The Impacts of Postdoctoral Training on Scientists’ Academic Employment

This article examines the dynamics of postdoctoral training affecting scientists’ academic employment, focusing on timing and prestige dimensions. Postdoc training proves beneficial to academic employment—more so in less prestigious departments than in top ones. Postdoc duration is subject to diminishing returns. The benefits of training vary across scientists with different demographic characteristics.

This article examines the dynamics of postdoctoral training affecting scientists’ academic employment, focusing on timing and prestige dimensions. Postdoc training proves beneficial to academic employment—more so in less prestigious departments than in top ones. Postdoc duration is subject to diminishing returns. The benefits of training vary across scientists with different demographic characteristics.