Nature’s 2023 Postdoc Survey

Don’t miss the 2023 Postdoc Survey from Nature Careers, a leading careers resource and jobs website for scientists.

This was Nature’s second global postdoc survey. In the first postdoc survey in 2020, respondents feared that COVID-19 would jeopardize their work. That outlook has changed. Now only 8% of the respondents say the economic impacts of COVID‑19 are their biggest concern. Instead, they are back to worrying about the usual things: competition for funding, not finding jobs in their fields of interest, or feeling pressure to sacrifice personal time for work.

Key findings from the 2023 survey:

Key finding #1
Despite still feeling as though they are academia’s drudge laborers, postdoc career optimism rebounds after COVID.

Key finding #2
Around one in three postdoctoral researchers are using AI. Here’s how ChatGPT is transforming the postdoc experience.

Key finding #3
Postdocs in their thirties are less happy in their careers than their peers in their twenties.

Nature’s 2023 postdoc survey had 3,838 self-selecting respondents from 93 countries, of whom 51% described themselves as female, 27% as a member of a racial or an ethnic minority, and 61% as working outside of their home country.

If you’re a postdoc looking for your next role, or you’re hiring postdocs, visit nature.com/naturecareers to sign up for job alerts or post your job ads.