European Women Postdoctoral Fellows In The Usa: Whys And Wherefores

摘要

European women scientists often take postdoctoral fellowships in the United States because U.S. postdoctoral training has been considered necessary to academic careers in some European countries. Between 1983 and 2003, the total post-docs at U.S. universities jumped from 14,000 to over 33,000, but the proportion of Ph.D.s holding tenure track positions four to six years after receiving degrees shrank from 25 to 18 percent (1), making it difficult to reconcile postdoctoral fellowships with family issues (2-4). Postdocs can become stuck in low-pay, low-control positions without good prospects for a faculty appointment.