 / 3533)
10 = October 8.5% (270 / 3189) 9.4% (333 / 3533)
6 = June 8.9% (284 / 3189) 7.4% (263 / 3533)
4 = April 5.3% (168 / 3189) 9.1% (320 / 3533)
11 = November 5.2% (166 / 3189) 7.8% (277 / 3533)
5 = May 6.1% (193 / 3189) 6.9% (245 / 3533)
2 = February 4.9% (156 / 3189) 7.3% (259 / 3533)
[More choices]
 
YP01b. Please specify the year in which your current postdoctoral position began. [More details]
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
Mean 2001.5   2002.4  
Standard deviation 35.6   1.3  
 
YP02_revised. How long do you expect that your current postdoctoral position will last? [More details]
Include the time you have already spent in your current position.
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
6 = 30-36 months 22.5% (648 / 2876) 22.4% (739 / 3301)
4 = 19-24 months 17.8% (512 / 2876) 17.9% (590 / 3301)
7 = 37-48 months 16.9% (487 / 2876) 10.1% (335 / 3301)
2 = 7-12 months 8.4% (242 / 2876) 11.8% (388 / 3301)
8 = 49-60 months 9.9% (284 / 2876) 6.9% (229 / 3301)
10 = Don't know 6.2% (178 / 2876) 7.0% (232 / 3301)
5 = 25-29 months 5.7% (163 / 2876) 7.4% (244 / 3301)
3 = 13-18 months 4.3% (124 / 2876) 6.9% (227 / 3301)
1 = 0-6 months 3.2% (91 / 2876) 6.1% (200 / 3301)
9 = More than 60 months 4.5% (128 / 2876) 2.4% (80 / 3301)
[More choices]
 
YP03. Is your position a full-time position, or is it a part-time or fractional position? [More details]
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
1 = Full-time 97.2% (3123 / 3212) 97.2% (3461 / 3559)
2 = Part-time or fractional 2.1% (68 / 3212) 1.7% (60 / 3559)
3 = Don't know ≤1.0% (≤33 / 3212) ≤1.0% (≤36 / 3559)
4 = Prefer not to answer ≤1.0% (≤33 / 3212) ≤1.0% (≤36 / 3559)
 
YP04. How does your institution classify your postdoctoral position? [More details]
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
1 = Employee 27.7% (893 / 3221) 38.9% (1391 / 3575)
2 = Student 7.9% (255 / 3221) 6.7% (240 / 3575)
4 = Fellow (non-employee, non-student) 43.4% (1397 / 3221) 37.4% (1336 / 3575)
5 = Other, please specify 11.6% (375 / 3221) 7.4% (264 / 3575)
3 = Don't know 9.2% (295 / 3221) 9.3% (334 / 3575)
6 = Prefer not to answer ≤1.0% (≤33 / 3221) ≤1.0% (≤36 / 3575)
 
YP06. How did you learn about your current postdoctoral position? [More details]
Sampling: Asked of ~1 in 2 respondents [?]
Select all that apply.
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
5 = Made contact with your postdoc advisor directly and asked about available openings 39.7% (750 / 1887) 38.6% (801 / 2074)
1 = Graduate advisor 24.5% (463 / 1887) 16.4% (340 / 2074)
6 = An adverstisement in a professional society journal or web site 12.2% (230 / 1887) 15.1% (313 / 2074)
3 = Another researcher at your institution 11.2% (212 / 1887) 12.4% (258 / 2074)
2 = Postdoc advisor 10.6% (200 / 1887) 11.9% (247 / 2074)
13 = Other, please specify 10.2% (192 / 1887) 7.3% (151 / 2074)
4 = A researcher at the institution at which you now work 8.4% (159 / 1887) 8.0% (165 / 2074)
8 = A conference 5.3% (100 / 1887) 8.1% (169 / 2074)
7 = An adverstisement in a publication or web site not affiliated with a professional society 5.0% (94 / 1887) 4.4% (92 / 2074)
12 = University HR site 1.5% (28 / 1887) 1.5% (32 / 2074)
[More choices]
 
YP11. How many postdoctoral positions were you offered during your most recent job search? [More details]
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
Mean 2.3   2.4  
Standard deviation 1.8   1.8  
 
YP12. Thinking back to when you were looking for your current postdoctoral position, how did you rate the importance of each of the following factors? [More details]
Note: Asked of people who had at most one job offer when looking for their current position.
Condition: YP11<=1 [?]
 
Thinking back to when you were looking for your current postdoctoral position, how did you rate the importance of each of the following factors?
YP12A. Salary [More details]
Condition: YP11<=1 [?]
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
1 = Not at all important 15.9% (239 / 1501) 10.6% (173 / 1634)
2 = Somewhat important 54.0% (810 / 1501) 53.8% (879 / 1634)
3 = Very important 27.7% (416 / 1501) 33.7% (550 / 1634)
4 = Don't know/Not applicable 2.4% (36 / 1501) 2.0% (32 / 1634)
 
Thinking back to when you were looking for your current postdoctoral position, how did you rate the importance of each of the following factors?
YP12B. Benefits [More details]
Condition: YP11<=1 [?]
  Citizens / Permanent Residents Temporary Visa Holders
1 = Not at all important 15.8% (236 / 1496) 12.3% (200 / 1628)
2 = Somewhat important 48.5% (725 / 1496) 49.7% (809 / 1628)
3 = Very important 32.9% (492 / 1496) 34.3% (558 / 1628)
4 = Don't know/Not applicable 2.9% (43 / 1496) 3.7% (61 / 1628)
 
Thinking back to when you were looking for