A Post-baccalaureate Position to Lead a PhD in Astronomy at a Research Center: The Case of Richal Abhang

“I had never done a research project before,” says Richal Abhang, a mechanical engineer who wanted to work on the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) research facility being built in Aundha, India. In 2019, she approached scientists at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, India, about working on the engineering aspects of the project. After six months of working for free, she became a paid project student and stayed for two years because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. But in the process, she learnt many practical details of designing astronomical instruments that helped her to land a spot in her top-choice graduate programme at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 2022. She says that she would not have been a qualified for it based on her bachelor’s degree.

The post was a plea to connect recent university graduates with principal investigators (PIs) who could provide research experience in their labs for a year or more. These post-baccalaureate positions, or post-bacs for short, can be a stepping stone to graduate school for a master’s or PhD in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). STEM graduates who did not get enough lab- or field-based research experience at university might consider a post-bac position to make their applications to PhD programmes more competitive — even though it adds a few more rungs to an already long career ladder.

A post-bac constitutes one or more ‘gap’ years that are dedicated to gaining research experience and scientific skills before graduate school. For some people, a post-bac provides time to work out what areas of research they’re interested in. It looks like post-bacs is a US phenomenon.

For some, the added time is nothing more than a formality. Gwen Robbins, who completed an undergraduate degree in astronomy at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, says: “I was planning on going straight to grad school out of college. That ended up not working.” With a CV devoid of research projects, her undergraduate adviser connected her with researchers at the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at Johns Hopkins. They offered her a position as a paid intern, which she was able to take, for a year.

Brande became interested in the field of transiting exoplanets over two and a half years. The experience gave clarity on his research goals, gave him new Computational skills, and gave him connections to the field of exoplanet astronomy. He entered the astronomy PhD programme at the University of Kansas in Lawrence in 2020.

Source: Do you need extra training before graduate school? Consider a post-baccalaureate position

The Preparatory Research Education Program (PRESP) in India: Boosting research experience between university and graduate school in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

Robbins acquired hands-on laboratory research experience that she could not attain from her smaller, less research-intensive university, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three years on, Robbins is still seeking graduate positions, or even another post-bac.

Graduates who are trying to boost their practical research experience between university and graduate school aren’t unique to the United States. Although it is common for students in some countries, especially those in Europe, to seek a master’s degree that fulfils these goals before starting a PhD, the proportion of practical research to graduate coursework varies in these courses. In India, students can choose to go for graduate study in more basic sciences after graduating from an applied-sciences bachelor’s degree. To ease that switch, they often spend a year in a ‘project student’ position — a position similar to a post-bac.

Post-bac experiences aren’t structured or advertised. Abhang worked without pay for six months, Brande and Robbins received stipends that were enough to cover living expenses, but not health insurance. Brande and Abhang say they had good mentors who gave them career guidance.

The field of biomedical sciences has one of the oldest continuously running post-bac programmes. The Postcalaureate Research Education Program is funded by the US NationalNIH and is active in 58 US institutions. Between 73–95% of PREP graduates have successfully transitioned into a PhD programme in the past decade, delivering on the programme’s goal to develop a diverse pool of early-career researchers. PREP scholars receive a base salary and benefits from the NIH PREP grant, which typically amounts to around US$40,000 per year, although institutions might supplement this to make up for cost-of-living differences. Compared with a post-bac in an independent lab, PREP delivers a more structured programme with built-in opportunities for development.

Overall, universities and other training bodies must accept that they need to work harder to understand the challenges that science jobseekers face and make it their mission to provide students and trainees with the skills to succeed in the current job market. The stakes here aren’t just about individual careers. Failing to properly prepare researchers for professional success wastes not only researchers’ potential but also society’s investment in scientific training.

A boot camp in which students are taught how to interpret and discuss scientific papers, and meetings with faculty members to choose a lab is what a typical PREP year at UNC consists of. In the lab, students take a graduate course to strengthen core concepts, improve competency or offset low undergraduate marks. Robinson said that poor grades have less to do with someone’s aptitude, but more with life circumstances. Students are encouraged to present their research at a conference in December or January if they are able to hone their presentation skills through weekly meetings with faculty mentors. The program supports students in their graduate school applications by providing them with help to prepare for the Graduate Record Examination and by writing research statements, selecting universities and labs, and source recommendation letters.

Every year, tens of thousands of people around the world apply for research jobs armed with postgraduate qualifications and specialized knowledge, only for their carefully crafted applications to seemingly vanish into a digital void. At the same time, recruiters report that they are unable to find appropriate candidates for open positions. Last year, 46% of around 1,000 respondents to a survey of research hiring managers from academia and industry told Nature’s Careers team that a lack of what they regard as ‘high-calibre’ candidates is their topmost concern (see go.nature.com/3drcqnz).

Nature was told by some recruiters that they prefer to hire through professional networks than using the big online platforms. It’s partly to remove any cut-and-paste applications that have been generated using artificial-intelligence tools. This shows the continued importance of networks for career development, and means that those entering the job market should receive training in how to build networks.

Employers need to consider the benefits of structured training for early-career researchers, as a way to boost critical thinking and analytical skills. This could be done by reproducing the training schemes commonly used by large pharmaceutical, technology, consulting, finance and legal firms. They often include rotations so that new hires can experience working in different departments for short periods. Such schemes do not need to cost the Earth — a legitimate concern for small- and medium-sized companies. There are also other models that are short-term.

Meanwhile, employers responding to Nature’s survey report that candidates often lack creative thinking, problem-solving and communication skills and qualities such as persistence, passion and tenacity. However, there isn’t a lot of structured training for job seekers on how to learn or demonstrate these characteristics.

Shifting generational priorities also play a part. The majority of the current early-career scientists are from the late 1980s and mid 1990s. They are often digitally savvy and bring with them strong collaborative instincts and a desire to see their work have societal impact. They also tend to value work–life balance and career flexibility, which might not always square with the priorities of the scientists interviewing them for jobs.

The misperception of someone with science qualifications is one of the main causes of this mismatch. Usually, a PhD or a first post-doc is equivalent to an entry-level qualification with the holder need further guidance, mentoring and experience before they can work on their own.