Welcome to the info session for the FUTURE Career Exploration Program We’re housed at the Clinical and Translational Science Center on the UC Davis Health Campus I’m Rachel Reeves, the Associate Director of FUTURE Program Before I get into the format of the program, I think it’s important to lay out some of our values and context. We were originally funded by the National Institutes of Health to address a gap in PhD and Postdoc training, and that mandate influenced the way that we built the program.
First, let’s talk about value: We believe that the world right now needs more of the skillsets you have developed in your training: Data analysis, critical thinking, independence, project management, a capacity for evidence-based decision making, … as well as your particular subject expertise And we’re not alone! In the past decade, governments (including the US) have called for more PhDs - specifically more than the academic job market requires - for your potential contributions to innovation, research, and economic development And career outcomes bear out that value. 2
As of 2012, 80% of PhD-trained scientists held positions outside of the tenure-track faculty - a number we don’t see falling. And yet tenure-track faculty continues to be the default assumed career outcome of PhD and Postdoc training. This mismatch - between the powerful socialization toward tenure-track faculty positions and the actual breadth of career outcomes - has created a crisis of confidence among scientists entering the job market who feel they are not properly prepared for the career transition they’re facing, or even know their options. Again, this isn’t a world that needs fewer or less confident scientists. So we built a program to address the gap. 3
We started from three principles: - That researchers should have space to develop their career plans and that this space should be both free of outside value judgements about particular paths and also streamlined to fit within your research process - That exploration alongside different disciplines concerned in human health would broaden the career prospects that our participants are exposed to, while also staying grounded in the values and training experiences that we have in common - That career exploration (as well as research training) is an embodied experience and that the way that your identities and backgrounds shape your career should be part of our conversation With these principles in mind, we developed an intervention that addressed the specific gaps we (and NIH) saw in the research training experience.
Here’s what our program provides: First, the basic tools and skills to succeed in career exploration – think of writing a top-of-the-stack resume, interviewing, negotiating a job offer Second, space to understand and explore *your* skills, values, and interests in order to make empowered career decisions - in the environment of the lab it can be really easy to subsume your interests under the goals of the lab, and it can take time to rebuild an awareness of what you enjoy and you need Third - A network ! We know that a network is important for career success and yet many researchers aren’t sure where to start and how to maintain helpful professional relationships - so we offer a seed network and the skills to use it Last but not least - we know that career exploration can be isolating, particularly if you’re considering something outside of the tenure-track. The FUTURE program is a place to find a community of fellow travelers on your career journey.
Here are the specific ways you’ll encounter these components - skills, space, network , and community: You’ll begin with our 10-week workshop series . This is the gateway into the program It was built to be practical and streamlined: These online workshops are 90 minutes each. There is no busy work. the things you will build and practice will be concretely useful to your job search: you’ll walk out with a resume, a compelling LinkedIn profile, the ability to network and negotiate - as well as a clearer picture of your career goals. Within the workshop series, you’ll be introduced to our partner network for informational interviews and career panels. This is the beating heart of the program – 130+ phd professionals in a variety of sectors and roles, all willing to share their journey and details about their jobs. If you complete the workshop series, you’ll continue to have access to the partner network as long as you’re at UC Davis (for example if, two years after the workshop series, you discover that you want to explore medical science liaison work, we can make those connections).
Another real strength of the program is the size and energy of our peer community You’ll work most intensively at first with your workshop cohort of 15-25. Other ways this community manifests is in - peer support groups – for instance for those on the job market right now - A quarterly newsletter – to celebrate your professional steps forward, even those that might not as legible your departments - and a weekly digest of relevant local opportunities - trainings, career panels, internships, jobs -- many of which are sent to us through our partners and community members (in some cases offering inside referrals) Finally, career exposures . You may have first encountered FUTURE through our open-to-campus workshops on state jobs for scientists, working with a visa, or career chats Membership in the FUTURE program gives you priority access to this programing. Other opportunities come through training programs offered by the Clinical and Translational Science Center - including exposure to clinical research. These four components cover what we see as the missing pieces in graduate and postdoc training - space, resources, and connections for career development. 6
In these next few slides we’ll look a little closer at the FUTURE Community. Our partner network has really been shaped by the interests of our participants (if you don’t see what you’re looking for, talk to us and we’ll find it). - We have the most partners in the the for- profit sector (which includes industry, consultancy, and startups) - Our partners in the academic sector include people in teaching-intensive roles, research development, science communication - Our government partners work at the federal, state, and local levels and can speak to value of science policy fellowships such as AAAS, CCST - Non-profit partners include people in museum and outreach work as well as non-profit research institutes The thing they all have in common is that t.hey are excited to help you on your career journey
Our participant profile is representative of the robust variety of health-related research happening on the UC Davis campus Cohort by cohort, PhDs and postdocs are fairly evenly represented - which means you’ll have peers at your stage of training - another advantage there is that, for many of our PhD students, one career move they’re often considering is a postdoc, and we’ve found our postdocs to be generous with information about their work. We’re also coming from every school and college in the university
Again, you can see we have very broad representation across disciplines: 6 colleges 31 graduate groups 62 departments The common thread is that each of our participants is able to argue for the relevance of their work to human health. And while not all of our partners work in health-related fields, and our participants aren’t necessarily restricting themselves to health-research goals, it’s been helpful to have these values and research experiences in common as we consider where to take them
Speaking of where we take our skills: Here are the first positions our alumni take after leaving their research training at UC Davis. For many of our participants, maintaining direct involvement with research is a top priority. This appears in the prevalence of “research scientists” in both industry and academia. That said, there is a great variety of roles within academia and many alumni appreciate staying involved in the work of the university. Our fastest-growing alumni sector is government, which capitalizes on our connections with the many agencies and policy offices in Sacramento. Finally, I want to draw your attention to the presence of Tenure-track Faculty among our alumni. Many members of our community come to FUTURE looking to create a Plan B – we respect that approach. …And certainly it doesn’t hurt an academic job search to have practice networking, interviewing, and negotiating.
We believe the experience of the career transition is as important as the destination, and we ask our members about that experience The most powerful measure of FUTURE’s success is our members’ recommendation : Last year, We had over 100 participants, the majority of whom joined at the recommendation of a colleague. After the ten week workshop, Members report a significant drop in feelings of isolation , a major factor in mental health. Beyond the workshop we continue to provide support and connection: including the Weekly Digest and Quarterly check ins on your professional goals. Having seen the job market, 95% of our Alumni say the FUTURE Program has been a positive influence on their career , most frequently citing job search skills, networking skills, and support from FUTURE team as factors in the success of their transition.
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