Background and Goals
This survey of the postdoctoral experience at CU Boulder was administered by the university’s Office of Data Analytics and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) in Fall 2023. The survey aims to address three key questions: 1) What are the demographic characteristics of CU Boulder postdocs? 2) What is the social and professional environment like for postdocs at CU Boulder? and 3) What kinds or programming/workshops would postdocs like to see? Furthermore, there was interest in whether results differed based on international status (U.S. citizens vs. international postdocs), as well as gender. The results of the survey will be used to improve services and inform advocacy for CU Boulder postdocs.
A similar survey was administered in Spring 2018. In response to the findings from that survey, OPA implemented five-year term limit guidelines, increased programming around non-academic jobs and launched a peer mentoring program.
- Note. Any differences due to gender or citizenship status are reported below in italics. Otherwise, the results are statistically equivalent for men and women, and for international postdocs and U.S. citizens.
Who are CU Boulder’s postdocs?
Most postdocs are men (62%). Nearly half (47%) are not U.S. citizens. CU Boulder postdocs range in age from 26 to 71 years old. The great majority (92%) are less than 40 years old. The average age is 33 years.
- Half of UCB postdocs are affiliated with research initiatives and institutes such as CU NIST PREP Program, JILA, CIRES and LASP. About 17% are affiliated with engineering programs, nearly a third (31%) with natural sciences programs (primarily physics, biochemistry, chemistry, MCDB and ecology and evolutionary biology), and the remainder are spread across programs associated with communication and information science, libraries, education and social science. Survey responses indicate that 67% are married or with a long-term partner, and 21% have children.
Choosing to do a Postdoc
Postdocs rated career advancement, increasing knowledge (in a new field of study or doctoral field of study), and opportunity to conduct independent research as the most important reasons for pursuing a postdoc in general. With respect to choosing CU Boulder in particular, the most important factors cited were: opportunity to work with a specific faculty member or work group, success of their mentor/supervisor’s former trainees, this particular geographic area, CU Boulder as an institution, and working in the same geographic location as their spouse/partner.
Compared to U.S. citizens, international postdocs:
- Rated the following as more important factors in doing a postdoc: necessary for career advancement, providing an opportunity to teach, the availability of dual career opportunities, and, as we would expect, needing training in the U.S. to advance their career in their home country.
- Rated unavailability of other positions as a less important factor in doing a postdoc.
What does work look like for UCB postdocs?
- Duration. The vast majority of postdocs expect to be in their position 1-2 years (48%) or 3-4 years (41%). Only 11% expect their postdoc to be 5 years.
- Hours worked. Postdocs are working hard—87% work 40 or more hours per week. The majority of survey respondents (58%) reported working 40-49 hours per week. Nearly one in five (19%) reported working 50-59 hours, and 11% reported working 60 or more hours per week. Only 13% reported working fewer than 40 hours per week.
- International postdocs reported working a greater number of hours per week compared to U.S. citizens.
- Division of work time. Not surprisingly, postdocs report spending most of their time on research (mean percent of time reported = 64.42%), followed by writing (mean = 17.62% of time). Mentoring junior colleagues was next (M=10.34% of time), followed by professional skill development (M=8.96% of time), and lastly, teaching (M=2.4% of time).
- Workload evaluation. A majority (64%) of postdocs report that their workload is “neither too heavy nor too light,” 27% described their workload as “slightly too heavy,” and 5.5% described their workload as “far too heavy.” The majority of postdocs (56%) report having either “a great deal “ (22%) or “a lot” (34%) of control over their workload. A third (34%) report having "a moderate amount” of control; 7%, “a little” control; and 3%, “none at all”.
- Stress. A combined 29% of postdocs report “a lot” or “a great deal” of stress or anxiety related to their postdoctoral training. Fortunately, 48% report “a moderate amount” of stress and 23% percent report “a little stress” or “none at all.”
- Current work modality. Five percent of respondents reported that their current work modality is remote; 37%, hybrid; and 58%, in-person full time.
- International postdocs were more likely than U.S. citizens to report that their work modality is in-person full time.
Job Satisfaction
The great majority of postdocs are “extremely satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with:
- their overall postdoc experience (86%)
- the quality of guidance/mentoring (82%)
- the amount of time spent being individually advised by their supervisor/mentor (76%).
- Although most “strongly agree” or “agree” that their postdoc is preparing them for their future career (84%), only 57% are “extremely satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with “career development opportunities and guidance” from their department or unit, and 54.5% are “extremely satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with “career development opportunities at CU Boulder.”
