| EMBO
FellowsNetWhere
are they now?
A survey of the career possibilities for young
scientists in the life sciences.
Text: Andrew Moore & Holger Breithaupt
Figures & statistics: Andrew Moore
The European Molecular Biology Organisation EMBO set out earlier this
year to analyse the career paths of young scientists in molecular biology
and conducted an anonymous survey among past and present EMBO fellowship
holders. As these grants are given mostly to European postdoctoral researchers,
it gives a representative impression of the whereabouts of young European
scientists after their Ph.D. The questionnaire posed questions on their
current income, current position, country of work and the stations on
their career path. 193 answers to the questionnaires were obtained and
analysed. The overwhelming majority of the respondents are European
citizens. Senior scientists in particular seem to find better payment
and job opportunities in the USA The survey found that the overwhelming
majority of former fellows found a position in their country of birth
within ten years after their Ph.D.
The remaining 16 per cent come from Israel, the USA and
Asian countries. The answers indicate that the job opportunities in
academia in Europe are better than most young scientists would expect.
In direct comparison, however, it also becomes clear that particularly
senior scientists find better payment and job opportunities in the USA.
When collating information about their career paths and options, EMBO
was most interested in the actual position and income of its fellows.
Figure 2 illustrates that as expected four fifths of those polled have
a postdoctoral position up to five years after their Ph.D. thesis. Only
13 per cent have a higher or permanent position in academia. Six to
ten years after their Ph.D., only roughly a third still hold a postdoctoral
position, while more than half of them have found a permanent academic
position. This trend continues for those who received their Ph.D. more
than ten years ago, although this statistics may not be significant
due to the low total number in this group.
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