Exploring academic career motivations and challenges: insights from biomedical sciences PhD graduates and postdoctoral fellows

PhD-trained researchers are increasingly leaving academia to seek alternative career opportunities that may offer higher salaries, less pressure to secure funding, and perceived work-life balance advantages. It is crucial to understand the experiences that influence graduate students' decisions to pursue career fields outside of academia upon graduation. Brown et al. (2023), analyzed the careers of Biomedical Sciences PhDs who graduated over a 24-year period, identifying both external and internal factors that contributed to students' decisions to either pursue or shift away from a career in academia. These factors included the lifestyle of principal investigators (PIs), a mismatch between values, interests, and the career and skills of the PI, and negative graduate school experiences. The current study examines whether rewarding and/or challenging trainee experiences influence the decision to pursue a postdoctoral position and contribute to researchers' retention in academia. Between May 2023 and December 2024, 18 Biomedical Sciences PhD graduates from Augusta University (AU) participated in an exit interview facilitated by the assistant dean of the graduate school. The interview explored various aspects of their graduate school experience, including academics, interactions with administration, challenges in meeting milestones, and post-graduation plans. The key themes identified as the most rewarding aspects of their graduate program were presenting original research, publishing manuscripts, developing as independent researchers, receiving extramural funding, and successfully achieving milestones. Conversely, the most challenging aspects were maintaining work-life balance, experiencing feelings of isolation in the laboratory, challenges in writing, and relationships with PIs. Of the 18 graduates, 16 had immediate plans to pursue a postdoctoral position (with three having not secured a position at the time of graduation). Additionally, two of the 18 graduates were MD/PhD students who immediately matriculated to complete their medical training. A survey was developed and distributed via Qualtrics to approximately 130 AU postdoctoral fellows to assess their reasons for pursuing a postdoctoral position after PhD graduation. The survey also aimed to understand their future career goals, preferred topics for career and professional development workshops and seminars, and the current challenges they face in career progression. By understanding both the positive and negative factors influencing the career goals of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, we can better support our trainees throughout their graduate school and postdoctoral experiences. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2025 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.