Science Recuiter

The State of Scientific Recruitment

Learn what 10,000 scientists and researchers have to say about today’s academic job market.

Foreword

They’re global

As you read this, millions of researchers around the world are grappling with some of the most urgent challenges that our species and habitat face. Whether that be averting the accelerating climate emergency, improving access to clean water and sanitation, or developing improved global health-care delivery. Yet behind the scenes – less celebrated, but just as vital –are the organizations and institutions that enable scientists and researchers to do their best work.

As the world’s leading professional network of scientists and researchers, we have a keen appreciation for the role that recruiters and hiring managers play in building the best performing teams in science. We have therefore conducted a research study to help you understand what scientists working in academia really want from their next career opportunity.

With over 10,000 qualified responses from academics at all career levels and across the globe, we believe this is likely the largest survey of its kind ever carried out. We plan to conduct this research on an annual basis in order to become, over time, a barometer for the state of academic recruitment, hiring, and research team impact.

This first report contains relevant data on salary, how widely it makes sense to advertise scientific and research vacancies, and which factors most influence potential candidates to apply for a particular role.

We hope the findings inform academic institutions on their recruitment and retention strategies for 2020 and beyond.

Mark Howard-Banks, Head of Scientific Recruitment, ResearchGate

About ResearchGate

With more than 15 million members, ResearchGate is the world’s leading professional network of scientists and researchers, combined with one of the world’s largest collections of scientific research content.

Our members include 68 Nobel Prize winners, and come from 193 countries –89% of whom hold advanced graduate degrees.

With 150 million monthly site visits, we’re the go-to destination for scientists to connect with the people, research, and resources they need to conduct their work.

By connecting scientific institutions with high-quality researchers, we help organizations build the best performing teams in science.

Who we surveyed: the demographic breakdown

Who we surveyed: the demographic breakdown

Methodology

ResearchGate gathered 10,000 responses from academic researchers via a flyout on the ResearchGate network homepage which read, “Tell us what you think about the academic job market.” The responses were collected over a two week period in September 2019 using a digital survey tool. This report represents a summary of the key findings from this data.

As illustrated in the charts below, we surveyed a broad range of our members across all scientific areas, career levels, and geographies. The fields of life sciences, medicine, and engineering / technology are particularly well represented.

What category best describes your field? (%)

The top-level demographic breakdowns outlined below are broadly representative of ResearchGate’s 15+ million members. However, they do not reflect the deeper, granular data held by ResearchGate, which makes it possible to drill down for senior positions or niche and specialised fields, and to match candidates to specific, hard-to-fill roles.

What region best describes where you’re from (i.e., your home country)? (%)

When considering the career level data, it is important to note the broad spread, but also the significant number of younger PhD and postdoctoral researchers making use of the digital platform to share research findings, find collaborators, and identify funding opportunities. Online engagement is the future of science, and the same holds true for scientific recruitment.

What role best describes your current status? (%)

Candidates are more than their research work and output

Candidates are more than their research work and output

It’s all too easy to view scientists and researchers purely as the sum of their work.

However, each candidate is of course defined by many other identities outside of their intellectual occupation. And these identities will influence their career priorities and what they look for in a specific role.

With regard to gender, our own research corroborates findings from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics that less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women. However, with several initiatives currently underway to encourage more women to pursue careers in STEM, it will be interesting to monitor this figure in future annual reports.

Which gender best describes you? (%)

Over half of respondents are either married (45%) or in a long-term partnership (14%), and nearly a third (31%) have at least one child living with them. Given these numbers, it is unsurprising that our research also shows that working for a “family-friendly employer” is considered by more than one in ten respondents to be the most important factor when deciding where to apply for a new academic position.

This highlights the importance of employer branding within recruitment and talent acquisition. Since how a candidate feels about an institution as an employer can determine whether or not they apply for a specific research role, it is important for institutions to showcase accurately and consistently who they are as employers to potential candidates.

Do you have a child / children that live with you? (%)

How would you describe your marital status? (%)

Today’s academic researchers have a global outlook

Today’s academic researchers have a global outlook

More than ever, scientific research is a global industry: a phenomenal 70% of respondents said they would be open to international relocation for the right academic position.

This is the single most important finding in our ResearchGate State of Scientific Recruitment study, as it suggests the need for a step-change in how universities are handling their recruitment. Placing less emphasis on internal hiring and word-of-mouth, while making greater use of digital channels, can help ensure vacancies are seen by the widest possible geographic spread of candidates.

