91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½

Jobs

By the numbers: Career prospects in the life sciences

Laurel Oldach Lisa Schnabel Allison Frick
By Laurel Oldach, Lisa Schnabel and Allison Frick
Aug. 1, 2019

Ph.D. outcomes by the numbers:
Career prospects in the life sciences

Ph.D. outcomes by the numbers:
Career prospects in the life sciences

 

The first step after graduate school

The National Science Foundation administers the Survey of Earned Doctorates to degree recipients before they leave their universities. One line of inquiry in the survey is about post-graduation plans for employment. Among about 12,500 graduates in the life sciences in 2017, many had not made a definite commitment by the time they took the survey. Others had accepted job or postdoc offers. Here’s where.

Graduation cap chart

 
 

Enjoy reading 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
Laurel Oldach

Laurel Oldach is a former science writer for the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½.

Lisa Schnabel
Lisa Schnabel

Lisa Schnabel is the senior graphic designer at the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½.

Allison Frick

Allison Frick is the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½’s multimedia and social media content manager.

Featured jobs

from the

Get the latest from 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in Careers

Careers highlights or most popular articles

Upcoming opportunities
Announcement

Upcoming opportunities

June 26, 2025

Friendly reminders to register for the upcoming 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ Breakthroughs webinar on nuclear second messenger signaling and 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½'s in-person symposium on proteomics in Cambridge, Mass.

2025 PROLAB awardees announced
Society News

2025 PROLAB awardees announced

June 24, 2025

Seven early-career scientists receive grants to advance their research by working in North American labs.

Upcoming opportunities
Announcement

Upcoming opportunities

June 11, 2025

Register for 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½'s upcoming free professional development webinars on women in science and commercializing biomedical research.

Teach, learn & transform biochemistry education
Interview

Teach, learn & transform biochemistry education

June 10, 2025

Meet the co-chairs of the 2025 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ meeting on reimagining undergraduate education in the molecular life sciences to be held July 24–27, 2025 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Upcoming opportunities
Announcement

Upcoming opportunities

May 29, 2025

Submit your abstract for 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½'s upcoming meetings on nucleophilic proteases, gene expression and O-GlcNAc.

Upcoming opportunities
Announcement

Upcoming opportunities

May 16, 2025

Friendly reminder: Submit your abstracts for upcoming 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ meetings! Just added: virtual events on AI and STEMM graduate education.