Turned Off From an Academic Career While in the Academy: Doctoral Engineering Students and the Reasons Behind Their Dissuasion

• In Event: 25.067 - Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: 25.067-6 - Exploring the Experiences of Doctoral Students

Abstract

The study investigates factors that dissuade engineering and computer science doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers from being attracted to or sustaining attraction toward the professoriate. Participants were surveyed about their career aspirations. Individuals who indicated not wanting to pursue faculty (N=147) explained their reasoning in an open-ended follow-up question. We thematically coded responses under two overarching categories: general lack of interest in the professoriate and pressures created from the norms and culture of being a professor. Participants’ responses mostly referred to high-research activity institutional norms (including stress related to grant writing, and polluted politics of being a tenure-winning professor) and their experience as a distressed PhD student. Findings support rethinking the faculty process to improve equity in engineering and computing.

Authors

• Ebony Omotola McGee, Vanderbilt Peabody College

• Faheemah N. Mustafaa

• Stacey Houston, Vanderbilt University

• Portia Kwartema Botchway, Vanderbilt University - Peabody College