Each year, our brightest, most highly vetted scientists drift away from the region as they finish their federal laboratory or university postdoctoral fellowships.
Approximately 1,500 to 2,000 scientists who have recently received their Ph.D.’s come to this region annually for fellowships in some 30 federal laboratories such as NIH and NIST. An equal number become fellows at local universities. Fellowships are extremely competitive, with up to 10 applicants for a any given fellowship.
Fellows spend one to four years working on some of the world’s thorniest problems in cutting-edge fields such as neuropsychology, astrophysics, biomedical engineering, and radio wave telecommunication. When their fellowships end, most of them find jobs elsewhere, thus depriving the region of thousands of the most highly trained individuals in their fields.
Many local fellows would love to stay in this area. They have professional connections with local scientists, enjoy local cultural opportunities, have spouses who are employed locally, and many have children that enjoy excellent local schools. So, why are they leaving? Individuals at this level have spent most of their lives in academic environments, and have largely assumed that their careers lie in academe. With few primary academic research institutions in the Washington area, postdocs seeking tenure-track positions will most likely have to leave this area to find academic jobs.
Unfortunately, this academic job shortage is nationwide. A 2005 Sigma Xi publication, “Doctors Without Orders,” concluded that “growth in the number of science and engineering postdocs over the past decade (2.8 percent per year) has outstripped the rate of increase in the number of full-time science and engineering faculty positions (0.8 percent per year). … Most of the postdocs we surveyed will probably not become faculty members at a research university. Indeed, they will likely end up outside of academia altogether.”
Herein lies an opportunity for the Washington metropolitan region. There are hundreds of scientific companies in this area. There is an enormous wealth of technology transfer assistance available here to help scientists become entrepreneurs. And the federal presence creates many alternative career possibilities such as science writing or patent and trademark protection. So how can the Washington region’s postdocs learn about the many possibilities open to them here?
An unusual consortium of federal, state and local organizations may have found a way. In May, 330 local postdoctoral fellows convened at the Universities of Maryland at Shady Grove for the first-ever regional Postdoc Conference and Career Expo. This all-day conference was free to federal laboratory postdoctoral attendees. Dr. Carol Nacy, Founder & CEO of Sequella, Inc., was the keynote speaker. She related the way that her postdoctoral work had prepared her to start a successful biotechnology company, even though that was not her intent at the time. Her opening was followed by a general session on interviewing skills, and then attendees followed one of three career tracks: traditional, entrepreneurial and alternative.
The traditional track was for individuals who wish to practice their science at a company or in the laboratory of a federal agency. The entrepreneurial track was for individuals wishing to start their own companies with their own discoveries or by licensing someone else’s technology. The alternative track was for individuals who want to apply their science background in fields including science policy, intellectual property, and venture capital funding. The postdocs who attended these seminars revealed that they were not just interested in basic research. Rather, they were excited to learn about real-world job opportunities, including alternative careers. And a surprisingly large number of them explored entrepreneurial avenues.
The afternoon half of the conference featured a career expo, where attendees met representatives from thirty companies interested in hiring postdoctoral fellows. Recent conversations with local CEOs confirmed that one of the biggest concerns of area business is finding qualified people. Not surprisingly, companies such as Westat, SAIC, MedImmune and GenVec used this opportunity to recruit carefully-vetted talent.
One of the remarkable facets of the Postdoc Conference is the collection of organizations that planned it. Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI) served as overall conference organizer. The NIH Office of Technology Transfer, the National Research Labs, the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science, NIST, USAMRIID, NASA and the Federal Lab Consortium (FLC) all helped structure the program, and publicized the event to postdocs. The Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)/Science Careers.org put together part of the program and publicized the conference.
The state of Maryland participated through the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO); Montgomery County participation was provided by the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, and Montgomery County Workforce Services, which structured the career fair. The Tech Council of Maryland coordinated registration and logistics. Financial support was provided by MDBIO, NIST, Montgomery Works, TEDCO, Montgomery County DED, the FLC, NIH and NASA. This association of government and scientific agencies is so unusual that AAAS is holding it and the conference up as national models.
By all accounts, the conference was successful. The post-docs learned about career possibilities that many had never imagined. Most of the companies at the career expo asked to be invited to repeat the experience at next year’s conference. And all of the organizers saw enough of a benefit to their constituencies that they are already planning a second conference. This strong show of support for a new idea is proof that many constituencies can work together to keep Washington’s best and brightest right here where they belong.
Sally Sternbach is the executive director of the Rockville Economic Development, Inc.
