| No.1 March 1999 first page CONTENTS Who are the Contract Researchers? Career orientation and aspirations |
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Career orientation and aspirations As might be expected, the most frequently mentioned reason for accepting a first research post is because it is seen as a first step to a research career. Interest in the research topic/area, a liking for research itself and financial reasons are also frequently mentioned. There is little difference between male and female contract researchers in this respect. View Table 1: Main reason for taking first research job Despite the initial view that contract research leads to a research career, examination of attitudes to their career so far suggests that a significant proportion no longer see this as being the case. While almost half are satisfied with their career so far, around a third have no definite career path in mind. Around a third expect to remain in research but almost 40 per cent are not sure. Nonetheless, few believe they will not achieve their long-term career ambitions. Working on a temporary contract is generally seen as causing stress although there is resignation about this with around half seeing such conditions of employment as inevitable. The majority of contract researchers do not ‘buy into’ the notion that temporary contracts will facilitate of enhance their job opportunities. The most frequently cited preferred outcome is a renewal of the current contract (23 per cent mentioned this). However, there is a small difference between males and females in this regard; 26 per cent of females were looking for a renewal of their current contract while the proportion was only 19 per cent for males. It is notable that amongst males, the most preferred future outcome is a move into a lectureship in higher education (24 per cent). While this also a preferred outcome for around 15 per cent of female contract researchers, a slightly higher proportion (18 per cent) would prefer a move out of research into a different occupation. Finally, what are the long-term career aspirations of contract researchers?. The long-term career aspirations of research staff are overwhelmingly to remain in an academic career, either as a researcher (34 per cent) or as a lecturer (26 per cent). Again there are differences between male and female researchers. Rather more female researchers wish to remain in research careers in the long-term (37 per cent) while rather more males seek a long-term career as a lecturer. Research in industry or commerce was mentioned by only one in ten respondents as a long-term career aspiration. This was rather more likely amongst males than females. However, around 11-12 per cent of both males and females were looking, in the long-term, to move into professional practice or management outside of the university sector. View Table 2: Preferred long-term career outcome |