Compensation and Promotion
Nearly half of postdocs are “extremely satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with their salary (47%), and 40% are “extremely dissatisfied” or “somewhat dissatisfied” with their salary. The majority of postdocs:
- do not consider their compensation sufficient to their costs of living – 65% of U.S. citizens, 64% of international postdocs, 72% of women, and 57% of men
- do feel there is equity in compensation -- 55% of U.S. citizens, 69% of international postdocs, 55% of women, and 65% of men
- do feel there is equity in promotion -- 70% of U.S. citizens, 79% of international postdocs, and 74% of women and men
| Compensation and Promotion | % Yes |
|---|---|
| Do you consider your compensation sufficient for your costs of living? | 36% |
| Do you feel there is equity in compensation? | 61% |
| Do you feel there is equity in promotion? | 74% |
- Women were less likely than men to agree that their compensation was sufficient to their costs of living.
Advising/Support
- Evaluation of performance. Although the great majority of postdocs (89%) report that they have received some kind of evaluation as a postdoc (informal, written, or oral), 11% report receiving no feedback of any kind regarding their performance (15% of women, 7% of men; 11% of U.S. citizens, 10% of international postdocs).
- Individual Development Plan. Just under half of respondents (46%) reported that they and their mentor had completed an Individual Development Plan together.
- Frequency meeting/communicating with supervisor/mentor.
- The great majority of respondents (89%) reported meeting or communicating with their supervisor/mentor regarding their postdoctoral work either “weekly or more” (69%) or “twice a month” (20%).
- Similarly, the great majority of respondents (89%) reported that, ideally, they would like to meet with their supervisor/mentor to discuss their postdoctoral progress either “weekly or more” (62%) or “twice a month” (27%).
Career Path
Nearly all respondents specified career paths that involve research with more than half (53%) indicating they are most interested in a “tenure-track faculty position with emphasis on research,” and about a third (31%) are most interested in a “non-academic research position.”
| Which career path are you most interested in? | % |
|---|---|
| Tenure-track faculty position with emphasis on research | 53% |
| Tenure-track position teaching | 7% |
| Non-academic research position | 31% |
| Scientific administration (NIH, government) | 5% |
| Sales/marketing | 0% |
| Journalism/science writing | 0% |
| *Other | 5% |
- International postdocs were more likely than U.S. citizens to express an interest in a “tenure-track faculty position with emphasis on research.”
Negative Experiences
Encounters with negative experiences were generally rare.
- The most commonly reported negative experience (10% of respondents) was “someone talking negatively to others about me.”
- Six percent reported experiencing verbal hostility (shouting, profanity, epithets, excessive criticism); 6% experienced undermining or impeding of their research/scholarship, including being denied or passed over for opportunities afforded to others; 5% were subject to hostile electronic communication; and 3.5% reported experiencing denial of access to resources or group exclusion.
- One percent of respondents reported being subject to unwanted sexual comments, unwanted physical or sexual contact, or threats to employment status (1%).
Note: Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number or .5%.
- Due to the small number of respondents who reported negative experiences, we could not break down these results by gender or citizenship status.
Impact of COVID-19
Survey respondents were asked if their career plans and their work modality changed “as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
| Impact of COVID-19 pandemic | Yes % |
|---|---|
| Career plans changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic* | 18% |
| Work modality changed long-term as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic | 36% |
- Women were more likely than men to report that their work modality changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Programming/Workshop/Seminar Interest: Job Sectors
With respect to programming on jobs, the highest percentages of postdocs indicated that they were “extremely interested” or “very interested” in workshops and seminars on academic positions at research universities or universities with an institute focus (68%), followed by industry (55%), alternative-academic positions, such as research and grants administration (46%), government (43%), teaching/small arts liberal arts colleges (29%) and freelance/startup positions (26%).
