Where do doctoral students find work upon graduation, and what implications does this have for curricula and our education system? Dr. Reinhart Reithmeier unpacked these questions to a capacity audience at the Health Sciences Education Rounds this past February.
The well-attended Rounds were co-hosted by the Faculty Development Office and the Institute of Health Sciences Education.
Dr. Reithmeier is a Professor at the University of Toronto (U of T) in the Department of Biochemistry in the Faculty of Medicine and is known internationally for his research and his work in graduate professional development.
Academia: the 鈥渁lt-career path鈥�
Collaborating with the U of T School of Graduate Studies, Dr. Reithmeier and a team of student researchers used internet searches to determine the employment status of 10,886 individuals who graduated from U of T in all disciplines with a PhD from 2000-2015. The results of this research project are .
Some 45% of graduate students from the U of T Faculty of Medicine remained broadly in a university setting or professional schools. Over 18% were in the private sector, nearly 16% in the public sector, some in the charitable sector (3.5%), individual sector (1.3%) and a number could not be found online (16%).
鈥淲e are the alt-career path 鈥� professors,鈥� said Dr. Reithmeier. 鈥淭he majority of our graduates are doing other things.鈥�
There is a need to redefine success away from the apprenticeship model of strictly becoming a tenured professor, supporting graduate students whatever their diverse career aspirations may be, Dr. Reithmeier said.
Integrating professional development into curricula
Dr. Reithmeier implemented a for-credit graduate course in professional development to 鈥渆nsure that graduates are prepared to take advantage of the diverse career opportunities available to them in today鈥檚 global marketplace.鈥�
Among the innovative characteristics of the course is active involvement of alumni, who are brought on to share professional experience and career trajectories, offer mentorship pairing opportunities and build a professional network of graduate students.
Course participants work on their resumes, practice elevator pitches, explore possibilities for finding mentors, make cold-calls to prospective employers for 鈥渋nformational interviews,鈥� and strive to meet with professionals in their aspirational field of work.
鈥淲e really focus on leadership skills, and we should support career paths for our students, rather than defining those paths for them,鈥� said Dr. Reithmeier. 鈥淲e want to make sure that graduates are fully prepared to make the best of all these opportunities.鈥�
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