Journal article
Kathleen Van Benthem, M. N. Adi, Christopher T. Corkery, Jiro Inoue, N. Jadavji
2020
2020
Semantic Scholar
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APA
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Benthem, K. V., Adi, M. N., Corkery, C. T., Inoue, J., & Jadavji, N. (2020). The central role of mental health and skills training, supervisor, and future career prospects in job satisfaction of postdoctoral fellows.
Chicago/Turabian
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Benthem, Kathleen Van, M. N. Adi, Christopher T. Corkery, Jiro Inoue, and N. Jadavji. “The Central Role of Mental Health and Skills Training, Supervisor, and Future Career Prospects in Job Satisfaction of Postdoctoral Fellows” (2020).
MLA
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Benthem, Kathleen Van, et al. The Central Role of Mental Health and Skills Training, Supervisor, and Future Career Prospects in Job Satisfaction of Postdoctoral Fellows. 2020.
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@article{kathleen2020a,
title = {The central role of mental health and skills training, supervisor, and future career prospects in job satisfaction of postdoctoral fellows},
year = {2020},
author = {Benthem, Kathleen Van and Adi, M. N. and Corkery, Christopher T. and Inoue, Jiro and Jadavji, N.}
}
Abstract
252/250 words) The postdoctoral position was originally created as a short training period for PhD holders on the path to becoming university professors. Over time, the number of postdoctoral trainees (postdocs) has exceed the number of available faculty positions. To better understand trends and the state of the postdoctoral training in the 21st century the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars – l’Association Canadienne des Stagiaires Postdoctoraux (CAPS-ACSP) conducted three professional national surveys in 2009, 2013, and 2016 of postdocs working in Canada and Canadian postdocs working internationally. We investigated longitudinal changes in postdoctoral demographics and career goals, as well as used the 2016 data to develop a path model for predicting postdoctoral training satisfaction using structural equation modelling. Our analysis revealed an aging cohort of postdocs, with positive trends towards gender equity in earnings. The strongest predictors of satisfaction with career training were opportunities for skills development, mental health symptoms, and level of encouragement from supervisors. Predictors of satisfaction with compensation were salary, skills training, mental health, and encouragement from supervisors. To investigate the importance of mental health, we also quantified the extent that mental health factors mediated the effects of significant predictors of satisfaction. This first in-depth analysis of mental health symptoms illuminates the postdoc experience in academia. Our results add to other international research findings on postdoctoral training and indicate that adjustments to training policies, such as prioritizing access to physical and mental health services, and better preparation for non-academic training goals, are critically needed to improve both intrinsic and extrinsic job