Are you open to relocating for the right academic position? (%)

While internal hiring and word-of-mouth recruitment has its place, it is clear that an over-reliance on these methods closes off vacancies to a huge pool of ready-and-willing talent from elsewhere in the world. Equally, it threatens to limit diversity as external data shows existing employees are most likely to recommend applicants of the same sex and ethnic background.

In terms of where candidates are most interested in relocating, North America (65%), Germany/Austria/Switzerland (64%) and the UK/Ireland (55%) are viewed as the most attractive destinations. This makes sense given data from the World Economic Forum that confirms these three regions produce the most PhD graduates.

Institutions outside of these three regions have no reason to despair when it comes to international recruitment, however. Our results show every single major research region has a significant proportion of researchers who would relocate to them for the right opportunity.

What are the regions to which you’re most interested in moving for an academic research or faculty job? (Please select all of the regions that are interesting to you.) (%)

The most important factors when deciding where to apply

The most important factors when deciding where to apply

Scientists and researchers are passionate about what they do, as evidenced by the fact that the “opportunity to work in an area of particular interest to me” was the single most important on-the job factor when deciding where to apply.

For those responsible for the wording of job descriptions, ensuring you connect with a potential applicant’s passion points is therefore a critical component of talent attraction.

The next most important on-the-job factors which should be mentioned in job descriptions are the “opportunity to develop and contribute to new methods and techniques”, the “likelihood of research making an impact in the real world,” and “teaching opportunities at the institution.”

What on-the-job factor is most important when deciding where to apply for a new academic position? (%)

In terms of the most important employment factors, salary (21%) and location (18%) both scored highly — which universities have limited scope to change, as salary scales in particular are often predetermined by country, meaning universities’ hands are tied with regard to how much they can offer.

However, communicating an attractive package of employment benefits and being seen as a family-friendly workplace are two areas of employer branding that institutions can focus on to ensure the right scientific research talent is interested in them as an employer.

What employment factor is most important when deciding where to apply for a new academic position? (%)

Science matters the

most, but money still talks

Science matters the most, but money still talks

Taken as a whole, our research findings demonstrate that a researcher’s passion for their work is the primary motivator for choosing to stay within academia.

Yet it is also important to note that, when considering their next job opportunity, salary remains somewhat to extremely important to 95% of our respondents. Encouragingly, the majority of those currently working in academia (64%) are to some degree satisfied with their existing salary.

How satisfied are you with your current salary? (%)

How important is salary to you when considering your next job opportunity? (%)

While there is a wider debate to be had over whether academic researchers are being fairly compensated for their contributions to society, it is important for institutions to be clear on the salary on offer early in the recruitment process and to remain competitive with their peers.

What is your current salary? (%)

With regard to the respondents’ current stated salaries, there are some important caveats to bear in mind when viewing these overall findings. First, the findings exclude researchers who are currently unemployed or in an unpaid role. Second, over half of respondents opted not to answer this question, perhaps indicating an unwillingness to disclose this information, even in an anonymized form. Finally, roughly half of the respondents who did answer are currently working at the PhD and postdoctoral level. The data presented thus should not be used to calculate an average salary for those working in academic research.

Further insights will be unpacked in future ResearchGate reports that break down this data by country and career level.

5 takeaways for hiring scientists and researchers

This is ResearchGate’s first annual survey of academic researchers and scientists and seeks to set a benchmark to understand changes in the academic jobs market over time.

While the potential for deeper analysis will grow year-on-year, here are five practical takeaways that we believe can be immediately applied to institutions’ talent attraction, recruitment, and hiring strategies:

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Filter candidates by skills and experience, not geography –researchers are very open to international relocation for the right role

Invest in employer branding to become an employer of choice

Ensure job descriptions resonate with potential applicants’ research passion points

Include salary bands in the initial job description to encourage serious applicants

Utilize the breadth and depth of information that ResearchGate holds on its members to proactively fill highly specialized or senior roles

About ResearchGate Scientific Recruitment Solutions

We are uniquely positioned to plug you into the heart of the global scientific research community, enabling you to find high-quality candidates in science faster and establish yourself as an employer of choice among a targeted scientific audience.

Together we can help your university not only attract and recruit the best scientific talent, but also hire and retain the people who will serve your institution’s goals to be centers of excellence in scientific research.

You can find more information about our recruitment solutions at www.researchgate.net/scientific-recruitment

If you would like to get in touch with someone who can help you find the best solution for your hiring needs, please go to www.researchgate.net/scientific-recruitment/contact