Reasons for leaving an academic career in research among rheumatologists
Background/Purpose: Retention of academic rheumatologists in research careers is increasingly challenging in the current funding environment. However, beyond funding, reasons for leaving a career in research remain unknown. The objective of this study was to examine factors for leaving a career in research among rheumatologists.
Methods: A web-based survey was conducted among the domestic ACR membership from Jan-Mar 2014. Inclusion criteria were current or previous fellowship in rheumatology, ACR membership, and an available email address. Non-rheumatologist members were excluded. The survey assessed demographics, research participation, barriers/facilitators to a career in research, and free text response for reasons for leaving a career in research. After excluding incomplete surveys and duplicates, demographics were summarized. Content analysis was used to extract relevant themes from free text comments.
Results: Ninety-seven respondents (among 430 complete responses) indicated that they had previously pursued a career in research but decided to switch career paths. This career change occurred a median of 10 years ago (interquartile range [IQR] 3-20) and a median of 7 years after completing fellowship (IQR 2-14). Previous research types and current positions are presented in the Table. Approximately half of respondents were female. The most commonly cited reasons for leaving a research career were difficulty obtaining funding and lack of department or division support (Table). Among 27 free text comments, respondents noted additional reasons for leaving research including new opportunities in administration, teaching and clinical care, great clinical burden and insufficient protected time to be successful in research endeavors, increasing age, difficulty financially supporting a family, difficulty covering loans with low salary, need for increased job security, lack of mentorship, unsupportive environment or institution, need to move to a new geographic area without opportunities for research, and fear of having to move if not successful in obtaining funding or achieving tenure. When asked what would have kept these investigators in research, the most common responses included increased protected time and availability of internal grant funding mechanisms.
Conclusion: This is the largest known study examining reasons for leaving a career in academic research. While financial reasons were the most commonly cited reason for leaving a career in research, division support and protected time were similarly important. These results suggest that enhancing institutional support of academic research in rheumatology should be an important emphasis in order to support and sustain research careers.
Table: Participants who decided to leave a research career (N=97)
|
Female (N(%)) |
|
45 (46%) |
|
Year of fellowship completion (median and IQR) |
|
1993 (1983-2005) |
|
Years Since Transition (median and IQR) |
|
10 (3-20) |
|
Years after fellowship when transition occurred (median and IQR) |
|
7 (2-14) |
|
Current Position |
Adult Rheumatologist |
78 (80%) |
|
|
Pediatric Rheumatologist |
14 (14%) |
|
|
Adult Fellow |
5 (5%) |
|
|
Pediatric Fellow |
0 (0%) |
|
Current Place of Employment |
Academic Medical Center |
52 (54%) |
|
|
Clinical Practice |
24 (25%) |
|
|
Industry |
17 (18%) |
|
|
Government |
2 (2%) |
|
|
Retired |
2 (2%) |
|
Academic Appointment |
Instructor or other Junior Faculty |
6 (6%) |
|
|
Assistant Professor |
14 (14%) |
|
|
Associate Professor |
21 (22%) |
|
|
Professor |
22 (23%) |
|
|
Other (or no academic appointment) |
34 (35%) |
|
Previous Type of Research |
Clinical |
47 (48%) |
|
|
Epidemiology/Health Services |
8 (8%) |
|
|
Translational |
36 (37%) |
|
|
Basic Science |
49 (51%) |
|
Factors Contributing to Decision to Leave |
Difficulty obtaining grant funding |
55 (57%) |
|
Lack of division/department support |
51 (53%) |
|
|
|
Better compensation |
38 (39%) |
|
|
Lack of mentorship |
38 (39%) |
|
|
Tired of writing grants |
33 (34%) |
|
|
Personal reasons* |
26 (27%) |
|
|
Desire to spend more time in clinical care |
20 (21%) |
|
|
Exciting opportunities in industry |
10 (10%) |
|
|
Did not enjoy research work |
6 (6%) |
|
What would have retained you in a research career? |
Provide internal grant funding mechanisms |
54 (56%) |
|
|
Increase protected time |
50 (52%) |
|
|
Increase income |
31 (32%) |
|
|
Increase work flexibility |
25 (26%) |
|
|
Provide greater leadership opportunities |
25 (26%) |
|
|
Nothing would have incentivized me to stay in academics |
9 (9%) |
|
*Personal reasons included desire to move geographically (N=16) or desire to spend more time with family (N=15). |
||
Disclosure:
A. Ogdie,
None;
A. Shah,
None;
U. Makris,
None;
A. Kim,
Pfizer Inc,
5,
Amgen,
5,
Janssen Pharmaceutica Product, L.P.,
5,
Kypha, Inc.,
2;
S. Angeles-Han,
None;
A. Golding,
None;
J. M. Kahlenberg,
None;
E. Muscal,
None;
F. V. Castelino,
None;
Nelson,
None.
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