This newsletter shows the first results of a longitudinal analysis of the CTC-18 cohort, which consists of people who applied for Early Postdoc.Mobility and Postdoc.Mobility in fall 2018. The following results are preliminary as the data preparation has not been completed ye

Erzinger, A.B.

Kittelberger, S.

Lüthi, J.

Zimmermann, B.

English

As in our previous newsletter, we explore our first longitudinal dataset to give insights on working conditions and changes of professional values in the last years. The data include the first four waves (2018–2021) of the CTC-18 cohort, which consists of people who applied for Early Postdoc.Mobility or Postdoc.Mobility in fall 201

Erzinger, A. B.

Bern Open Repository and Information System (BORIS)

source: https://doi.org/10.48350/171932 | downloaded: 24.10.2022SNSF Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) Newsletter 2022/2Status of the studyIn the spring surveys of the fifth year of the Career TrackerCohorts (CTC) study, we have successfully interviewed1572 participants over four cohorts (2018–2021), and weare currently preparing and documenting the data. Wetake this opportunity to thank all our – meanwhile long-term – study participants for their important contribution!As in our previous newsletter, we explore our first lon-gitudinal dataset to give insights on working conditionsand changes of professional values in the last years. Thedata include the first four waves (2018–2021) of the CTC-18 cohort, which consists of people who applied for EarlyPostdoc.Mobility or Postdoc.Mobility in fall 2018.Working conditions and career expectations three years after the initial SNSF applicationThe survey participants and their application historyIn fall 2018, 450 people had applied for either Early Post-doc.Mobility or Postdoc.Mobility. Since then, as manyas 38% have applied for an SNSF career funding schemeagain, a few even up to four times. The average numberof applications was 1.4. Between 2018 and 2021, 63% re-ceived a positive funding decision for at least one of theirapplications, 8% even for two. 238 people (53%) receiveda positive funding decision for the application in fall 2018,when they were surveyed for the first time.Three years later – in 2021 – 214 people participatedin the monitoring survey (60% of all applicants from2018). For 152 of the survey participants their grant hadended, 7 reported it was still running, and 26 had al-ready started their next grant. Finally, 39 reported thatthey were not doing academic research anymore or notat the time. This includes both former grantees and non-grantees. Note that the current status of the grant is onlyknown for applicants who participated in the surveys (formore details on the response rates of this cohort see theNewsletter 2022/1).Good conditions when working from homeWhile in spring 2020 a majority worked mainly fromhome, participants thereafter gradually returned to theiroffices and labs. Consequently, the share of work per-formed at home decreased, and most recently amountedto 45%. If people worked from home in fall 2021,they reported having sufficient resources and adequatework spaces. While they agree with the statement thatthey work very efficiently when working from home,they also agree that the boundaries between workingand private life become blurred. Finally, work be-ing left behind because of demands at home doesnot seem to be a big issue. There are no signifi-cant differences between male and female participants.Available resourcesare sufficientWork from homeis very efficientBoundaries between workingand private life blurredWorkspace at homeis physically adequateWork is left behinddue to demands at home-1 0 1-2Do notagree at all2FullyagreeMaleFemale(spikes denote 95% CI; N=197)Working from homewww.careertrackercohorts.ch 1/3 info@careertrackercohorts.chSelf-rating of motivation, productivity, and creativity, two years into the pandemicIn 2020, the participants’ productivity had been some-what reduced – according to their own assessment –compared to the time before the pandemic. Whenwe asked the participants again in fall 2021, they in-dicated a rather high work motivation, as well as arather high work productivity and creativity. There areno significant differences between grantees and peoplewho never received a grant, and no gender differences....work motivation...work productivity...work creativity-1 0 1-2Very low2Very highGranteesNon-Grantees(spikes denote 95% CI; N=235)Rating of...Sufficient exchange with networkProfessional in-person exchange is an integral part ofbuilding a successful academic career. Restrictions dueto Covid-19 clearly impeded this exchange. Neverthe-less, in 2021, the survey participants reported they hadsufficient exchange with their networks, both regard-ing their everyday work and projects, and for pursu-ing their careers, though they rated the latter as some-what less sufficent. Hence, the exchange seems tosuffice overall, despite working from home or otherconditions the pandemic may have brought about....everyday work and projects...pursuing one's career-1 0 1-2Do notagree at all2FullyagreeMaleFemale(spikes denote 