| Please indicate your interest in workshops/seminars focused on the following job sectors: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extremely interested | Very interested | Somewhat interested | Not at all interested | MEAN | |
| Academia - Research University/Institute focus (e.g., tenure-track faculty) | 44% | 24% | 21% | 11% | 3.0 |
| Industry | 24% | 31% | 31% | 14% | 2.6 |
| Alternative-Academic (Alt-Ac) (e.g., research and grants administration, research development, program management, educational or career program development, etc.) | 26% | 20% | 31% | 23% | 2.5 |
| Government | 19% | 24% | 40% | 17% | 2,5 |
| Academia - Teaching/Small Liberal Arts College focus | 15% | 14% | 39% | 32% | 2.1 |
| Freelance/Startup | 8% | 18% | 37% | 37% | 2.0 |
- International postdocs, compared to U.S. citizens, expressed:
- more interest in seminars about the research universities/institute job sector
- less interest in seminars about the government job sector
- Women, compared with men, expressed:
- more interest in seminars about the teaching/small liberal arts colleges job sector
- more interest in seminars about the alternative-academic job sector
Programming/Workshop/Seminar Interest: General Topics
Fifty percent or more of respondents indicated that they were “extremely interested” or “very interested” in 17 of 19 programming topics. The exceptions were “English language courses” (22%) and “International postdocs & US culture” (39%). Two thirds (67%) or more of respondents indicated that they were “extremely interested” or “very interested” in:
- workshops and seminars on salary and startup package negotiations (82%)
- interviewing skills (75%)
- preparing applications for grants and fellowships (72%)
- statistical analysis techniques for research (70%)
- applying to non-academic positions (e.g., industry, national labs, other) (69%)
- finding grant and fellowship funding (67%)
| Please indicate your interest in the following workshops/seminar topics: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extremely interested | Very interested | Somewhat interested | Not at all interested | MEAN | |
| Salary & startup package negotiations | 45% | 37% | 17% | 2% | 3.3 |
| Grants and fellowships: how to prepare your application | 50% | 22% | 21% | 6% | 3.2 |
| Interviewing skills | 37% | 38% | 20% | 5% | 3.1 |
| Statistical analysis techniques for research | 43% | 27% | 23% | 8% | 3.1 |
| Grants and fellowships: how to find funding | 46% | 21% | 25% | 8% | 3.1 |
| Leadership, management & mentoring skills | 37% | 28% | 27% | 8% | 3.1 |
| Applying to non-academic positions (e.g., industry, national labs, other) | 40% | 29% | 26% | 5% | 3.0 |
| Project management skills & careers | 36% | 30% | 30% | 5% | 3.0 |
| CV and resume writing | 33% | 30% | 32% | 5% | 2,9 |
| Building your mentoring team/mentoring up | 24% | 32% | 34% | 10% | 2,9 |
| Applying to tenure-track positions | 38% | 25% | 20% | 17% | 2,8 |
| How to network | 32% | 27% | 29% | 12% | 2,8 |
| Science writing/communication skills & careers | 31% | 32% | 25% | 11% | 2.8 |
| Writing for publication | 30% | 30% | 27% | 14% | 2.8 |
| Presentation skills | 29% | 26% | 32% | 13% | 2.7 |
| Conflict resolution techniques | 24% | 32% | 34% | 10% | 2.7 |
|
Career planning/writing your Individual Development Plan (IDP) |
23% | 34% | 32% | 12% | 2.7 |
| International postdocs & US culture | 16% | 23% | 19% | 42% | 2.1 |
| English language courses | 15% | 7% | 15% | 63% | 1.7 |
Awareness and Use of Campus Resources
The great majority of postdocs are aware of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Postdoctoral Association of Colorado, and about a quarter of survey respondents report having used those resources. About half of postdocs know of the Office of Victim Assistance (51%) and the Ombuds Office (48%), 44% know of the CU Boulder Faculty Relations Office, and 33% know of the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program. Less than 10% of survey respondents report having used those resources.
| Aware of resource | Have used resource | |
|---|---|---|
| CU Boulder Office of Postdoctoral Affairs | 89% | 23% |
| Postdoctoral Association of Colorado | 84% | 25% |
| Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) | 33% | 9% |
| Office of Victim Assistance (OVA) | 51% | 7% |
| Ombuds Office | 48% | 3% |
| CU Boulder Faculty Relations Office | 44% | 3% |
- U.S. citizens were more likely than international postdocs to report being aware of the Ombuds Office.
- Women were more likely than men to report having used the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.
- U.S. citizens were more likely than international postdocs to report having used the Postdoctoral Association of Colorado and the CU Boulder Faculty Relations Office.
Appendix
Methodology
- The survey was open from September 19, 2023 until October 6, 2023
- The survey took, on average, approximately 15 minutes to complete
- Participants were entered into a drawing to win one of four $250 Visa gift cards
Analytic Approach
- Statistically significant difference were defined as having a p-value of less than .05.
- Continuous outcomes were examined in regression models with gender and international status both included as contrast coded predictors.
- Categorical outcomes were examined tested using Fisher’s Exact Test (due to small cell sizes).
- There was insufficient power to examine Gender x International Status interactions.