Department of Psychology, Salem State University, Salem, MA 01970.
Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.
CBE Life Sci Educ. 2019 Jun;18(2):ar20. doi: 10.1187/cbe.18-09-0199.
Graduate students and postdocs in science, technology, engineering, and math fields are faced with a wide range of career paths to employment, but they are often not trained to effectively pursue these opportunities. The lack of career management skills implies long tenures in graduate school for many students, especially as tenure-track positions in academia dwindle. At our university, we used a cohort model in which graduate students and postdocs were encouraged to apply to the Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training program (BEST under the aegis of the National Institutes of Health) that provided opportunities to gain career management skills, engage in career exploration, and complete at least one formal internship. In this interview study of the BEST trainees, we investigated the efficacy of internships as career exploration tools and associated outcomes. Our findings show that internships were seen as effective career exploration and self-development vehicles that influenced participants' long-term career goals. Graduate students and postdocs reported gaining transferable knowledge and skills, in addition to receiving valuable industry mentoring and networking opportunities.
研究生和博士后在科学、技术、工程和数学领域面临着广泛的就业途径，但他们通常没有接受过有效追求这些机会的培训。缺乏职业管理技能意味着许多学生在研究生院的任期延长，尤其是在学术界的终身职位减少的情况下。在我们的大学，我们使用了一个队列模型，鼓励研究生和博士后申请由美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）支持的拓宽科研培训经验项目（BEST），该项目提供了获得职业管理技能、参与职业探索和完成至少一次正式实习的机会。在对 BEST 受训者的这项访谈研究中，我们调查了实习作为职业探索工具的效果及其相关结果。我们的研究结果表明，实习被视为有效的职业探索和自我发展工具，影响了参与者的长期职业目标。研究生和博士后报告说，他们除了获得宝贵的行业指导和建立人脉的机会外，还获得了可转移的知识和技能。