95% CI; N=238)Sufficient exchange with professional network for...Enough financial and material supportNot only did the participants rate the exchange with theirnetwork as sufficient, they also indicated sufficient sup-port on other levels. They had enough financial support,for instance for further education and projects. Similarly,they received sufficient material support (e.g., equipmentand everyday things). By contrast, they felt less supportedemotionally, for example regarding stress managementand interactions. There are no significant gender differ-ences, and no differences between people who received agrant and those who did not....financial level...material level...emotional level-1 0 1-2Not at all2DefinitelyMaleFemale(spikes denote 95% CI; N=252)Sufficiently supported on the...Mixed career expectationsEven though the participants described their professionalsituation as satisfactory or even good in many respectsin fall 2021, worries about the future do emerge: Theyexpect some difficulties in finding an appropriate job orfunding in the future, and they are somewhat concernedabout their professional future. This is rather not surpris-ing, as a majority indicates that they are employed witha fixed-term contract. At the same time, grantees ratheragree that their career is currently advancing the way theywant it to advance, while people who did not receive agrant agree less (0.51 vs. 0.07, p=0.034). Moreover, non-grantees think about changing their career plans a bit morethan grantees. However, this difference is not significant.There are no significant differences concerning either ofthese statements between men and women.p = 0.034Expecting difficulties in finding jobWorried about professional futureCareer advancing as plannedThinking about changing career plans-1 0 1-2Do not agree at all2Fully agreeGranteesNon-Grantees(spikes denote 95% CI; N=253)Career expectationswww.careertrackercohorts.ch 2/3 info@careertrackercohorts.chAfter three years: few changes in work-related valuesAs described in more detail in our very first newslet-ter (see Newsletter 2019/1), the survey participants dis-play a high intrinsic work motivation. The importanceof work values are very stable over time. Since manyhave completed their grant in 2021 and may (have hadto) reorient themselves professionally, one would expectshifts in the importance of specific aspects. The resultsof the surveys conducted in fall 2021 show that contin-uing an academic career is now seen as less importantthan it was three years ago. At the same time, extrin-sic values, such as earning a high salary, have becomeslightly more important. In spite of the fact that between2018 and 2021 the share of parents among the participantsincreased from 19% to 33%, overall, the importance offamily-related values did not increase remarkably. Hence,the career orientation of the researchers remains veryhigh, even during changes in professional and family life.put own ideas into practicedevelop further in subject areado work corresponding to own viewsuse specialist qualificationscontinue academic careergood career prospectsgood equipment/infrastructurehigh salarywork with renowned colleaguesprestigious institutionsecure jobreconcile work and family lifereconcile work with other activitieswork part-timesame country as nowintrinsicextrinsicother-1 0 1-2Not important at all2Very important201820202021(spikes denote 95% CI; N=199)Work-related valuesCorrigendum Newsletter 2022/1There was a mistake in the last newsletter regarding thepercentages of people conducting research (second para-graph). A revised version of the newsletter is now availableonline: http://careertrackercohorts.ch/newsletter/2022/1.Up nextWe are looking forward to the fall surveys with partici-pants who applied for the Early Postdoc.Mobility or thePostdoc-Mobility scheme in 2018, 2019, or 2020. Thesurveys will start in October. Moreover, we will soon up-load new data and documentation on SwissUbase, whereall interested researchers can access the material.AboutThe Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) project of the SwissNational Science Foundation (SNSF) is a longitudinalpanel study with four cohorts (CTC-18 – CTC-21). Itaims at tracking the career paths of young researchersapplying for SNSF career funding schemes at the post-doctoral level (Early Postdoc.Mobility, Postdoc.Mobility,Ambizione, Eccellenza, and PRIMA). The main goals ofthe CTC are to monitor the careers of these researchersand to evaluate the impact of the different career fundingschemes of the SNSF. The Career Tracker Cohorts studyis affiliated to the Interfaculty Centre for Educational Re-search (ICER) at the University of Bern.For more information see: http://careertrackercohorts.ch/How to cite this document:Lüthi, J., Zimmermann, B., Kittelberger S., Erzinger, A.B. (2022). SNSF Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) Newsletter 2022/2. Bern: Interfaculty Centre forEducational Research and Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies, University of Bern. Available from http://doi.org/10.48350/171932www.careertrackercohorts.ch 3/3 info@careertrackercohorts.ch

