Early Career Survey

In order to give the ASLO Board an objective sense of the needs of the society's early career members, the Early Career Committee decided to conduct a survey to collect the opinions of the early career members. The 8-part survey was conducted from October-November 2007 and covered the following areas:

• Please provide the date and type of your highest degree earned.
• What is your current position and employer?
• How long have you been involved with ASLO?
• We would appreciate your providing the following information. (Gender, age and country of residence)
• What is your area of specialization?
• What activities have benefited or would benefit you?
• Have you benefited from Early Career Resources other than those offered by ASLO?
• How else can ASLO better serve you and other early career members?

Approximately 33% (278 out of 841) of the early career members responded to the survey. Based on their responses:

• Regarding potential new programs: travel funds to meetings received the most support, followed by teaching resources, Town Hall meetings, new awards, and a mentorship program. A reserved slot solely for an early career representative on the board and online chats received the least support.
• Approximately 96% of respondents had PhD's.
• Approximately 30% of the respondents were assistant professors, 20% were post-doctoral researchers, and 20% were research scientists.
• Over 70% of respondents identified themselves as working within academia, with a further 18% working for the government and the rest mixed between industry and non-profit organizations.
• Over 60% of the respondents were from the United States, but 22 other countries were also represented.
• A high proportion of respondents had participated in DISCO, DIALOG, DIACES, and similar symposia for recent PhD graduates, as well as attending ICES/PICES Early Career Conferences. Some reported that NSF-sponsored programs such as ADVANCE or other institution-specific workshops were helpful.
• Suggestions for the ASLO early career committee to consider implementing in the future included: providing information on salary scales and placement statistics, designing a database of class materials for resource sharing, and facilitating networking and mentorship. Some respondents expressed their frustration with the current scarcity of research funding.