ABSTRACT

There is a growing need to support diversified career pathways for doctoral students. However, research on the determinants of doctoral students’ preferences to pursue future careers outside academia is still limited, or indeed is absent when careers in the government and nonprofit sectors (GNS) are considered. Using data from the 2019 Nature PhD Students Survey, this paper explores factors that influence PhD students’ preferences for GNS career pathways. The results show that the personal attributes, motivations, and concerns of students considering careers outside academia are generally similar, notwithstanding their career preference by sector of activity. However, the results also suggest that doctoral students who lean towards GNS careers have different personal attributes, motivations, and concerns than those wanting to work in the business sector. Specifically, compared with those preferring employment in the business sector, doctoral students who are concerned about the political landscape and care less about the uncertainty of career prospects are more inclined to work in the nonprofit sector. Compared with those preferring employment in the business sector, those who enjoy creativity and the academic environment tend to prefer employment in the government sector. Older and female doctoral students are also more likely to consider GNS career pathways.

摘要

越来越需要支持博士生的多元化职业道路。然而，关于博士生在学术界以外追求未来职业的偏好的决定因素的研究仍然有限，或者在考虑政府和非营利部门 (GNS) 的职业时确实缺乏。使用来自 2019 Nature的数据博士生调查，本文探讨了影响博士生对 GNS 职业道路偏好的因素。结果表明，考虑到学术界以外的职业的学生的个人属性、动机和关注点通常是相似的，尽管他们的职业偏好是按活动部门划分的。然而，结果还表明，倾向于 GNS 职业的博士生与那些想在商业领域工作的博士生有着不同的个人属性、动机和担忧。具体而言，与更喜欢在商业领域工作的博士生相比，关注政治环境、不太关心职业前景不确定性的博士生更倾向于在非营利部门工作。与那些更喜欢在商业领域工作的人相比，那些喜欢创造力和学术环境的人往往更喜欢在政府部门工作。年长和女博士生也更有可能考虑 GNS 职业道路。