SNSF Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) Newsletter 2022/2

source: https://doi.org/10.48350/167742 | downloaded: 2.8.2022SNSF Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) Newsletter 2022/1Status of the studyThe CTC study is starting its fifth year. Currently, theproject team is preparing and documenting data from thesurveys conducted last year. Moreover, we are preparingthe upcoming surveys. In 2022, we are continuing to moni-tor the four existing cohorts, but will not start a new cohort.Thisnewsletter shows thefirst resultsofa longitudinal anal-ysis of the CTC-18 cohort, which consists of people whoapplied for Early Postdoc.Mobility and Postdoc.Mobilityin fall 2018. The following results are preliminary as thedata preparation has not been completed yet.First longitudinal results of the CTC-18 cohortThe survey participantsIn fall 2018, 418 applicants for Early Postdoc.Mobilityand Postdoc.Mobility took part in the baseline survey.This equals 93% of all applicants in fall 2018. Subse-quently, the response rates dropped with each follow-upsurvey, especially for the non-grantees, that is applicantswho did not receive SNSF career funding in 2018 or later.In the most recent follow-up survey in 2021, 60% of allapplicants from 2018 took part.Since 2018, 283 out of 450 applicants have receivedan SNSF grant, including 36 applicants who successfullyapplied for an SNSF grant twice (i.e. they received morethan one grant between 2018 and 2021). Finally, 167 didnot recieve SNSF career funding in 2018 or in the subse-quent years. In 2021, 180 of the 203 successful applicantswho participated in the survey had already finished theirgrant, while 33 had a running grant (either the first or thesecond one).20182019202020210 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100PercentageGrantees Non-grantees(spikes denote 95% confidence intervals)Response rates of the CTC-18 cohortThe majority still conducts research three years after their applicationEvery year, the survey participants are asked whether theyare (still) conducting research in their job. Right aftertheir application in 2018, almost all participants reportedthat they conduct research (97%). Over the subsequentyears, this percentage has dropped, and yet, three yearslater, still almost 80% of the survey participants reportedthat they conduct research in their job. The percentage ofnon-grantees conducting research had shrunk to roughly80% in 2019 and has remained rather stable thereafter.Unsurprisingly, this number is higher for grantees in theirfirst years, and falls as the funding ceases. There is no sig-nificant difference between grantees and non-grantees in2021. Overall, the percentage of participants conductingresearch declined significantly in 2021 compared to 2018(97% in 2018 vs. 79% in 2021, p<0.001).20182019202020210 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100PercentageGrantees Non-grantees(spikes denote 95% confidence intervals)Participants conducting research in their jobwww.careertrackercohorts.ch 1/3 info@careertrackercohorts.chFormer applicants take up senior positions and professorshipsThe analysis of the survey participants’ academic posi-tions shows that more than a third of them were still doc-toral students when they applied. In the two years aftertheir application, the majority completed their doctorateand were employed as junior researchers or postdocs. Thepercentage of participants working as senior researchersor other mid-level academic staff (lecturers, scientific col-laborators, or similar) has increased with every year. In2021, three years after the application for an Early Post-doc.Mobility or a Postdoc.Mobility grant, 13% of the sur-vey participants already had a position as a professor.Doctoral studentJunior researcherSenior ResearcherOther mid-level positionsProfessor0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90Percentage2018 2019 2020 2021(spikes denote 95% confidence intervals)Academic positions of participantsIncrease of leadership positions over the yearsEvery year, the survey participants are asked whetherthey have a supervisory function in their current job.Analyses over the years show an increase in leader-ship positions. This is true for both grantees and non-grantees. Three years after their