Key results of the 1^st Postdoc Survey of the Postdoc Center HZDR-TUD

The Postdoc Center surveyed more than 1200 postdocs (N = 1277) of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the TU Dresden (TUD) from March to April 2022 and obtained thereby a great number of information on topics such as career goals and next career steps as well as needs and wishes for the career development. Below you will find the key results of the 1^st Postdoc Survey.

What was the goal of the survey?

The survey pursued the goal of representing the needs concerning different further qualification offers for postdocs at the HZDR across institutes and locations and at the TUD across faculties and hence to create a data-based foundation for the long-term development, enlargement and specification of these. In doing so, the comparison between an university and non-university institution was essential. By means of the results of this survey, already existing measures of the Postdoc Center can be adapted and newly developed.

The survey focused on the following questions:

1. What does the academic curriculum vitae of the postdocs (especially employement situation) look like?
2. What does the professional career or rather the goals of the postdocs for a (non-)academic career look like?  
3. What are the wishes of the postdocs concerning their career development? What are the needs to pursue the career goal or the next career steps?
4. To what extent are there differences between women and men or between the postdoc phases early, advanced and senior concerning the above-mentioned questions?

If the respondents belonged to the TUD, they were additionally asked questions about their satisfaction with their current situation and the professional environment, as well as the arrangement and importance of the cooperation with their supervisors.

Who exactly was the target group of the survey?

The survey was based on the following population: The population corresponds to the entirety of all postdocs who received their doctorate a maximum of 12 years ago and who are working in academic fields at the HZDR and/or at the TUD below a W2 professorship, irrespective of their type of funding (employement or fellowship relationship) and who seek for or have already completed further qualification (e. g. habilitation, junior professorship, junior research group, TUD Young Investigator).

What are some of the most important results of the report?

1. With an adjusted sample of n = 418 cases, the adjusted response rate is around 33 %. In detail, there are 99 respondents from the HZDR and 319 from the TUD. Around 42 % of all survey participants of both institutions is female, and the average age of all respondents is around 37 years. About 160 persons of both institutions have an international citizenship.

2. For about 34 % of all respondents the completion of their doctorate was more than six years ago (senior postdocs, 7-12 years after the doctorate). The survey reached ca. 20 % of junior scientists whose doctorate is less than 2 years old (early postdocs). Both at the HZDR and at the TUD, the majority of respondents completed their doctorate between 3 and 6 years ago (advanced postdocs). In addition to the majority of scientific employees at both institutions (HZDR: approx. 68 %), around 8 % junior research group leaders and approx. 2 % junior professors also took part in the survey.

3. The respondents of both institutions tend to agree being satisfied with their career outlook, yet women need more support to define their career goal compared to men. The results also show that knowledge about the next or following career step is available, but also concerning this aspect women need more support on how to achieve it concretely. Furthermore in comparison to male postdocs, female postdocs need more support to develop their own scientific profile and more orientation help in the desicion making for or against an academic career.

4. Among the female participants of both institutions, the career options for an university professorship, a professorship at an university of applied sciences and a professorship at an university and additionally a position at a non-university research institution is rated as less attractive compared to the male participants. In contrast, there is the finding that among the male postdocs the career option of working in research and development in industry is more attractive compared to the female postdocs. A position in science management is rated as more attractive by the women of both institutions in comparison to the men. 

In keeping with these results is that female postdocs strive less actively for a job in the areas of research and/or teaching at an institution of higher education, research at a non-university research institution, research and development in industry and self-employment with reference to research than the male postdocs of both institutions. Furthermore, women seek more for being employed without reference to research compared to men. Moreover, with progressing postdoc phase postdocs of both institutions strive less for a job in research at a non-university research institution, for a job in research and development in industry, for an employment with reference to research, for an employment outside the science system with reference to research.    

5. More than the half of the postdocs of both institutions stated that they have experiences in proposal writing and acquiring third party funding. Nevertheless, they see a need for further qualification in this field - similarly for budget responsibility and leadership styles and/or leadership skills. HZDR postdocs would like most to receive support for the career development through workshops and trainings whereas TUD postdocs would like most to receive support from their supervisors. Postdocs of both institutions who know their career goal the more, the less they need support for their career development through workshops and trainings, but the more in the form of funding programs. In contrast, there are postdocs of both institutions who need even more knowledge for their next career step because they need as much more support for their career development in form of consultings/coachings, workshops and trainings, with the help of funding programs, from supervisors, through exchange with other postdocs and mentoring programs.

Compared to men, women would like to receive more support for their career development in the form of workshops and trainings, mentoring programs and individual consultings/coachings. Regarding possible career options within the science system, the results suggest that postdocs who rate these positions as much more as attractive career options would be more likely to use formats such as workshops/trainings or mentoring programs or exchange with other postdocs as a support format for their career development - but not support from supervisors (missing significance).

For more advanced postdocs of both institutions it is important to further qualify themselves in the academic competence areas such as confident appearance, research data management and negotiation skills, concerning non-academic competence areas there is a need in project management skills and business knowledge resp. basic knowledge of business administration. Furthermore, for women it is more important to further qualify themselves in the area of conflict management than for the men of both institutions.   

Do you have questions or comments about the survey?         

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Janine Göttling via email to j.goettling@hzdr.de.