application for a mo-bility grant, 32% of the grantees and 33% of the non-grantees reported that they have a supervisory func-tion in their job. Moreover, analyses by gender showthat there is no significant difference between the per-centages of men and women with leadership positions.20182019202020210 10 20 30 40 50PercentageGrantees Non-grantees(spikes denote 95% confidence intervals)Participants in leadership positionsWorkplace shifts to Europe and North AmericaIn 2018, when the survey participants applied for (Early)Postdoc.Mobility, most of them worked in Switzer-land, followed by North America and Europe (excludingSwitzerland). In the two subsequent years, roughly 40%worked in other European countries and North America,while the number of participants who worked in Switzer-land dropped to 11% and 15% respectively. In 2021 –presumably with the end of most of the mobility grants– more participants worked in Switzerland again. At thesame time, 126 (49%) of the survey participants in 2021reported that they had to cancel research visits planned forthe time between fall 2020 and fall 2021 – in almost allcases (112; 89%) because of travel restrictions or bans.SwitzerlandEuropeNorth AmericaCentral andSouth-AmericaAsiaAfrica0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70Percentage2018 2019 2020 2021(spikes denote 95% confidence intervals)Workplace mobility of participants(continued on the next page)www.careertrackercohorts.ch 2/3 info@careertrackercohorts.chAspirations to a professorship decrease with timeWhen they first applied in 2018, as well as two and threeyears later, the survey participants were asked about theirlong-term career aspirations. Shortly after the application,the majority of the participants reported that they aspire toa full tenured professorship most (compared to other lead-ing management, research, or teaching positions). How-ever, this aspiration decreases with time, for both womenand men. Three years after the application, 55% of themale and 38% of the female participants still aspire to aprofessorship (versus 77% and 66% in 2018).2018202020210 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90PercentageMale Female(spikes denote 95% confidence intervals)Aspiration to become a professorUp nextWe are looking forward to the follow-up surveys to befielded in spring 2022. These include the first follow-upwith the CTC-21 cohort, the second follow-up with theCTC-20 cohort, and the third follow-up with the CTC-19 cohort. In summer, we will upload the latest data onSwissUbase, where it will be accessible for interested re-searchers. Finally, we would like to thank all our surveyparticipants for participating in the surveys and therebyallowing for valuable insights into the career paths ofearly-career researchers.AboutThe Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) project of the SwissNational Science Foundation (SNSF) is a longitudinalpanel study with four cohorts (CTC-18 – CTC-21). Itaims at tracking the career paths of young researchersapplying for SNSF career funding schemes at the post-doctoral level (Early Postdoc.Mobility, Postdoc.Mobility,Ambizione, Eccellenza, and PRIMA). The main goals ofthe CTC are to monitor the careers of these researchersand to evaluate the impact of the different career fundingschemes of the SNSF. The Career Tracker Cohorts studyis affiliated to the Interfaculty Centre for Educational Re-search (ICER) at the University of Bern.For more information see: http://careertrackercohorts.ch/How to cite this document:Zimmermann, B., Lüthi, J., Kittelberger S., Erzinger, A.B. (2022). SNSF Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) Newsletter 2022/1. Bern: Interfaculty Centre forEducational Research and Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies, University of Bern. Available from http://doi.org/10.48350/167742www.careertrackercohorts.ch 3/3 info@careertrackercohorts.ch

SNSF Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) Newsletter 2022/1

https://boris.unibe.ch/167742/1/2022-1-SNSF-CTC-Newsletter.pdf

SNSF Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) Newsletter 2022/1

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Bern Open Repository and Information System (BORIS)

Bern Open Repository and Information System (BORIS)